Introducing Nike Anani, Award-Winning Family Business Strategist
Nike Anani
Meet Nike Anani. Nike is an entrepreneur and a Consultant. She was rated as a top-100 Family Business Consultant globally. She helps her clients bridge the gap between the senior and younger generations. As a result, they communicate, collaborate and collectively gain clarity, to increase profit and productivity in their family businesses.
Nike works privately with select business families. Nike’s clients choose to engage her, not only because of her extensive professional training, but also because of her practical extensive experience (over a decade) as both a business founder and a NextGen. This allows her to uniquely empathise with both generations and act as a connector.
Nike is passionate about diversity, and celebrates the uniqueness in every individual, family and business. As such her approach is highly customised for each client and not cookie-cutter.
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“I am a second-generation family business owner and Family Business Consultant based in Lagos, Nigeria. I help clients bridge the gap between the senior and younger generations. As a result, they communicate, collaborate and collectively gain clarity, to increase profit and productivity in their family businesses. With over a decade of family business expertise in Nigeria, I help owners lead their family organisations to long- term impact and legacy. My inside experience as a second generation family business owner birthed a passion to help other families in building legacy enterprises that would outlive them. In my prior life, I was an accountant working in the city of London at Deloitte. ”
NikeAnani.com
What inspired you to set up your own consultancy?
I started my career in Corporate Tax International in Deloitte, and loved the learning environment, culture and my colleagues but found the work quite dull. I decided to take 3 months off to discover my passion and decided to come to Nigeria to spend some time shadowing my father to get a better understanding of the family businesses and investments. What started as a 3-month informal journey soon became my life passion. I loved working in the family business and set up the family office.
It was a very lonely journey as a family business owner: there were no advisors in Nigeria to help us navigate the issues we faced. I decided to join the Family Firm Institute and get trained up with a Family Business and Family Wealth Advisory qualification to help my family in building a legacy enterprise. On that journey it became clear to me that there was a systemic issue in the wider African family business landscape, where only 2% of businesses would outlive the founder; a huge loss as often these businesses were a bedrock in their communities, critical to the economy and a source of financial security for their families.
I decided to use my experiences, professional qualifications and passion for legacy businesses to help other families transition their businesses successfully to the next generation and leave a lasting legacy
Who are your typical clients and how do you help them?
My typical clients are family business owners that are in first generation and looking to transition to the second. The older generation wants the next generation to work in the family business so that they can groom them to take over. However, they often face a generational divide that causes disconnection, distance and dysfunction: For example they may see a gap in business and communication style that leaves both parties feeling frustrated and unheard and ultimately feeling consistently as they are not seeing eye to eye.
I help them to bridge the communication gap between generations. I help the older gen open up to new possibilities for future growth and to communicate clearly why things have been done the way they have. I transform the older owner from a boss into a mentor that is passing their experience and expertise onto the next generation and to be open to actively listening to the potential improvements.
Equally I help the next generation learn to respect and honour the way things have been done and to gain the high value expertise from the previous generation. I help the next generation to communicate new ideas in a way that gets heard, and develop their leadership skills to they can take the helm of the business and grow it to the next level, continuing on the family legacy.
You lived in London for many years working at one of the Big Four, how have you married your professional and cultural experience across the continents?
Our current business world is facing a lot of disruption, in respect to the 21st century industrial revolution which has accelerated digital changes. The implications of this is that business is becoming increasingly “borderless”. The businesses that would be the most successful are those that are able to navigate the tension between global and local: for example for my clients I encourage them to expand their businesses beyond Africa to the rest of the world, and equally to diversify their wealth to include investments from a range of geographies.
My multi-cultural experience has been a great strength in my work, as I am able to assist my clients in pursuing these possibilities. I am able to build partnerships both within the continent and outside the continent and help connect them to relevant players globally to achieve their goals.
Similarly my professional experience has been a great asset. I understand how professionals think and their goals. A lot of them fail to win the trust of family business owners. I am able to act as a connector between the family business owners and the professionals, able to “translate” their respective languages so they are better understood.
Nike Anani
How have you adapted your business model in response to Covid-19 and lockdown?
I am a digital native, and luckily pre-COVID-19 my consulting business was largely virtual. At the start of the pandemic, I spotted an opportunity to do things a little differently. I knew that customers’ preferences would change and that podcasts would do well. So I started my podcast, “The Connected Generation” in April 2020, which focuses on helping NextGens in family enterprises to connect better with the older gen so that they can build legacy enterprises. As a result, my brand awareness globally increased, as well as enquiries from around the world increased.
Thanks to technology, activities do not need to stop. I am able to carry on networking online using LinkedIn and through electronic introductions. Zoom has been wonderful and has enabled me to scale and increase my visibility particularly globally. I have done lots of virtual speaking events at digital conferences, webinars, podcasts and social media – Instagram, Facebook and Clubhouse. Momentum has carried on building!
What were the main steps to setting up?
With respect to the podcast, I did market research on my ideal clients’ preferences on the topics and types of guests they would be interested in listening to. I did research on the platforms that would be necessary to start the podcast by joining Facebook groups for podcast hosts. Lastly I needed to create awareness so that the market would know this podcast existed, and that I did through social media and getting guests to share the word in their networks.
What are your most valuable business resources?
Connections are definitely my most valuable resource. My father is one of my greatest mentors and always taught me that people will be critical to my success. As a result, I am very intentional about meeting new people and nurturing existing relationships with connections. I have friends all over the world, of different ages and different backgrounds and this has greatly enriched my personal life and my business.
Have you faced any challenges as a woman in business? If so, how have you dealt with them?
The greatest challenge I face is the many hats I wear as a wife, mum, business owner and consultant. Sometimes the demands of the many roles can be overwhelming. I have dealt with this by relying on external support. My husband is super supportive, a huge source of emotional, physical and logistical support when it comes to running the household and raising our boys. I’ve never been made to feel like I am alone when it comes to juggle the balls. Also, we have nannies, and they are so critical as they help with our sons.
What do you wish you had known before you started?
I wish I had known how important it was to have boundaries in my life. Boundaries require clarity on our values and vision, and seek to enforce these values and vision in our lives. I also wish I had known how important it is to be self-compassionate.
What are your 5 go-to tips for running your business?
Manage your mindset – it’s the most important asset you have. Seek to have an abundance mindset and a learner’s mindset. You will fail, but that does not make you a failure. Seek to see the positive in all situations.
Be tenacious – being a business owner can be blood, sweat and tears and often requires consistency.
Be clear on your strategy. Spend time seeking clarity on what your strategy should be before taking action. When driving a car and seeking to get to a destination, direction is more important than speed.
When it comes to execution, be obsessive with measuring outcomes, so that you know what is working and what is not. In saying that there are many important things that cannot be measured: Activity is not the same as impact.
Create accountability structures either through peers or a mentor to ensure you are on-track.
Nike Anani
How would you describe your relationship with money and personal finance?
I am a bit risk-averse so I always seek to have more than enough, and to know that I have money put away towards my future, through savings, investments and insurance etc. So I am a bit of a planner. That being said, I do think it’s important to enjoy money through little joys: I love dressing up, love great food and love travelling (pre-COVID!), the spa and getting my nails done. That being said I like to know that we have financial security.
How do you define wealth?
Possibility – so not necessarily just an abundance of money, but also of health, time, energy and relationships, to enable us to achieve our goals.
What is the best financial decision you have ever made?
The best decision I made was to purchase a property in London when I was fresh out of university. I was privileged to have financial support from my parents. 12 years later, the value of the property has gone up by almost 100% and I have a physical home should I wish to relocate.
What did you learn about finance and money when you were growing up?
My parents gave me pocket money from a young age, and that money was to be used as I pleased. I remember I would choose to go shopping and spend it on jewellery from Claire’s accessories. I became financially independent as soon as I graduated from university, and had to learn to manage my money, to put money away for savings, to address my mortgage etc.
Who manages the finances in your household?
My husband manages our investments whilst I manage our savings and daily finances, which works out quite well as I am more risk-averse than him!
Which area of finance do you wish you knew more about?
I wish I knew more about investing in alternatives like wine, art and antiques!
What’s your guilty pleasure purchase?
I recently invested in microblading for my eye-brows! I do feel guilty but also overjoyed knowing I don’t have to worry about ugly brows for 18 months!
What’s your money secret/tip?
As soon as I receive any inflows, I take out 10% of the inflow and transfer it into a savings account that I have no online access to nor a Debit/Card for.
What does a typical ‘day in the life’ look like for you?
My day starts at 5am when I wake up. I usually have my quiet time where I am reflective, listen to worship music or pray. My faith is key to me. Thereafter I go for a 30 minute run around my estate. I call it my sanity run! Then it’s time to get the kids ready for school, shower, eat breakfast and the rest. They start virtual school at 8:30am.
My working day typically starts at 9am, and usually I have Zoom meetings all day. These range from board meetings, consulting sessions, networking meetings or speaking engagements. This goes on till 5pm latest. I then check the kids’ work and go over homework.
Thereafter it’s dinner with my husband watching Netflix or Amazon Prime till bedtime around 9pm!
Who is your role model?
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – she is unapologetically her and is proud of her African heritage. She is a stickler for excellence and a huge source of inspiration.
Speaking of your own family dynamics, how do you balance motherhood and your career?
My husband is super supportive, a huge source of emotional, physical and logistical support when it comes to running the household and raising our boys. I’ve never been made to feel like I am alone when it comes to juggling the balls. Also, we have nannies, and they are so critical as they help with our sons getting them ready, making their meals, and making sure they sit in their virtual classes.
What’s next for you?
I’m looking to hire a Business Manager of my consulting business so that I can deepen my capacity to serve my clients.
Top 5 Instagram accounts to follow?
Recommended READING ?
I’m currently reading Good Vibes, Good Life by Vex King. It’s excellent – it’s on how self-love is key to unlocking your greatness.