Who am I?
My name is Hope Nwosu. I am a Nigerian born author living in Finland since 2012. I have a bachelors degree in English and Literature from University of Nigeria (2010). I also a bachelor’s degree in social and health field from Laurea Universiy of Applied Sciences (2024). My debut novel, ‘SoldOut’ was published in 2024 by Rosetta Versos. I am a mother of four children.
My entrepreneurship journey
I have had the idea to become an entrepreneur for a few years now. I felt that entrenuership is a great way to utilize my talents and offer my skills for the benefit of the society. I see entrepreneurship as a means of effecting a positive change in the society.
To equip me with the needed tools to succeed as an entrepreneur in Finland, I attended a six-months entrepreneurship course in 2019 at a Vocational school in Tampere.
I heard about SPOT Yrittäyysvalmentamo at an event organized last December 2023. Since then, I have benefited from the various services offered by SPOT ranging from workshops to individual coaching sessions. Through the courses and events organized by SPOT, I have met a lot of people who are also interested in starting their own business in Finland.
With the support of SPOT coach, I registered a sole-entrepreneurship business (2024) through which I offer my services such as author visits to organizations and companies. In addition to talking about my book, I offer speaking engagements at seminars and workshops where I share my experience as an immigrant finding her place in a new society. More information about my book and speaking engagements are found on my LinkedIn page.
Having a registered business makes it easier for clients to pay for my services with an invoice. SPOT offered a huge support in actualising my dreams. My debut novel, ’SoldOut’ was recently launched in Helsinki. With my book I hope to empower African women to fulfil their dreams despite the limitations placed on them by the society. The main themes in the novel are women empowerment, human trafficking, and immigration. The concrete skills I learned SPOT workshops will be instrumental to the success of my business.
Benefits of SPOT
I have benefited immensely from the services of SPOT. As a foreign born entrepreneur, I had many questions regarding how to start my own business in Finland. SPOT provided me with the answers. It was easy to ask any questions related to entreprnuership to experts working with SPOT. The fact that the services including the workshops had low-threshold made participation easy and smooth. I had one-on-one sessions with the entrepreneurship Coach. I also attended workshops such as branding, website creation, as well as participated in a photography session where I learned how to take professional photos for my business.
I gained new knowledge that will support my entrepreneurship journey. Marketing skill is an essential when doing business. The workshops on marketing my services taught me how to present my services to prospective buyers. Through the workshops, I equally learned the importance of personal branding for entrepreneurs.
Additionally, peer support was another benefit I received from SPOT. During the workshops, participants discussed their business ideas and offered support to one another. Participants equally shared the challenges they face as foreign-born entrepreneurs. SPOT created a platform for foreign born entrepreneurs to expand their network as well as learn from each other’s entrepreneurial journey.
SPOT has been an important project for many foreign-born entrepreneurs as well as those considering entreprenshuip in the near future. The project was accessible and offered vital information and services to cater for the needs of the target group. The low threshold services encouraged particpants to take active roles and to know that it is possible to run a successful business in Finalnd.
More projects like SPOT
Like other participants of SPOT, I hope that there would be similar projects. Projects like SPOT are relevant in the future because foreging based entrepreneurs need services that cater for their special needs. They need a project which provides both theoretical and practical information on how to run a successful business in Finland.