Everything Digital Tech and More

Let’s call today’s subject Queen.

Profile
Gender: Female
Country of Residence: Canada
Profession: Product Manager

The first question I always ask is why did you leave your country?
The one thing that I can sort of say is, the Hunger for some kind of exposure.It was a desire I had right from my undergrad days. I always wanted to do my masters degree abroad and I remember going to one of these international school/educational fairs in Lagos and this was after my NYSC. I went so I could just find out details about getting the masters and then I completely forgot about it. I mean at that point I realised I needed to get real, it wasn’t like I had the money to pay for any international degree.

So I got my first job in an investment management firm and as God will have it, it was in that work experience I got exposed to a lot of tech innovation from a fintech investment perspective.I saw how much exposure people from advanced economies like the US, UK etc had; people who schooled or worked there. They just had the level of exposure and expertise that they brought to those conversations in the office that I told myself “I really want to be like that.”

A friend that knew I was looking at international schools sent me a link to Carleton University for a technology innovation management masters program. I applied and it was the easiest application and the shortest admission process time. I resigned from work and left Nigeria.

How did you fund it?
I have a weakness, I am not a very good planner. When I got the admission letter, I saw it was a year program and I just concluded without finding out how many terms it would really take. In my mind, I would only do two terms in a year.

When I got here, I quickly realised that the shortest time I could actually do my program was four terms so I needed more money for at least two more terms than I planned for. I just prayed and decided not to worry. I remember being in a conversation at the time with a guy who actually had to withdraw for a while from the program because he couldn’t afford the next term’s fees; I got home and I was just scared. I remember after praying, I got a scripture that spoke to that fear and that really changed it for me honestly.

This is how I got the balance; while I was in school I decided to volunteer with my program for an administrative-like role so I could keep abreast of my technical skills as I searched for paid employment. I spoke to my program director and coincidentally that was the first time they actually wanted to employ students for a research study he was running. The plan was to volunteer but another immigrant (a guy from Jamaica) and I instead got paid employment; an initial contract for 6 months to begin with.

It was just miraculous because I could survive every day and also save from that job.I didn’t have to do any other kind of work.

I was saving money and at one point in time after the first winter term I decided I was going to skip the summer term and get another job so I could earn and save up more for my tuition because in Canada during the summer if you are not schooling you can work more than 20 hours. But then, my director just called me and was like “Oh you know what? There is this government-funded research I want you to be part of and there’s a related course that I’m actually going to teach in summer and I want you to take that course in summer”. I told him I didn’t plan to take summer courses because I’m trying to save up for my school fees balance. He told me not to worry but to sign up for the course. Somehow he was able to move things around and get me funding for that summer term from an entrepreneurship funding program for start-ups. With that job and tuition assistance, I paid for summer, fall, and the second winter term; which was my last term.

At some point, I was short by $300 to complete my tuition with the deadline very close by but again miraculously a couple that were friends of mine gave me the money to pay off.You can call me a miracle magnet! HahaWhen we say your lines are falling onto you pleasant places, now I have life experiences of what that means.

Indeed, so many miracles on your journey. You have gone to school, you’ve had a job that paid your fees so no debt coming out of school, what then happened next?
I was still working on a contract with that program. Interestingly the contract was getting renewed every three months which caused a bit of anxiety because, after every two to three months, I’d wonder if my contract will be renewed. But I worked there for almost 10 months th after school.I finished the winter of 2016 and I was still there but then I decided I needed to start looking for a job because I wanted to step into private for-profit sector work.

During my job search, I realised a lot of the job deliverables I had done in previous work experience were partly product management. So I wrote out my CV, highlighting my non-official product management experience and I got an opportunity to interview for a junior product manager position. It was a good first interview with the hiring manager and he gave me an offer only a few days after the interview.

And the offer came in February 2017. At that time the program I was working with had already renewed my contract in January to the end of April but I decided to resign and let them open up the position for another international student to take the job.I went on to resume the role as a junior product manager. The salary was again just okay. I had to look at the bigger picture, to be honest. Another reason I had to resign from that program from the university was I needed to start accumulating time for my permanent residency application.

Frankly, it’s always easier to find a job when you have a job.

The junior products manager role was your first official job?
Yes, I was there for a little over 2 years. In early 2019 I started feeling unsatisfied in that role but I didn’t think it was time for me to leave. Interestingly in April 2019, a former colleague of mine reached out to me and said “Hey they’re looking for a product manager where I am, are you interested?” I was like no I’m still learning, there is a lot I need to learn, I am not ready to move, I’m focusing on learning right now. He said okay.

I didn’t know what was coming.

In May 2019, I got laid off from that junior PM role. According to them, it was supposed to be a temporary layoff but with no definite day of returning I don’t know why that really devastated me but it made me reassess my life’s work and value. Thank God for things like employment insurance that Canada has and the fact that I was living well within my means.

I started the job search again a week after the layoff. The company where that guy had reached out to me was still looking for a product manager and I applied this time. There were a lot of companies as well that called me for interviews. I did go for a number of them but eventually, two companies were at the very top because I kept moving on from stage one to stage two and so on.I actually preferred one of them over the other. When I went for the interview at their office I really loved it and started to imagine working there. So I kept moving from stage to stage with both companies. My mind was really into that one.

I can’t remember the day of the week but right after I woke up and prayed I checked my email. The other company that I preferred sent me an update, a rejection email; “unfortunately, there was another person blah blah blah”

Just before the time I got laid off, I had planned that I was going to travel to a couple of European countries for vacation. My visa application was in progress when the layoff happened and as I looked for a new job I decided I was going to travel still. I will collect the visa and travel using some of my savings. Whenever I get a job I will start saving again.

Just as I decided I was definitely going on that trip after the rejection I checked my email inbox again and I had an update from the other of the two companies. They wanted to speak with me about an offer.

There was some back and forth with what they were offering but finally arrived at something almost $90k CAD and that was almost a $30K jump from the job I lost. But he was going to offer me maybe almost 10K less than that or so. I thankfully had learned to negotiate before jumping on any offer (even though I was really jobless and could have been desperate)On negotiating job offers, I always remember the parable Jesus told of a Man who employed servants at different times and paid them the same wage – based on what he and they agreed upon. Based on this parable, I tell myself to better insist on getting what I would not later resent my employer for because when you get in, you will most likely hear of other people’s salaries that might be much better than the offer you accepted and you don’t want to be resenting them or your employer.

You have been in that same company since?
Yes
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​Have there been any promotions?
No promotions but there have been pay increases each year. To be honest with this role/job and looking forward, career-wise, I am looking for opportunities that fit (in terms of responsibilities, problem space, etc) rather than job titles that sound good. So for me its a case of “do I really want the job title or I’m looking for the responsibility that gives visibility and significance?”

I know you bought a house. How was that journey?
That was an interesting one. So in 2018 I really started investing in stocks and yes saving.

What percentage of your salary were you saving, and investing? Also what kind of stocks were you buying?
Let me see; so my biggest cost was just my rent. I was staying in a low-rent basement apartment for the longest time. It wasn’t the very best, to be honest, but I just stayed there to be able to save more.

So, I was able to get my rent and utilities somewhere between 30 and 40% of my earnings and so could save up and invest a significant percentage (after living expenses and giving)I was saving for most of 2018 & 2019 i.e pre-covid. I also spent a lot of my free time researching companies I was interested in.

Also, importantly, there is a close friend of mine that I was always talking about companies and investments with. We discussed innovative companies, their valuation and recent IPOs mostly.. He works in the US and so we were always putting our ears down and trying to find out what companies were doing. And so based on some research, we bought stocks here and there.

He actually had more of a risk appetite than I do so he was more bullish in his approach than my conservative self. In things like crypto, I was conservative about it because I didn’t understand it and did not invest in it. I simply didn’t see the value crypto was creating for users at the time, all I saw was money exchanging hands but no solution, product, or value was being created.

I don’t regret that decision to date. I was always trying to look for companies that I believe in, that I saw what they’re doing. I mean there are some stocks that I still have to say that those companies are still good to believe in. Let me give you a good example of those; Blackberry I still believe in. They are not just phone sellers, they are also doing cyber security which will always be relevant and they are actually advancing there so it’s going to be a long ride. (Disclaimer – not a financial expert 🙂 )

In February of 2019, I started looking at Shopify because I really really liked what they did. I even interviewed with them and got rejected. But I remember praying on a Saturday and the thought I had was “If you believe so much in their mission, then why don’t you invest in them?” and so I got a few of their stocks too. When covid happened, I slowed down on buying any company stocks and I stuck with index funds and that’s mostly what I bought all through 2020/2021.. Instead of buying company stocks, I started focusing more on index funds. I’m not good at speculation so I started playing it safe during the pandemic.

That formed essentially the deposit for your house.
Yes absolutely. The truth is I always wanted to buy a house as far back as 2019 but at that time there was a subconscious belief in me that as a woman, buying a house when you’re not married was somehow. So, I had settled for the dream of buying my first house with my husband.

Buying a house pre-covid was the best time but I didn’t buy. By 2021 house prices had gone up. Then 2022 happened and honestly the catalyst for me buying a house you won’t believe it, I was in a relationship that I thought would end in marriage but it ended. So for me, it was heartbreak that pushed me to move forward. I was just in a bad place emotionally and my lease was going to be up. In my mind I had planned to leave where I was staying at the end of June and had informed my landlord; via email.

By the time the relationship ended I was actually going to change my mind and extend my lease instead. I told the landlord to extend my lease but it was too late as he had already arranged for a new tenant – he was probably happy that I was going to leave because I was paying him the same amount for the past four years so the moment I told him I wanted to leave he had the opportunity to increase the rent. So I had to leave but the prices of rent I saw for one or two-bedroom apartments were just ridiculous. It just didn’t make any sense. I then decided to have a realtor get me a house to buy while I took a sublet for a few months until the house closed.

Buying a house was something I had put off for like two or three years prior and it happened in like two to three weeks. Now, looking back and I am like why did I not do this earlier on? But as the saying goes: “never let your crisis go to waste”; this was me living this out.

I finally saw it as a good financial decision. It is not just a house but an investment. And as a single woman, it is an advantage, not a disadvantage. It also means anyone I am meeting now is meeting me at a good financial level and we should be joining “forces” to do greater things.

And yes, , it would have been great to have a partner to share the bills with, because my God, the first few month’s bills were no joke. Even to save money was so tiring but now, I realise it’s actually a good thing because before I had this as an investment, I had “idle” money in savings and then you know people just asked me for money and I would just give even if it meant not spending on myself.

Thank God I started saving and buying stocks because If I didn’t buy then I would not have been able to buy the house. Now I am a better receiver rather than the person that just gave, gave, and gave. It has made me humble enough to receive. If anyone gives me $50 now I will pray for you because there are a lot of bills. Haha

The other day my other sister who works in Nigeria, our last born for my birthday bought me a Disney ticket and I gladly collected it. It’s not like I still don’t give but I don’t have as much idle money lying around. Another benefit of buying the house is that I’m also learning how to take care of things and really maintain a house because when I was renting, I just made a call to the landlord whenever any repairs are needed, but now It is my business to take care of.

If I ask, as an immigrant in Canada what is the one thing you will say to other immigrants?
I think the first thing I would say is guard your heart. I guess what I mean is immigration is actually a very defining/redefining process. I mean, when I lived in Nigeria around my family, there were some things that were just on auto-pilot and that’s the case if you live in the same environment where you grew up in. You are comfortable even when things are tough because you’re still in a bubble of family and friends that you’re not very appreciative of.

When you move to a new country, it’s like you are given this blank slate and all of a sudden everything that used to be on auto now requires you to define them right. All of a sudden I have to go search for a church and make new friends because the ones I had from growing up are no longer there.

Who do you expose yourself to? what information are you exposing yourself to on a daily basis and from what people? You need those things/people to be right because your decisions and actions will just flow from your interaction with them naturally. I talk about this friend of mine with whom I discussed investment a lot and was really majorly what we were talking about for years and because of that relationship, I always paid attention to the stock market and investment opportunities.

So guard your heart and surround yourself with the right people and the right information, especially as an immigrant. You have a blank slate now, you get to define who you surround yourself with and what kinds of information you expose yourself to. Those are the most important for an immigrant.

I’ve learned a lot from you in this conversation. The most profound one for me is “Do I really want the job title or I’m looking for the responsibility that gives visibility and significance”

Thank you so much again.

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