The HR Bootcamp Story (Part 1)

by | Nov 16, 2023 | career | 0 comments

The year was 2009, sometime around October. I had quit my job in April and had concluded on a few freelance gigs.

I wasn’t sure what next career wise, but I remember I was praying a lot. Praying for clarity of purpose. I do that sometimes when I feel stuck.

I remembered Lola was on annual leave and so I decided to call her. As I didn’t have a job at the time, it wasn’t long before the conversation jumped to what I could do to earn some money before the year ran out.

We had both been in HR Consulting for a few years. I also had some experience in HR management.

We brainstormed. First things first, who could be serve? We were considered young in an industry of HR veterans, so who would listen to us? We decided we would focus on up and coming HR professionals. We would run some form of workshop that helped them jumpstart their HR careers.

We brainstormed again about the title of the programme. We settled for ‘HR Bootcamp Seminar.’

We worked on the outline together. We reviewed it. I added some topics to it and began to think about speakers. As we didn’t have much time to plan, the easiest place to start was former colleagues and friends. So, I called Omorinsola Ashiru, Emeka Dibia, Demola Ojo, Dr. Nduka Okoisor and of course there was Lola Esan and I.

I scouted around for venues close to my house. I found a small hotel that had a small hall that could seat 100 people.

It appeared we had it all figured out. It seemed like we were ready to roll. We had a seminar title, topics to be covered, speakers and a venue. What next? The price yes. It would be NGN5,000. A fee people could spend without thinking too much about it.

Then, Lola had to go back to work. Annual leave was over and her job needed her attention. Urgh! Now what?

I had to decide whether to continue with the plan or let it be.

Should I continue alone?

This was it. Make or break. Planning versus execution. Dream versus action.

By now I was caught up in the process so without thinking too much, I decided to focus on doing the work that needed to be done.

The seminar needed a flyer. I called Sylvester Aigbogun, another former colleague. He was a graphics designer. I sent him the seminar details. The flyer would need contact details so I purchased an extra mobile phone line and shared with him. As contact persons, I put 2 names Ekene and Chinelo. Truth is, it was really just me, the extra names on my birth certificate finally came in handy.

In a few days, the first draft of the flyer was ready. I had registered a business name ‘Kendor Consulting’ in January of the same year 2009. I would use the company name to promote the programme. The top of the flyer would read ‘Kendor Consulting Presents’ followed by a big title ‘HR Bootcamp Seminar.’

Everything was looking good. I had no idea this was the easy bit.

Reality had dawned on me. People needed to know about the seminar and it wasn’t clear to me how. So, I thought I would begin by sending emails of the flyer to people on my mailing list and any other mailing list I belonged to. I scavenged my emails for mailing lists. I opened every email ever sent to me with other people in copy. I gathered the emails in a word document. Then I asked Sylvester to print 500 copies of the flyer. I would give some to the newspaper vendor across the street and distribute some to nearby eateries.

So, I composed an email introducing the seminar. I attached the flyer. I was very pleased with the design, specially made by my good friend Sylvester. Looking back, I am not sure how or why such a flyer made it for a seminar promotion on HR. Its shades of army green, bold yellow title and big, bad, combat boots. I guess everything in life evolves, even flyers.

I contacted Tunde Aguda. I had met him a few years earlier when needed a website for a business idea. He had designed the Kendor Consulting website and so I asked him to create a landing page for the seminar. I also created a registration form to be downloaded and filled by intending attendees. I forwarded him the HR Bootcamp Seminar details via email. By the next day, the landing page was ready. We were good to go.

I realised the moment of truth had come. I needed to send the email. I needed to press the send button and yet I couldn’t. Various thoughts ran through my mind. This was indeed the point of no return. If I pressed send, everyone would know I was trying to organise a seminar. Wouldn’t it be embarrassing if no one responded? Who would be interested in an HR Bootcamp Seminar? Who would pay NGN5,000? Who knows Kendor Consulting? And who is Adora Ikwuemesi? What if no one signed up? Self-doubt set in. Anxiety tussled. Hesitancy and diffidence took over.

Five minutes had passed and I was still sitting on my bed, waiting by my laptop, staring at the email with my finger moving back and forth the ‘send’ button. 5 minutes seemed like 5 hours. I began to dialogue with myself.

‘What do I really have to lose?’
‘What is the worst that can happen?’
‘So, everyone will ignore me and no one would sign up, and then what?’

And so I did it. I pressed send and slammed my laptop shut with a big bang and ran out of my room. I ran…I don’t understand why I did that, but I think I was running away from my fears. Fear of rejection.

When I gathered the courage to come back to my room a few hours later, I opened my laptop. I was right about one thing though. The email had been sent and as envisaged, nothing had happened. No one noticed. No one replied. No sound. Crickets.

Continue to Part 2 Here

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