Today we’re talking with Linda Enoh about how to start an online business in Africa
Linda is the face behind the YouTube channel Tokende Travel. On her channel, she talks about getting ready to move back to Africa. She also shares resources and tips about how to start and manage an online business.
Linda is a wife and mom of four kids under the age of 10. She lives in Houston, Texas in the U. S. Originally from the Congo. She was born and raised in Morocco. She’s lived in the U. S. for about 20 years. Now with her husband, they are getting ready to move back to Africa. They’re debating between Cote d’Ivoire or Cameroon.
During our chat, Linda shared about her beginning as an online business owner, what opportunities exist in Africa, and what advice she would give to someone who wants to start their own online business in Africa.
Our conversation was edited for length purposes. Click here for the full interview!
How did Linda Get Started in the Online Business World?
My career was in academia. I’m a former college professor. When I got married to my husband in 2012, I left my job and moved to Houston to be with him.
He also got laid off and we’re living like the honeymoon phase with savings and it was like the best life ever, but we were unemployed.
I started looking at YouTube videos and read about Digital lifestyle. I was really into that because I love traveling. I just had a general idea of what business was, but I didn’t see myself as a business owner per se.
Then I came across one video after another, another video. I read the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”, and I was like, how come I didn’t know this information? And I had nothing but time. I got on YouTube and I learned how to create a website from scratch on WordPress.
And I just wanted to talk about travel. So I created my first blog, which was called Tokende back then. It was on travel. I just wanted to talk about my trips and all that. Didn’t know anything about monetization or anything like that.
What Advice Would She Give to Someone Who Wants to Start an Online Business in Africa?
Start your online business now!
Make money now before you move because that’s what I did. Because even if you’re just moving down the street, you have to take days to pack days for the move. Things happen. You won’t be able to be working on the business and start something during this moving period.
If you’re doing an overseas move, it might take three to six months to adjust. So, I would say set up all your systems, find clients, and have a recurring income system before you leave.
That way it’s a smooth transition. And set up a business that is a hundred percent online, nothing that involves inventory or you have to ship stuff or anything. You just need your phone or your laptop and an internet connection.
Think about something you love, something you’re good at, and something people need
Do something that you’re interested in. That is not something you’re going to pick up just because everybody does it.
Look at the things that you’re good at, maybe things that you learn at school, things that you do at your job right now, things that you know, and you’re good at, look at the things that you like.
Things that you’re good at and things that you enjoy doing, you enjoy talking about it. You enjoy helping people in this industry.
And the third thing is something that people will pay you for.
Is there a need for it? And do you see other people sell these services? We’re talking about a service that you can offer, that you can teach to other people based on something that you’re good at, that you know, you don’t have to have a master’s degree in it, a PhD in it, or 10 years of experience.
You just have to know enough to teach the next person who doesn’t know anything about it.
And that you enjoy talking about it. Like you could do it for free. it lights you up, right? You enjoy talking about it and people will pay you for it, and that’s the key. That’s the key to a business that can work.
How Does She Stay Organized as a Mom of 4 to Run her Online Business?
You know, we go through seasons.
My kids are all in school now. But (when) I started my business I didn’t have kids. And then I kind of relaunched my business in 2016 and I already had my two boys. they were toddlers. And then the year after that I got pregnant with my girls. I was in a season where I was relying a lot on their nap time. Thank God. They were in sync.
The boys were at daycare and I was home with the girls and I had those pockets (of time).
It depends on the season you’re in, but use what you have. Now when they are at school, I’m home by myself between, let’s say, 8 a.m. till 3, till 4 p.m. until they come back. I don’t just wake up and be like, what am I going to do today? No, the night before I already planned because it’s very limited time.
But if you’re not organized, you’re gonna fill your day with anything that comes to you.
I know my energy level. I know that my prime time is in the morning. That’s when my brain activity is the highest. So, I do my creative work. I create content. I record videos. All of the planning is done in the morning. I put shopping, doctor’s appointments and client calls in the afternoon because my brain is still active, but it’s not creative. It’s not a time when I can be creative.
Tips to get some concentrated work done
Sometimes when I’m on a deadline, I wake up at 4 am. Go to Starbucks at 4:30. Before the kids get ready for school. And with those two hours of concentrated work at Starbucks, I’m all set for the day. But those are the things that you have to adjust and try.
What Would She Say to Someone Moving to Africa With a Full-time Job Set Up?
It depends on the situation. If you have a job that allows you to work from abroad, I would say keep that job, right? I’m not going to tell you to quit your job just because you want to get out.
There are pros and cons to both having your online business. One of the greatest deterrents and the thing that you have to be prepared for when it comes to having your own online business and being your boss is the income is not always the same.
When you have a job, your salary is exactly the same. You know exactly how much you’re going to make. It’s on the contract. As long as you’re there, you’re going to make the same amount of money. So you can predict a lot of things. With your own business, you can make a lot more or you can make a lot less. There are ways you can kind of predict a little bit, but sometimes that’s just how it is.
The big advantage of having your own online business is that there’s no cap. You can make triple, ten times more. You set your prices.
For the person who wants to leave their nine-to-five, I would say, “Get started with your online business as soon as possible”.
Don’t leave your job until you start making money with your online business. Leverage your salary to invest in your business. Ideally, once you make as much as you do on your 9-5, then you quit.
You don’t have to quit if you don’t have to. If you can still juggle both, why would you quit, right?
What Does She Think About Online Business Opportunities in Africa?
One thing that I’ve always thought about, and, I think that’s why the internet is so great because it’s leveling the field, whether you are in Asia, in Africa, in Europe, if you have online access.
I’m francophone. Because of the language barrier, I feel like we can be a bridge. A lot of times, there’s that wall because everything’s in English.
I can see where the gaps are. I can be the bridge to accelerate and to be at the same level as somebody who’s selling their services here in the U. S. These are the things, shortcuts, this is what you need to know. Instead of learning at a slow pace (e.g. Instagram is dropping certain features). You can be ahead when you learn it directly from somebody’s.
I think anything in the teaching, coaching, or consulting field can be an opportunity.
You don’t have to limit yourself to clients in Cote d’Ivoire. You can have clients all over the world, as long as you have internet again. If you speak English well, you can sell to Americans, to Canadians, to Australians, whoever, right? You can speak French well, you can sell to French, Belgian, anywhere you want.
But you know, as long as you have a good internet connection there’s no limit.
What’s Required to Start an Online Business in Africa?
I think that a lot of people think that a business requires money and requires a lot of knowledge. You already have that knowledge. You don’t have to take any more certifications any more schooling any more anything. You already know what’s in your head right now.
Somebody else needs it and doesn’t have it. Can you teach him? Think about when you were 15 years old and you were tutoring an 11-year-old in math. They were just a little behind you. You didn’t have university-level math.
Whatever it is that you know, how to sew, how to raise your kids, how to write a book, how to drive, how to fix your car for women, turn that into a business. Whatever skill you have, turn it into a business. Package it and make it into business.
What About the Challenges of Online Businesses in Africa?
Power cuts
I have experienced it from working with somebody and it was power cuts, but I have not experienced it when I was in Abidjan. So I guess it depends on where you are, and which neighborhood.
That’s a challenge. But, if you have an online business. It’s okay. It’s not that bad because it’s your business. Even though you have clients, they’re usually understanding. You can tell them and it’s okay. You have that flexibility, you can pre-record content, and you can post it.
Even if you’re doing a live training or something like that and something happens, okay, you can do it tomorrow. Why not? You can, you know, there’s always a little bit of flexibility when you have your own business.
Internet cost
And I would say the power cuts and with that comes internet access and I guess the cost of internet, that’s just the price of the business, right?
You’re going to invest in the business. You’re going to pay. The highest level of internet that you can, that you can get just so that you can run your business. I would say, because it’s an online business, I would say these would be the two major challenges that I anticipate when it comes to an online business.
The Community
The third possible challenge – I don’t think it would be so much of a challenge in Cote d’Ivoire specifically – is the community of people who are aware and knowledgeable about online businesses. I made a point to go to Adicom days. It’s a platform and a community for online African content creators. And it was great because it gave me a sense of How dynamic the whole online business world is in Abidjan.
I think that the community is there. To me, this could have been a challenge. But at the same time, it’s a good challenge because you’re going to meet new people anyway, right?
Can content creators and online business owners make enough money in Africa?
A lot of people would say that they’re not living off of that. So this is a side hustle.
I have a client who’s a certified coach. She’s in Abidjan. She does it full-time. She tells me that some of her clients are individuals. She does the coaching, consulting with companies and things like that. She diversifies. She works with moms and they need her services. She’s making money from it.
So it depends on who you are, what industry you’re in, what kind of coaching you do, and how needed it is.
Knowing your audience to better package your services
There’s also a cultural difference.
There’s this big anti-money culture in Francophone culture. You cannot tell how much money you make and ask people for money. And so there’s a little bit of limitation on how much you can charge.
When I see Francophone coaches, and the price they charge for their packages, I’m like, okay.
It’s based on the audience too. Maybe if you’re selling to francophones, they’re not going to be like “Oh five thousand dollars to work with you three months? Okay. Sure. Let’s do it.” For an American. It’s like “Let’s do it if you can give me the result that I want”.
You adapt to the market you’re in.
If I were to sell my services to a local Ivorian market, I’m not going to charge the same price as I charge here (in the US). There’s no way. It’s a different market. It’s a different price point. I want to find a way to package something specific for the local market. It might even be in-person events More than online. I think that this would work pretty well.
You adapt to the market. Absolutely.
About what social media platform to use for your online business in Africa
There are two categories of platforms. There’s the long-term format and the short-term format. The long-term format is content that is going to live on the platform for more than a week. you have YouTube, you have podcasts, and you have blogs. The short-term format is TikTok, Instagram, Facebook also, and LinkedIn to one extent.
Pick one of both. Pick a long form and pick a short form. Long-form is your long-term strategy. It might not pick up right away. Your YouTube channel takes time to get thousands of views.
But in the meantime, you can still play around on TikTok or play around on Instagram. Pick one. You don’t have to be everywhere.
And it’s the same audience, but it’s a different frame of mind. When I go on YouTube, I’m not the same person when I go on Instagram.
When I go on Instagram, I go there to get entertained. I don’t get any kind of business advice from Instagram. If I want advice from you and I find you on Instagram, I’m going to watch your videos on YouTube.
In general, that’s how humans are. You need more consistency before you buy from somebody because everybody can drop content left and right. A 10-second reel doesn’t tell me about your knowledge. And share more of it on a long-form platform, a blog post podcast YouTube video. That’s where I know that “Oh, you’re legit”. I can follow you and I can buy from you
About how online businesses use WhatsApp in Africa
That’s something that I had to learn and I’m still learning (how to use WhatsApp for online businesses in Africa).
For example, there was a training that I was trying to buy. I don’t know if you’re familiar with Investir en Afrique from Philip Simo. So he’s an entrepreneur and he lives in Abidjan. There was a training that he was doing and there was a contact number on his YouTube video.
I texted the number because I was curious about the program. I spoke to his person and he’s like, yeah, this is the link to this, the program and everything. I ask how do I pay?
And he’s like, Western Union, Orange Money, all the options. All the local options, sending to a name (that was not Philipe Simo).
I’m like, I’m not going to send a Western Union to somebody’s name, which is not Philippe Simo. Even though it is a legit number. No, give me a website, or a link. So they set it up.
But again, it’s a different system.
I would have to adjust to it. When I’m there. I’m gonna have to realize that if I want people to buy from me. I have to give them those payment options adapted to the local market.
