The Chief Executive Officer of Reb360 ,Tope Mark-Odigie, wears many hats; yet, in all of them, she’s about impact. From make-up to television to real estate, Tope is a growth catalyst empowering hundreds of women with entrepreneurial skills, IVF treatments and exploring their God-given talent. In this interview with EVELYN OSAGIE, she speaks on turning 40, her passion, career and more.
Being a woman
Being a woman to me is being feminine. Being whole. Being bold. Being confident and being audacious with your dreams.
Growing up that impacted the woman I became
I grew up with a strong woman as my mother. My mum was very enterprising; I saw her make good money as a young woman. I saw her embrace challenges, failures; redefine herself from one business to the other. My mother was one of my earliest role models and she is still one of my major role models. Her influence greatly impacted who I have become. However, aside from my mother, I also had aunties who were very strong. I don’t remember having any weak women around me and this influenced me not to think otherwise. The women around me were very vocal, enterprising and successful. Maybe there were some unsuccessful, non-enterprising or timid ones, but I didn’t see them. They didn’t influence me. So, I can say that I am who I am today because of the calibre of women that influenced me being that they were extremely vocal, extremely enterprising, and extremely successful. They had their own money; they could buy their own house, car, and land. They were not beholden to a man and that for me is extremely important as a woman.
Being 40
It’s the warmest feeling. Some say life begins at 40, but my life began at 30. The epiphany I had when I clocked 30 was a life-changing one. That moment birthed the decade of 30 to 40. And right now, as I do my next decade of 40 to 50, my life isn’t just beginning; I am piling on the building blocks of that journey. I’ve caught myself and reset my mind. I acknowledge that everybody’s journey is unique ; so, being 40, I am focused on counting my blessings and doing that brings the growth and joy that I enjoy.
Inspiration behind sponsoring 40 couples to undergo IVF treatment to mark my 40th birthday
I am an only child with parents who had secondary infertility and I was purely a miracle. I also have very close family friends who went through infertility challenges. Furthermore, for about seven years now, I have volunteered for a foundation that supports women and families going through infertility or are dealing with infertility challenges. Because of these, I understand the struggle of infertility and decided to mark my birthday with the IVF treatment project for 40 couples. In simple terms, we prioritised people who everything is perfect in their health yet they have unexplained infertility and IVF is the solution; that is people who are okay but just need funds for IVF. The goal is to not let money hold back families from having children. We need a more understanding and enabling environment that supports women through infertility, childbearing, the ups and downs that comes with being a woman.
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Moving from make-up to television to Real Estate
Everything I’ve ever done revolves around impact. As a makeup artist, I trained 250 people free on makeup. Many of them graduated and have earned money and built businesses with the skills I impacted on them for free. On television, I stand as a light and a role model. I’ve heard some TV presenters say, “I don’t want to be a role model. No one should put me on a pedestal.” I want to be put on a pedestal. I want to live up to the standard God expects of me, “A role model”. The slogan of my church, Daystar Christian Centre, is “Raising role models”: I want to live up to that. Also, my bible says I am a shining light. With Reb360, right from the get go, it has been a platform for Wealth Creation and people empowerment. I have trained thousands of people on how to start their real estate business and how to make money through real estate. People who had never made a million naira in their lives, through my training and my platform, have become multimillionaires, land owners, and business owners within the Real Estate space. So, I might change careers but what I do is the same: positive impact and people empowerment.
Biggest challenges I’ve faced in real estate
We’ve had challenges with real estate regulations, Omo Onile, people assuming that I am not the owner of a property because I am a woman. People looking down on me because I am a woman or people thinking I cannot handle a project/contract because I am a woman. People say things like, “do you have the heart for this?” I’ve heard many of such statements and insinuations but they don’t faze me because I understand that challenges are part of life. So I roll with it and I keep trusting God and putting one foot in front of the other in the direction of my goal.
Women operating in real estate
There’s a huge advantage for having women in real estate because when you have more women in real estate, women would employ women. More women will do real estate with mentoring. When they see modelling and mentoring, they would embrace it. So, I believe the real gap is not about women not wanting to do Real Estate but women not thinking it is possible for them to do it well. There are also myths around Real Estate, things like one needing a lot of money or being very rugged or being able to fight, you know. Real estate is like every other industry. It has its ups and downs. I believe that if more women understand via mentoring that it’s cyclical, they would venture more into Real Estate. But it is to the advantage of any nation to have an equal representation of men and women in any industry.
Beauty to me
Beauty is not perfection. Beauty is self-love. Beauty is self-acceptance. Beauty is confidence. Beauty in a woman for me is to love yourself, accept yourself – flaws and all, be confident in your skin. Do a lot of self-care and self-love. Know that you’re not perfect and you’ll never be. Whether you go under the knife or you go to the spa everyday, you still would not attain perfection.
Juggling my family life with work
Juggling family life with work is not something that anybody would tell you they have figured out perfectly. So, what I have learned is to accept myself and do my best per time. When I’m with my family, I give them my hundred percent. When I’m at work, I give work my hundred percent. A few times when there’s an overlap, I know that I prioritise family if it has to do with the health of my children or my spouse. I give myself grace to make mistakes along the way because that’s life. And I forgive myself quickly for the mistakes I make on that journey as well.
I don’t believe women need to give up their careers to have children. Sadly, this is a reality in Nigeria. Many women resign their jobs to become stay-at-home mothers. And that’s because we don’t provide enough support as a society for women who have children. I strongly believe that the solution to women empowerment is not just to give women money but rather, to create an enabling environment that supports them to thrive.
Relaxation
I love to travel. In my current schedule, I don’t have much time for relaxation. But when I have that little space, I watch a movie and I sleep. Actually, I relax with three key things: sleep, movie, and dance. It’s either I’m sleeping, or I’m watching a movie, or I’m dancing. In between those three, I reset myself.
My fashion style
My style is eclectic. I love to experiment with what I wear. I have been wearing a lot of aso-oke, suits, trousers, in the weirdest combination. I’m not afraid to experiment with colours and combos. Also, my style is to stand out. I don’t want to blend in with my outfit. Currently, I love to wear a lot of adire, a lot of aso-oke, and a lot of power suits. I love to wear them and I’m very comfortable with sneakers. I shy away from wearing ridiculously high heels that give me stress. I wear them if I have to, but I’m far better with sneakers most of the time.
What next for me
My life is all about impact, so the next decade is for greater impact. I see millions of lives being impacted by my teachings, my life, my story, which is why I’ve been intentionally documenting my story. I have written two books. Over the next ten years, I will be writing much more; I see ten more books ahead of me. I have done several live training sessions, masterclasses – physical and virtual, and the recently concluded Game of Money Conference 2.0 hosted thousands that we’ve impacted their lives on money management. I foresee that we’d do much more of that, touring Africa and the world teaching people to become truly limitless; to turn their pain into purpose; to maximise and not waste any experience they have because there is no waste in God. Over the next ten years, I see that greater platforms will open up for me globally, and more impact will happen.