Shirah is an online consulting firm that offers professional services to individuals who wish to study, work and live in Canada. Founded in 2018 by Bukky Abaniwonda, Shirah started as a side gig that slowly began to grow. Running the business is now her full-time job. It has grown to two divisions: Shirah Migration, a Regulated Canadian Immigration firm that handles permanent relocation and admissions to Canada,, and Shirah Tutors, which prepares clients to be able to ace their IELTS and TEF through their tutoring classes.
The idea for the tutoring division was already in the works and was put into motion when other services were put on hold due to border closures and delayed application processes during the pandemic. Bukky explains that: ”I reached out to my network and was asked if I was offered support or funding for my business during the covid period. I had looked at the requirements, but I didn't meet any of the eligibility requirements, and a friend told me about AWE.” Bukky applied for AWE’s Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) and received funding. The RRRF, which provides financial support to women-owned businesses to address the impacts of COVID-19, helped Shirah Consults continue with the tutoring division and allowed them to bring on key staff members and market their services.
Some of the highlights Bukky has experienced as an entrepreneur has been the ability to get people to trust and say they want to work with Shirah. “We get a lot of feedback; it’s rewarding that people enjoy our services and that I feel like I have a voice.” Bukky realized early on in her career that she didn’t like the idea of being at a 9-5 job for a long time because she gets bored easily and likes to change what she’s doing from time to time.
“The thing is I’ve always wanted more out of life, and that displayed itself through entrepreneurship. In the back of my mind I want to feel like I’m doing something important, something special that contributes to society, and entrepreneurship helps me to do that.”
Bukky believes that challenges as an entrepreneur keep changing. “You find a challenge and overcome it, then a new challenge presents itself.”. One of the first challenges she overcame was sales. “We think sales tactics are for sales executives, but as a business owner, your first skill is sales. You need to get people to buy into you as a person before they even buy into your services or products.” With that, Bukky also realized that confidence is critical:
“There’s something about confidence. No matter how good your service is, if you cannot confidently defend yourself or your services, people will look down on you, and that was one challenge I had to overcome. People will ask ‘Why should I use you? Someone else offers it cheaper or quicker.’ It took me a while to wrap my head around how to present myself and my services. I didn't know what I didn't know at the time. I had never run a business before. That confidence comes from knowledge, experience, and results.”
Setting boundaries and processes was another lesson that Bukky had to learn and adapt to. Previously, Bukky was spending some of her time reviewing people’s resumes and applications and would not charge them fees. She quickly realized that boundaries and structure are necessary for any business, and that’s when she had her ah-ha moment. She began to take steps to implement systems and processes.. “I used to be on WhatsApp, and people could contact me whenever they wanted, and I ended up giving out free advice. I then removed myself from the app, and now people can contact my team, but to speak to me and receive advice, they have to book a consultation then proceed to retain our services.”
When asked what advice she would give to someone building their own business, Bukky noted that as the business owner, you can’t do everything. “Spending my time answering DM’s wasn't a good use of my time. There’s a term “Don't use your valuable time for penny tasks”, so I hired a social media manager! It’s not that social media management is beneath me, it’s just not a good use of my time as a business owner. I would rather have someone who is dedicated to that, do that.” Bukky is also a proponent of working with other professionals. “When I need a service, I would rather get another small business owner to do that service for me rather than figuring it out for myself. Why? I want to expand my network and get into their space. The moment you use another small business, that’s relationship building. It also opens you up and exposes you to what they know, because they value you coming to them for support.”
To learn more about the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) click here. There are limited funds available.
