Andrea Kamara, who has a degree in Journalism and Public Relations Howard University, Washington, DC and started out professionally working as a Marketing Representative for a biopharmaceutical company after school, has a personal attestation that out of frustration, a new and greater substance can be born. She tells Connect Nigeria the story of how she started her company, surmounted challenges and her goal to see Broad Street PR & Events International grow into a multinational company someday…
CN: How did you come about the name Broad Street PR & Events?
AK: My cousin and I were in her living room sitting on the floor trying to come up with a name. We thought about where I came from and where my mother came from and major areas, or streets in those places. There is a Broad Street in every major city and its always a major roadway where a lot of activity happens. I then thought about what my mission was…I want to create activity for my clients, exposure, have them do things on a major or “BROAD” scale. So we decided to go with Broad Street…it tied together the place where I was from, where my mother was from, and what I want out of this company.
CN: What does your company do and how does it solve people’s problems?
AK: My company does a bit of everything. I initially wanted to just do event planning, but I went to school for public relations so I decided to have a company that planned events and then publicized those events. Soon, people wanted me to do PR for more than just their events. I went on to start doing consulting and corporate training based on my experience in the hospitality industry and my partners’ experience in human resource management. I have been recently doing consulting with government agencies and non profits both in America and in Nigeria.
CN: Where was the idea for Broad Street PR & Events birthed?
AK: The idea for Broad Street PR & Events was birthed out of frustration over losing my job at the biopharmaceutical company. I was unemployed and bills were piling up. So I thought about what I liked to do and how I could make money out of it. And that was how I decided to start my event planning business that spiraled into what it is now.
CN: Are your services easy to market?
AK: Because I work in two very different markets, (America and Nigeria) it can be somewhat of a challenge to market my services properly. Only because marketing is still very traditional in Nigeria and more digital in America. I think I have a handle on it now after years of mastering it.
CN: What would you term as your competitive edge?
AK: I would like to believe that my competitive edge is that I understand people. In business there are many rules; however, people often forget that you are still dealing with human beings at the end of the day. Because I understand people and how to talk to them and relate to them, I am able to create effective campaigns that the poorest or most elite person can relate too. The fact that I am a people person helps in sealing deals because, people do business with people they like.
CN: What are the challenges you face in the business terrain and how do you overcome them?
AK: My biggest challenge in business varies depending on where I am doing business. In Nigeria, I face the challenge of working in a male dominated world. Being young doesn’t help very much either. Often times I am judged solely based on my looks and how old they “think” I am. Now in America, the struggle is even harder because now race plays a role. I am a young, black, woman in a white, old, male dominate world.
I overcome this obstacle using what I described as my competitive edge. I understand people. A lot of men are afraid of strong and successful women…So I play on that, and try to make them not feel threatened by not being the typical mean woman in the workplace. That only gets me in the door…once I sit down across from them, I become a man just like them and I am all business, all the way.
CN: How do you handle competition?
