Konnected Minds Podcast

From childhood neglect and carrying water on her head at 18 to building a business empire where family decisions now pass through her first, and why the brutal truth about entrepreneurial success is that the drive to be seen, to be heard, and to never go back to those days of selling gobe by the roadside and living with people who never listened to your problems creates the kind of relentless hunger that turns restriction into freedom, the young girl who wanted to be a journalist until a conversation in SHS about an uncle in construction making a lot of money made her realize she likes money because money equals freedom, the childhood of growing up with different people getting different types of treatment and being scared of a mother so hard that you couldn't go to her with problems, the father who was soft but you couldn't reach because of the mother's presence, the siblings she didn't grow up with so there was no one to talk to, the 14 year old who went to SHS and never went back home, who stayed with her big sister who was mostly not there giving her freedom to be alone and do things on her own, the level headed young woman who didn't misbehave despite having no attention from parents or the people she stayed with, the prayers for attention that never came so she decided if they're not giving it to me I want to be alone, the realization that parents don't know her well which is why her mom was against her coming to Accra thinking she would engage in prostitution because that's the perception about Accra, the desire for attention that translated into wanting to become financially successful so people would finally pay attention to her needs, the discovery that she can speak to people, teach, set up the camera and talk about stuff because she wants to be seen and heard and people don't even have what's in her head, the tough journey of working very early in life selling gobe and food by the roadside, carrying water on her head from 18 something straight to Risk Cause back and forth knowing how it feels and wanting to be someone who doesn't have to remember those times again, the bad side of being alone since 14 which makes her keep to herself and struggle with networking because she's always at home working not able to go out and meet people, the good side that made her tough and pushed her to want freedom so much she was tired of being with people, the pride in getting here because no one got her there except her and God, the overspending that makes friends say live there she has been through a lot, the transformation from the girl no one listened to into the woman whose opinion family now seeks before making any decision, and why the ultimate truth is this: not being heard as a child, never having attention from parents, being too scared of your mother to share problems, experiencing different types of mistreatment from people you stayed with, all of that neglect and restriction doesn't break everyone, it creates some people who say I want my freedom, I want to be seen, I want to be heard, and when they discover business lets them teach and speak and show people what's in their head, when making money gives them the respect that makes family finally call them for decisions, when financial success means never carrying water on your head again or selling by the roadside, they push through with relentless hunger because the alternative is going back to those days of being invisible, and if they become parents they'll show their kids how to love themselves, pay attention to them, make them friends not make them afraid, because they know what happens when a child has no one to talk to and has to keep everything inside.

In this raw episode of Konnected Minds, host Derrick Abaitey sits down with Charity Boateng, an entrepreneur who dismantles the dangerous "money doesn't matter" mentality by revealing the exact moment when she realized at 14 years old that if parents and the people she stayed with weren't going to give her the attention she prayed for she wanted to be alone, when going to SHS and never going back home meant living with her big sister who was mostly not there giving her freedom to do things on her own, when family decisions that once happened without her now pass through her first because financial success finally gave her the voice and respect she never had growing up scared of a mother so hard you couldn't share your problems.

Guest: Charity Boateng

Host: Derrick Abaitey

From AC water for bathing to building an international feminine hygiene empire, and why the brutal truth about business success is that you can't be motivated by money alone because when the orders stop coming in the third month and you're broke living off illegal electricity connections, only passion for solving a real problem will keep you going, the childhood of being bullied, not being heard, not being listened to, nobody sitting you down to understand your problems, growing up in an African home where parents don't teach feminine hygiene because they don't even know it themselves, the mother who didn't want her daughter working in shops because she feared people would laugh at her, wanting the suit and tie 9 to 5 government job instead of the entrepreneurial path that actually creates freedom, the university graduate searching for jobs after national service who would have been miserable five, six, seven years later still looking for employment, the moment after leaving her job when she stayed with friends and they were so broke they couldn't afford to fill their water tanks so they collected water drops from the AC using a small barrel just to bathe, the first three weeks selling 500 products and then nothing, the third month when orders stopped coming but instead of quitting she sat down and asked how can I do this better, the decision to reach out to influencer Dorsey and pay 2,500 cedis for promotional advice when she didn't even have a business name yet, the 24 hours after Dorsey's promotion that brought 25,000 cedis in sales, the bold move of taking that same money and paying Dorsey for one full month, then another month, then another because the vision wasn't just a business that wakes up and sells but an international brand that makes waves, the FDA approval battles blocking products that could help thousands of women because regulations say even pharmacies with knowledge about certain products aren't allowed to sell them, the doctors in hospitals who recommend patients to her business because they know the products work, the international expansion shipping to US, Canada, UK, Germany and traveling to Nigeria to grow the business there, the thousands of recommendations that proved success comes when your products are in the minds and on the lips of people not from posting today and expecting to blow tomorrow, and why the ultimate truth is this: if you're just motivated by money you'll move from one business to another the moment sales drop, but if you have passion for solving a real problem like feminine hygiene education that African homes don't teach, if you're willing to put all your money back into the business when others would take it out, if you understand that creating freedom for women and passing on knowledge that helps them see results is fulfilling a purpose bigger than profit, if your parents are finally proud even though they once wanted you in a suit working 9 to 5 instead of building an empire, then you're not just running a business, you're changing lives and proving that the uncomfortable path of entrepreneurship beats the misery of five years searching for jobs that never come.

In this raw episode of Konnected Minds, host Derrick Abaitey sits down with Charity Boateng, the founder of an international feminine hygiene brand who dismantles the dangerous "start a business for quick money" mentality that makes people quit after three months of slow sales, revealing the exact moment when she was so broke after leaving her job that she stayed with friends who had illegal electricity connections and they collected AC water drops in a small barrel just to bathe, when sales stopped coming in the third month but instead of giving up she invested 2,500 cedis in influencer Dorsey and made 25,000 cedis in 24 hours, when doctors started recommending patients to her business because the products actually work and solve real problems African homes don't teach.

Guest: Charity Boateng

Host: Derrick Abaitey

From three years of job rejections to building a distribution business on credit and integrity, and why the brutal truth about Ghana's job market is that it's a cartel where 90% of positions are filled internally before they're even posted, the young entrepreneur who grew up without a father but with a grandmother and auntie paying school fees while his shopkeeper mom provided breakfast money and pocket change, the university student who couldn't afford hostel accommodation so he slept in a chapel dormitory for three years sharing a room with three people just to complete his degree in business administration, the vacation visits to his grandmother's sister who was a distributor for three big FMCG companies in Ghana where he learned the business of moving consumer goods before she died in 2016, the realization that white collar jobs don't pay in Ghana when the job search turned into rejection after rejection and calls to aunties asking for help securing employment turned into "we'll get back to you" stories that never materialized, the inspiration from Mr. Simpi, the big money man he was named after who had his own business because every Simpi in Ghana didn't wait for someone else to make things happen for them, the decision to pull his own weight and work his own things out instead of waiting for family connections or government jobs that never come, the family business background that taught him how to brand products, how to sell products, how to identify suppliers and look for people to buy, the distribution knowledge gained from watching his grandmother's sister move goods worth hundreds of thousands of cedis proving that money in Ghana is in trade not in white collar office jobs, and why the ultimate truth is this: growing up in a family where people tried to work their own things out, where you're not provided with everything but you're expected to pull your own weight, where sleeping in a chapel dormitory for three years because hostel fees weren't available teaches you resilience, where watching market women buy goods worth 100,000 cedis and pay cash while university graduates sit home waiting for 800 cedi monthly salaries proves the system isn't giving way for the average youth to think beyond employment, creates the kind of young person who says "I actually need to work my own things" and builds a distribution business solving problems in Koforidua and Eastern Region because the Simpi name means you don't wait for someone, you create your own path.

In this raw episode of Konnected Minds, host Derrick Abaitey sits down with Kinsley Opoku Simpi, a young entrepreneur who dismantles the dangerous "wait for family connections to get you a job" mentality that keeps graduates stuck in three year job searches, revealing the exact moment when sleeping in a chapel dormatory for three years sharing a room with three people because hostel accommodation wasn't available taught him that comfort doesn't build character, when vacation visits to his grandmother's sister who distributed FMCG products for three big companies showed him that money is in trade not in white collar jobs, when calls to aunties asking for help securing employment turned into "we'll get back to you" promises that forced him to realize he needed to work his own things out just like every other Simpi in Ghana who built their own businesses instead of waiting for someone else.

Guest: Kinsley Opoku Simpi

Host: Derrick Abaitey

From sanitation business opportunities to distribution logistics to the brutal truth about why coming down your ego and showing up every day at every customer's shop is the only way to build a business that lasts, the Koforidua sanitation problem where they have nowhere to dump refuse because the dump site is full creating an opportunity for someone to buy a tricycle, visit 100 houses every morning collecting refuse at five cedis per house making real money that nobody wants to touch because they want white collar office jobs, the logistics challenge of using Mr. Frempong's pickup truck that gets stopped at police barriers because it's loaded beyond the legal limit proving that transportation is the bottleneck when demand is higher than supply capacity, the warehouse expansion problem because the business is growing so fast that storage space is running out, the competitors who don't know where to get the product but try to be smart and steal customers anyway, the loyal customers like the woman and Antinana who called to say "some people brought some of your brand but we told them you are here so we buy from them" proving that relationships and showing up every day builds loyalty that competitors can't break, the Christmas move of buying goods and supplying them to all 180 customers including people he had never seen before because some customers he only met for the first time when he delivered the Christmas goods to Akyiatia, the daily routine of visiting every customer in Koforidua every single day because doing business with your presence and doing business with your absence are two completely different things, the Akyiatia trip where customers refused to give money to his sales person saying "if he has traveled he would be back, when he comes we will pay" proving that being present is the only way to collect payments in a market where money issues are common, the grandmother's advice to "come down your ego and money will look for you" like the driver playing loud music who gets angry when a passenger asks him to lower it and the passenger gets down losing the driver money in that moment, the best advice from Mr. Frempong to "just be truthful, don't spoil your reputation because that's why I stood for you from the start, that's why they brought the goods, so don't disappoint me," the motivation over discipline approach because gathering 180 customers in one and a half years when it's difficult for a customer to change their supplier means doing something exceptional like going to their shops to help them sell and fostering good relationships, the decision to leave friends behind and only keep one childhood friend Debenezer because if you call him it must be about things that will make him someone in the future, legit business investment opportunities, not here or there nonsense, and why the ultimate truth is this: there are so many problems in Ghana people can solve whether it's sanitation in Koforidua or distribution of essential goods, money is in Ghana but they don't like the dirty work, they want to be in offices earning 800 a month when that sanitation business visiting 100 houses a day at five cedis per house is actually a lot of money, but you must be present every day, visit your customers, help them sell, build relationships, and understand that being there and not being there is two different things.

In this raw episode of Konnected Minds, host Derrick Abaitey sits down with a young entrepreneur who dismantles the dangerous "I need a white collar office job to make money" mentality that keeps graduates stuck waiting for 800 cedi monthly salaries, revealing the exact moment when loyal customers in Antinana called to say competitors brought his brand but they refused to buy because "you are here so we buy from you," when visiting every customer in Koforidua every single day built relationships so strong that customers in Akyiatia refused to pay his sales person saying "when he comes we will pay" because presence is everything in a market where money issues are common, when buying goods and supplying them to all 180 customers at Christmas including people he had never seen before proved that generosity and relationship building create loyalty competitors cannot break.

Host: Derrick Abaitey

From three years of job rejections to building a distribution business on credit and integrity, and why the brutal truth about Ghana's job market is that it's a cartel where 90% of positions are filled internally before they're even posted, the assistant brand manager interview at Verbe Company in 2023 where he qualified for the second stage but the hiring manager resigned and five months later they reposted the job and rejected him again proving the system isn't fair to youth looking for their financial breakthrough, the sales manager interview where he answered all the questions but the manager refused to answer two simple questions about a new brand saying "I'll only answer when you're part of us" which triggered the realization that "I need to start doing something different myself because how I think is different from how they are thinking," the moment he got rejected for a manager position and then rejected again for a sales executive role at the same company even though he had the qualifications and they weren't asking for experience, the reality that white collar jobs don't pay in Ghana and money is in trade because you can go to the market and see market women who can buy goods worth 100,000 cedis and pay cash with no higher education while graduates sit home waiting for government jobs that never come, the decision to accept 1,000 cedis salary from a man just to get working experience and build a brand from scratch moving from market to market trying to convince customers to buy when it's difficult for a customer to change suppliers because of existing relationships, the woman at Abowa who said "this woman will help me achieve my target" after he kept showing up at her shop every single day until she finally bought five packs and told him "go here, go here, go here, tell them Abowa said she'll come" which opened doors to 10 new customers in one day, the liquidity issues between his boss and the company that cut supply and left him home for two months until his friend Debenezer said "Kinsley, go for it" standing at the roadside, the call to the money manager saying "I want to handle the distribution with my boss's consent but I don't have money to buy the goods, if you give me a week I will sell and bring you the money," the integrity move of dividing profits with his boss and paying the company on time which built trust so they increased credit from one week to two weeks, the customer Mr. Patrick at Suapre Point who said "if you want to start something for yourself I have a warehouse, bring your goods in," and why the ultimate truth is this: the system in Ghana is not giving way for the average youth to think beyond white collar jobs, the unemployment rate is higher than jobs available, recruitment is like a cartel where they already have someone they want to pick and use interviews as formality, jobs posted online are 90% for internal recruitment and they only go outside when they want top manager positions like marketing manager or director, but if you're willing to build relationships, show up every day, sell on credit, pay back on time, and operate with integrity even when liquidity is tight, you can turn zero capital into a distribution business that grows because customers need the product and suppliers trust you to deliver.

In this raw episode of Konnected Minds, host Derrick Abaitey sits down with a young entrepreneur who dismantles the dangerous "wait for a white collar job to save you" mentality that keeps graduates stuck in three year job searches, revealing the exact moment when getting rejected for an assistant brand manager position at Verbe Company after qualifying for the second stage, then seeing them repost the job five months later and reject him again, then getting rejected for a sales manager role and rejected again for a sales executive position at the same company proved the system is a cartel where HR departments are friends with recruitment agencies and 90% of jobs are filled internally before they're posted.

Host: Derrick Abaitey