Extraordinary Nigerian Woman...Atiti Sosimi the Mumpreneur!

Ever heard of "The Big Secret Company"?

They are the producers of two main resources: The Big Secret - a short story and "Shh-or-tell it”; a family, fun and educational board game . Both media deliver a playful learning approach to developing decision-making skills and were designed for students at school, youth groups and teams at work and families at family events.

They offer participants a safe and non-judgmental space to test and practice existing decision-making skills and knowledge with emphasis on dealing with dilemmas that pose moral, ethical, social and environmental challenges.

The brain behind these fantastic innovation is 40 something year old Atiti Sosimi; fondly called A.t.i. or Ah-tt by her freinds.

She refers to herself as a 'Mumpreneur', i.e. A mum plus an entrepreneur. Her career has taken her through several roles within the education sector as educator/teacher/trainer/lecturer and student. She worked as a part time University lecturer for the last 5 years and began to study part time for a Masters in Learning and teaching for higher education with emphasis on applying learning technologies hence the application by producing her own game/learning aid on decision making skills.

The 'Mumpreneur' herself ; Atiti Sosimi

Hear her ... "My knowledge, skills and experience cascade into several different industries and sectors for instance I am a trained music manager, published author, inspirational speaker, business and personal mentor, board game inventor, animation creator and a creative entrepreneur".

Wow!... And so she has packaged all these skills and expresses them in the following ways as;

• Founder/CEO of The Big Secret Company; a social enterprise focusing on learning and practising decision making skills through gameplay.
• Designer/Brand Owner of Eyato LONDON the high end couture handmade in London label for women. www.eyato.com
• Tea Party Hostess; a monthly networking event called ‘Tea with Atiti’ www.teawithatiti.com

She says.... "when I was much much younger, I wanted to be my own boss, be brilliant and successful, be very rich and have a red sports car! Initially an MG until the day I saw a Ferrari. To an extent I would say I have achieved several aspects of this dream I had as a child, others have become less important as they require a degree of selfishness which I’m not prepared to exercise. Some things become less important as one matures. I got to a point growing up where all I wanted to do was express myself in a way that makes a positive impact of everyone around me. What I do highlights the value of combining the informal learning and formal learning where life and everyone around you is your parent, teacher, keeper and friend!"

A creation from her Eyato collection...
Handmade in London!

Her entrepreneurial wisdom nugget for the rest of us....
"In 2006 I took up business premises and it was a crucial part of the plan to grow my business, however I was unprepared for the extent of responsibility that came with it and as attractive as it seemed the financial demands were almost crippling and I found myself falling into hard times, accruing debts and things I’d never had before. I was anxious about my business reputation and very concerned about whether I would ever be able to get on top of things again. By nature I’m not a quitter so I knew I needed to re-evaluate my position.

One of the first things I realised I needed to do was re-negotiate everything. I set about presenting my position with honesty and offering payment plans which I felt were realistic to my situation. For the majority of creditors/stakeholders they were obliging and I was able to recover, breathe and focus on bringing in business instead of tying myself up in knots about debt. The less I worried the easier it was for me to focus on business and this is how I operate now. I evaluate, plan, present and negotiate my way through challenges."

She also actively participates as a runner in the UK 10k’s ½ marathons; a marathon to fundraise. We celebrate you maam... well done and please keep running; with the flag flying high!