“You don’t have to be a Beyoncé or a Serena”

Monica Charsley, Journalism Undergraduate, University of Roehampton

You can be a Solange or Venus, or better yet, yourself.

On Wednesday 10th October, ‘Slay in you Lane’ made an appearance at Wimbledon BookFest on the Common.

Authors Yomi Adegoke, 27 and Elizabeth Uviebinené, 26 captivated the room as they led the talk with eye-opening stories from their childhood up until their university years which gave them inspiration for their book.

The two inspirational women taught us a few things about self-belief, perspiration and how to be a successful black woman in such a cut-throat industry.

After listening to these two ultimate girl bosses I have rounded up four ways on how you can become the ultimate girl boss.

1. You must, of course, be yourself!
You are your brand, you carry your brand and at its hardest times, you will need yourself to push your brand through, “stay authentic and be true to you.” Said Elizabeth

Elizabeth described herself in her high school years as being direct and assertive by asking a lot of questions and doing exactly what she wanted to do.

This attribute stayed with both Elizabeth and Yomi throughout university too. Both admitted that people didn't always like them at university, and described themselves as 'marmite'. “At least if you are yourself you know people can come around to liking you because that’s just who you are” said Yomi.

2. Be confident and "network, network, network."
When Elizabeth and Yomi started to write their book they used social media as a way to find out about events and make themselves known in the industry.

“If you could buy confidence it would be more expensive than gold” argued Elizabeth.

You must sell yourself at every given opportunity, it is an important part of making your business grow.

3. Be your audience

In order to create a book or another product, you must see yourself as the audience to truly understand what will work. This is exactly what Elizabeth and Yomi did and for ‘Slay In Your Lane’ to progress further, they made a focus group to see if the ideas they had so far presented the feelings of black women as a whole.

4. Be passionate

Yomi and Elizabeth’s drive and push came from wanting to empower black women as soon as possible. Even on the days which seemed tiring and long, they knew there were women out their that they couldn’t let down. “This book is not just about us; this book is bigger than us.” Said Yomi

If you haven't already, purchase a copy of 'Slay In Your Lane' and start to think of a business plan! You now have what it takes to be a fierce and confident Girl Boss.