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Doing Life With… is a BellaNaija Features series that showcases how people live, work, travel, care for their families and… everything in between. We are documenting the lives of all people and ensuring everyone is well-represented at BN.
Did you miss last week’s conversation with Ted Oladele? You can catch up here.
This week, we’re doing life with Hoama Worgwu, one of the most resourceful persons on LinkedIn. Through her pieces of training, she has helped business owners, corporate professionals, freelancers, and students, gain visibility and secure opportunities on LinkedIn. Enjoy the conversation.
Hi Haoma, how are you feeling today?
Hello. I am feeling like the queen that I am.
That’s great. Give us a peep into what started who you are today
I had a life-changing experience during my first year at university that has shaped who I am today. It happened on a day when I was sitting in my parents’ front yard in Port Harcourt, holding a book in my hands. I felt like I was in a trance or vision, experiencing something beyond the ordinary. In this experience, I saw a large building that looked like a warehouse and many people coming out of it, all of them smiling and excited. Each person had something in their hands that they were eager to share with others. They walked out in groups and pairs, showing each other what they had in their hands with smiles on their faces.
This experience made me realise that I had a responsibility to help people find fulfilment and happiness through productive activities, such as careers and business. Even though I didn’t fully understand what it meant at the time, I started taking small steps towards this goal. When I was 18 years old, I founded a non-governmental organisation and social enterprise called Envisage, which focused on philanthropy and career-related activities for young people.
I learned that sometimes, God reveals to us what he has called us to do, but we don’t always see the whole picture. We shouldn’t wait for complete understanding before taking action. Instead, we should start by taking small steps based on the instructions we’ve received, and as we obey, we’ll see our purpose become clearer. By following this approach, we can become a wonder to many.
How did you come up with the title “LinkedIn Queen”?
I believe we are kings and priests. LinkedIn is currently my primary place of influence and platform for business, so as someone who knows she is both a king and a priest, I decided to make the name public and loud by calling myself LinkedIn Queen. It was when I started calling myself “LinkedIn Queen” that the world started calling me LinkedIn. People will call you what you call yourself. Don’t leave it open for them to call you anything they feel like because an identity crisis might come in.
LinkedIn is not a lot of people’s go-to social app. Why did you decide that would be your content-sharing and audience-engagement platform?
Well, at first, LinkedIn looked like a safe space for me to drop any content I liked. Before, I had only 24 connections there for a long time, who were my close friends and family. So, there was no audience to judge anything I had to say. I was comfortable putting out content consistently on LinkedIn. I would usually have little or no engagements at that time, but what I did not know was that people were watching. The fact that they didn’t like or comment didn’t mean that they didn’t see. Anyway, I continued showing up, and over time, that consistent act of showing up registered my brand in the minds of people as they kept seeing me from time to time. I was unknowingly building a community. Here we are. I also know God accelerated my growth because he wanted to use me to reach those in my career and business. Seeing that LinkedIn is seen as that platform for those in career/business, he knew I had to be visible there.
What inspired you to start using LinkedIn as a platform to empower people and help them gain visibility and monetise their platform? As opposed to simply using it to promote yourself and your work
I discovered that a lot of people had a misconception about LinkedIn. When I saw what the platform had done for me and a few other people, I decided to debunk the myths people have about it and do my best to ensure everyone who comes in contact with me gets their share of the gold from LinkedIn. Funny enough, most of the big opportunities, massive growth, and results I have gotten on LinkedIn came after I shifted the focus from myself and decided to cultivate a LinkedIn presence that did not only showcase excellence at what I do or who I am as a person but one that solely cared about my target audience and showed up every day to proffer a solution to their problems.
You reference God a lot. Can you share a specific instance where your belief in God has guided you in making career-related decisions?
There was a time when I received guidance from God that helped me in my career and business. One morning, I was in bed and had just posted on LinkedIn about the importance of showing up on the platform when I heard a message from the Holy Spirit. He suggested that I should not only tell people why they need to show up on LinkedIn but also show them how to do it.
I followed His advice and opened LinkedIn again, announcing a 20-day LinkedIn challenge where I would help people show up on the platform. Within the first few days, over 1000 people joined the challenge, and it eventually became a global program that impacted over 4000 people in 28 countries. I firmly believe that God can be a great business coach and consultant if we are open to listening to His guidance. So, I encourage everyone in the business to see God as a friend, father, lover, and healer, as well as a career coach and business consultant.
In your experience, what are the common mistakes professionals make on LinkedIn that hinder their success, and how can they avoid them?
Being pressured, jealous, or intimidated on LinkedIn. Not giving LinkedIn time and expecting LinkedIn to miraculously pay them. Focusing so much on only profile optimisation but forgetting presence optimisation. Your LinkedIn engagements should go beyond just having a profile; a good profile that no one gets to see is as good as useless. Being selfish on LinkedIn and only talking about themselves and their announcements instead of showing up to either educate, entertain, motivate, or inspire their audience (whichever works for their brand). This is what will keep your target audience consistently attracted to you and wanting to engage with you, your product, or your service. Hating LinkedIn and expecting LinkedIn to love them. (laughs in seriousness). Copying others and wanting to be like the crowd.
Let’s talk about everyday living, Haoma. Walk us through a typical day in your life
I wake up and spend some time with the Holy Spirit, my best friend; create my to-do list for the day using Google Keep; and then get to do the things on my list, which usually start with something LinkedIn-related.
The economy is currently not smiling, what ways do you ensure you keep your vibrant spirit and remain positive?
Sorry, but I operate in an economy beyond the one seen with the natural eye. I am an ambassador sent on a mission on earth. So my home country takes care of me. I can’t and will never relate to any economy that is not smiling, haha.
Haha, big flex!
It’s God.
What’s that unconventional thought you have about the world?
The God-grade man/woman will be the 8th wonder of the world.
One moment you felt really proud of yourself?
That should be when I helped a man and a woman in their 60s show up on Linkedin to begin a new phase of their careers and business at that age. In the exact words of the woman, “I haven’t woken up to the realisation of this dream, that one day will come, when I will boldly tell my own story by myself to the world on LinkedIn.” The man said, “What Haoma does is a ministry. Haoma’s growth and visibility program began my becoming intentional on LinkedIn.” Hearing these gave me a sense of fulfilment I had never felt before.
Thank you for being on Doing Life With…, Haoma
Thank you for having me.
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Many thanks to Haoma Worgwu for having this conversation with us and answering all our questions – and swiftly too, we must add.
Do you love this content, have any feedback for us or want to be a BellaNaija Features contributor? We’d love to read from you. Shoot us an email: [email protected]. Join us on Saturday for the next episode!
The post Today’s “Doing Life With…” Dives into Haoma Worgwu’s Journey to Becoming the LinkedIn Queen appeared first on BellaNaija – Showcasing Africa to the world. Read today!.
