Tales of Strength and Resilience: Ep 4 with Dorothy Nakaggwa

Tales of Strength and Resilience podcast explores the boundless dimensions of strength and resilience. Join the host, Muthoni Waigwa, on a transformative journey as we delve into the very essence of these profound qualities. We will unveil the multifaceted nature of strength and resilience in heartfelt conversations with extraordinary individuals.

Episode Four
Dorothy Nakaggwa is a Freelance Copywriter specializing in creating email content for ecommerce brands. With over four years of freelancing experience, she has had the privilege of working with clients from more than 20 countries outside of Africa. Dorothy was part of the first cohort of the Babaob Alumni in Residence Fellowship, where she shared content about her journey as a Freelancer in Africa. Her passion and expertise in the field also led her to collaborate with Baobab to create the course "Freelancing in the Digital Economy." Dorothy is a proud Mastercard Foundation Alumna of Makerere University. When she's not crafting captivating copy for her clients, Dorothy loves to indulge in her wanderlust by travelling and exploring new places! 

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Transcript

Muthoni Waigwa:         Welcome to the Tales of Strength and Resilience podcast, where we explore the boundless dimensions of strength and resilience. Join me, your host, Muthoni Waigwa, on a transformative journey as we delve into the very essence of these profound qualities. We will unveil the multifaceted nature of strength and resilience in heartfelt conversations with extraordinary individuals. We will empower and enlighten through these inspiring stories, triumphing over adversity, and discovering transformative lessons embedded within.

                                    Get ready for today's episode, where untold stories of inner power and tenacity await us. Let's begin. Hello to all of you tuning in, no matter where you're joining from. I extend my heartfelt gratitude for selecting this podcast. In today's episode, I find myself going down memory lane to my mid-20s, wondering what the next phase of my career would be, to persist within the confines of a conventional 9:00 to 5:00 job, or to boldly embrace entrepreneurship and start my own business. In the spotlight of this episode is Dorothy Nakaggwa, a beacon of optimism and unwavering determination, who resides in Uganda.

                                    Merely four years since her graduation from Makerere University, Dorothy made a daring bet on her own capabilities and dove headfirst into the realm of freelancing. Her journey led her to blossom into a skillful copywriter, specializing in the curation of compelling email content tailored for E-commerce brands. The narrative of her journey serves as a testament to the potential that lies within each of us, waiting to be unlocked. Let's listen. Welcome onto the show, Dorothy.

Dorothy Nakaggawa:     Thank you so much, Muthoni. I'm super excited to be part of the podcast, and to just share my insights on whatever you're going to ask. I am happy to be here.

Muthoni Waigwa:         Thank you for taking the time, so to kick off the conversation, who is Dorothy?

Dorothy Nakaggawa      Okay. Dorothy is Ugandan, but beyond just being a Ugandan, I guess I would describe myself as a very free-spirited person, a very lover of nature and a lover of life. I guess that's what I can describe myself. I have learned to really figure out what life is for myself, and pursue it in the best way I can. So, currently I am a freelance copywriter and my journey as a freelancer is what has really separated me and guided me to who I am right now.

Muthoni Waigwa:         I like that, that you are a freelancer, and it has guided you to who you are right now, but I'm sure at some point, you were trying to contemplate, "Should I step into this world of freelancing? Will I make it? Do I even have this skill?" So what made you take that leap of faith to say, "You know what? I am going to be a freelancer?"

Dorothy Nakaggawa      Yeah. I would start it where I stopped from where I say freelancing has guided me to who I am right now, and that goes back to 2019 when I finished my university. So when I was at university or prior to joining university, my life was always being determined by the things I was told. "Oh, Dorothy, you're so good at sciences. I guess you should become a doctor," and then fast-forward, I don't make it to medical school, but then I make it to the School of Food Sciences, and then I get to study nutrition. But deep down, I don't think I really ever sat down and I told myself I enjoyed this.

                                    And so, back then, at university, I was literally having a conversation with a friend. I told her, "You know what? I think it's wrong that you get to sit down from nine to five, do a job, and work for someone. I don't think that's an interesting life." So me and my friend really joked about it, and so when I finished university, I literally found it super hard to find a job. I guess I would say I found it super hard to find a job because of two reasons. One, I was not interested in finding a job, but I was living in the light of, "Oh. You must actually find a job, like a normal nine to five job." Also, the other dynamics of Africa. Not many jobs, and you get out of university, it's so hard for you to find a job.

                                    And so freelancing, that's when I actually discovered freelancing. It was through a conversation with a friend. We're actually talking about something different, and it was me and my sister and that person. We had a conversation, and they discovered this whole world of, "Oh. It's actually possible for you to sit at home, and sell your services to someone in a completely different world and different place with you." I guess that's what I would say led me to where I am right now, and discovering the many lies I was told, uncovering them, closing some, and opening my own truth towards what life is and what work is.

Muthoni Waigwa:         I'm hearing some parts of myself in when you're sharing your story, because I remember as well when I was working, and it just reached a point where I was just like, "Okay, fine. I'm doing this nine to five. Yes, it's okay to do a nine to five, but I know there is more out there, and I just want to start my own business," and it's one of those things that when I look back, I'm so happy that I made that choice," and I can hear it in your voice as well, when you're saying that you took that step of entering into this space of freelancing and it has led you to this point. So what did you learn as a young girl, that made you realize that, "I have the capacity to take risks. I have the capacity to be strong and resilient." Did your parents teach you? Did you see it in the home? Tell us more.

Dorothy Nakaggawa      That's a really interesting question. I don't think I ever talked about it, but when I look back, I think, really, this is like when you meet my childhood friends, and you're like, "Oh. Who is Dorothy?" the first thing they'll say, "Dorothy was the person who used to be the best in class, and she used to talk to everyone, time after time, time after time. I guess that's what people really knew me about, knew about me. But when I look back in school, I guess there were so many things that, I think, as a young person, I actually kept on questioning things, and I can't say my parents really told me much about it, because in African homes, you don't get to have conversations about life. Your parents are really parents.

                                    You don't question them. They're your gods. They tell you what to do, but you don't question. But what really led me to the place of risk taking, I think, when I finished university, I told myself, "At the end of the day, if you like this thing, why not go for it? Because you lose nothing from trying it out," and the biggest confidence I always had was that you can always go back home and re-figure it out. After all, you already have a degree, and you can start somewhere. So it's that place of continuously having questions and being courageous enough to find answers for yourself for these questions. It's a bit of a very scary place to be in, but when you realize that you honestly have nothing to lose, you just go for it. I guess that's my perspective that has always led me to trying out the things that I really want to do.

                                    For the risk taking these, I feel like we live in a world where we are constantly in a place of fear like, "Oh my God. Don't do this. Don't do this," because not many people have done it. What if you fail? And so it's like a constant fear, but when you step out of the place, and you're like, "Oh, yeah. Fear is there, and then failure is going to happen," but what if the good part happens? And so the fact that that failure can happen, but also the good part can happen, you just leap into it and see what happens. It's a natural instinct, but sometimes you just don't want to step into, to tread into those parts, but the more you allow yourself to go into those places, you honestly realize it was a whole waste of time for you to fear to trade in these places.

Muthoni Waigwa:         Yeah. Right? You look back, and you're like, "Why was I scared in the first place? I'm doing great. Yes, I'm learning throughout the challenges, and I'm pressing forward, but why was I afraid?" and it just reminds me as well of moments when I'm building my business and just taking new opportunities. As you're saying, you look at that opportunity, and you're like, "Should I do it? Should I not do it?" and then you say, "You know what? Let me just take the risk and see where it would lead me."

Dorothy Nakaggawa      Yeah.

Muthoni Waigwa:         So, with that in mind, what does strength mean to you?

Dorothy Nakaggawa      Honestly, for me, strength is really beyond what we usually say like, "Oh. She's a very strong woman." I mean, physical attributes of it, but for me, strength really encompasses the biggest part of what I call strength, is your mental fortitude, your emotional fortitude. If you are constantly able to really overcome challenges, and challenges in life are really very diverse. We have the eternal ones and then the external ones, and 90% of the times the things we really struggle with, and on the physical ones, but are usually the internal ones. And so if you are able to overcome those challenges, it honestly takes a lot of courage. It takes determination and perseverance, but if you get to have those three things and be a very determined person, be very courageous and persevere, you realize you very strong person.

                                    I have learned one thing, that you are not always a strong person. The kind of strong woman you were last year is not the kind of person, strong woman, you are this year. The more you grow and the more you learn, I think your levels of strength change. I would say it's like a thermometer. You're literally like 20 degrees, and then the next year you're like 30 degrees, because you've learned a lot. And so, for me, that's what I would definitely call strength. You're, literally, learning to overcome challenges, but the more you grow and the more you put yourself out there, your strength, I don't know how to actually describe that, but there are different levels of strength the more we grow. You are not the kind of person you are last year, and this year you're a different person, so it definitely changes the more we grow. Yeah.

Muthoni Waigwa:         I like your analogy for the thermometer, where last year you were 20 degrees, this year you were 30 degrees, and we are constantly growing, we are shifting, and we're stepping into the various spaces that we're in, stronger, wiser. Would you say resilience is the same thing?

Dorothy Nakaggawa      I mean, I would say, if you are a strong person, because you cannot be resilient if you're not a strong person, right? The people who we know, and then we become more resilient when we are stronger. But resilience is a very interesting aspect in itself. That ability for you to bounce back after a setback, and you're constantly evolving, because different setbacks try to change you and make you a different person, so resilience just goes beyond just overcoming the usual setbacks, but evolving as a person, and also continuing to move forward. I think I have seen resilience mostly in my journey as a freelancer.

                                    I would say it has pushed me to places I don't think I would have been able to step into if I was not resilient, because sometimes you doubt yourself, and you don't really think you're good enough to step into the places because you're constantly being pushed away. But as long as you're able to put yourself in those places and keep moving forward, working on yourself to be better, you realize you become a more resilient person. The key to resilience, I have learned, is just having a positive mindset, because if you don't have a positive mindset, it's so hard to keep yourself going forward. I mean, also, flexibility plays a huge part. Sometimes different places will call for different versions of ourselves, and it's okay to evolve in those places, as long as it's pushing you forward. So I would say strength and resilience are sisters, but if you're not a strong person, it's hard for you to be resilient.

Muthoni Waigwa:         I hear so much depth and wisdom in your words, and I can truly understand that you're a person who has pushed yourself beyond her comfort zone. You have taken the risk to take up opportunities that usually you wouldn't have done so in the past, and it just reminds me of myself during the pandemic, where I was wondering, "Will our business continue during this pandemic? Will opportunities come our way?" But with a positive mindset, as you've said, I was able to find opportunities within the spaces that I was in to ensure that our business continued operating.

                                    And truly, if I didn't have a positive mindset, I don't think we would still be operational as a business. I, being the team leader of the business, and it's something that, as you have said, you can't be resilient if you're not strong, and vice versa, you can't be strong if there's no resilience within you. A positive mindset truly plays a key part in all of this. If you're able to, share with us a challenge that you went through, you recognize that, "Oh my gosh. Am I able to overcome this challenge?" and once you overcame, what is the one thing that you learned about yourself?

Dorothy Nakaggawa      Yeah. I mean, I'm going to really tie this story to my freelancing journey, because I feel like it's what has really shaped who I am right now, and I'll go back two years ago. 2019 is literally when? 13.

Muthoni Waigwa:         Three years ago.

Dorothy Nakaggawa      Four years ago, right?

Muthoni Waigwa:         Yeah, yeah. Three, four.

Dorothy Nakaggawa      Three, four years ago, I stepped out of university thinking, I already told you, "I don't think I really want to have a nine to five job, but you need a job, right?"

Muthoni Waigwa:         Yes.

Dorothy Nakaggawa      So yeah, because also, when your parents, you've left a scholarship, your parents are literally not taking care of you, and you have to figure out life. Africa is a very funny continent, actually. You're not working, and this is the first time you're literally stepping into a place of taking care of yourself, and so I knew I needed a job, but I knew I didn't want to do that job that was available.

                                    And so, I guess for me, taking the time to actually know what I really wanted, and that's a very important thing; you cannot actually be resilient if you don't know what you want, because not knowing, if you don't know what you want, then you want to know what you're pushing forward to, right? It's very important for you to know what you actually want. And so, because I had learned about freelancing, I mean, I was on this freelancing platform. I had seen people making money off this platform, I knew I should be able to do it, and I can be able to do it. So I, literally, spent about six months. I found my first client in two weeks of joining the platform.

Muthoni Waigwa:         Oh, wow.

Dorothy Nakaggawa      But then, it took me literally about four months to find another stable client. I mean, that whole time I was working on my skillset, I was learning. Literally, you'd think [inaudible 00:17:18] was in school. Every single day, I was learning everything I needed to learn about writing. I was learning everything I needed to learn about marketing, the kind of writing that businesses are looking for, and this whole time I was just literally learning, but I found it so hard to land my first client, and I guess sometimes there's a bit of a bias that businesses don't want to hire someone that comes from Africa.

                                    But that's the thing I said about having a positive mindset to push you towards what you really want and to fuel your resilience, because if I wasn't positive, I would've easily given up. But I had seen that people are doing it, and I could actually do it, so fast-forward four months later, I actually find my first client. On looking back, I'm just like, "Oh, Dorothy. At the end of the day, this was a very challenging journey, and not many people actually have the courage to do it, and not even just the courage, but the discipline to push yourself to pursue these opportunities," although you're constantly kind of pushed away or not given a chance.

                                    I guess, for me, what this really taught me was that it's very important for you to really know what you want, firstly, and then push yourself. It's not just a minor petting of yourself, "Oh, Dorothy. Do this, do this," but continuously pushing yourself to actually be in the places you want to be in. That, I think, is literally the thing that has really changed me the most, even right now, that I know that if I set my mind to something, I'll definitely get it, because I have the courage, which in itself is the strength to push yourself to go for those things.

Muthoni Waigwa:         Dorothy, when I'm hearing you speak, you are so inspiring, honestly, because there's so many youth and individuals out there who look at themselves and they wonder, "How am I going to achieve my dreams? How am I going to pursue my goals?" But I keep hearing, in your story, that you keep pushing yourself, you keep telling yourself that you can do it, and that you have a mindset of, "I will learn as I go along," and it's something that is very endearing, and I would just want you to take a moment to just take us on a journey. There's an individual who's listening to this podcast. They've just left university, or they're transitioning from their first job to their second job. How do you encourage them to not be hopeless, to not give up, and to just take the risk to start something new or to learn as time goes by?

Dorothy Nakaggawa      This is really coming from my personal experience, and I would say whatever you really, really want, and I mean, I'm not truly trying to say this to make anyone assume that I have it all figured out. Honestly. I am learning a lot, and I guess that learning a lot on the way is what is really pushing me to the kind of woman I am right now and where I think I am headed to, which kind of excites me but also scares me. But I would say, when we look at ourselves, honestly, we have what it takes to do the things we really, really want to do. I'm not talking about monetary, the money itself. I'm not talking about the skills, but the most important thing that we have is actually the time. Really, it's not even just, "Yeah. We have the time," but we also have that innate ability in ourselves to learn anything.

                                    That's the thing I have learned, that we are really still young. Literally, I am in my mid-20s, and one thing I learned is my brain was filled with so many things that I crammed in school, that now that I am not even cramming for school anymore, it literally has the space to learn anything that I want it to learn. When you get to know that, it pushes you to learn about the things you want to learn. If you want to learn coding today, imagine you take away the pressure that school puts you on to cram the things you needed to cram, and just give yourself that liberty, that time to learn those things. You'll realize that, if you decided to pursue something else, other than spend that time to learn how to code and become a software engineer, if that's what it leads you to, you'll realize it's worth sacrificing everything else, actually pursue this, and invest the time to learn it.

                                    So I would say know what you really, really want, and invest the time to learn it. Be so good, and don't be afraid to actually show up when the opportunity comes. I have learned that we learn so much when we get to do the things we really want. For example, when my clients hired me, I was literally on a learning journey. I was never so good at writing, but right now, if I had just stayed in the learning phase, never took the chance to actually find clients, and work for them, I wouldn't be where I am. 90% of the things, you'll become so good at them when you are doing the job itself. So take a chance on yourself, learn as much as you can, invest in time to learn the things that you really want to learn, and then go out and just put yourself out there and do it.

                                    You will be amazed that, when you look back maybe a year, at how much you've grown, and don't be afraid to take a chance on yourself. Sometimes we assume we are really bad, like, "Oh. I'm so bad at this. I'm not good at this," but in actual sense, we've not had enough time to practice that thing. When you give yourself time to practice that thing, you'll be so good. I think that's the best advice I'd really give anyone who wants to really pursue the things they really want, because sometimes traditional careers may never favor us, or there's too much competition to step into the careers you want to do, but if there's a side thing you want to do, just go and do it. You may not be so good, but the fact that you've taken a step, you realize you're so much better like a year from now.

Muthoni Waigwa:         Yes. It's about betting on yourself and believing that you can, and you mentioning that you are in your mid-20s, I'm thinking of when I was in my mid-20s. I'm not going to tell you my age, but it's amazing to hear you betting on yourself at such a young age, and truly, I'm cheering you on from where I am, because I took my first step into business, I think I was not mid-20s, but late-20s, and I've been learning as I go, and I've been in business for 10 years now.

                                    It's amazing when you take a bet on yourself, when you're not waiting for people to approve of your choices, when you're not waiting for people to validate you, but you just look yourself in the mirror and you say, "You know what? I can do it. Let me take this risk, and I will learn along the way." As you were telling us previously, as our conversation was going on, you harness your skills. You sharpen them as you are getting your clients on board or as you are venturing into new markets. As your bio says, you've worked with clients over 20 countries, and it's amazing what the spirit of resilience and strength can take us. So where do you see yourself, Dorothy? You've created a course for Baobab called Freelancing in the Digital Economy. You have worked with clients in over 20 countries in the world. Where will Dorothy be in the next 5 years?

Dorothy Nakaggawa      There's a friend of mine who literally, she recently moved to London, and she told me, "Dorothy, I've actually stopped telling myself, 'Oh, Bridget,'" she's called Bridget, "'like stop setting two-year goals or one-year goals, and start setting five-year goals,'" and she said, "Right now, I'm not looking at myself in the 20s. The things I'm doing for myself are things that I'm going to do that my 30-year-old will actually benefit from," and I think it's the thing that has been resounding in my mind. I guess, what does Dorothy in five years look like?

                                    I hope she is so much smarter than I am right now, but most importantly, I think I've always been able to see the idea of going to get my master's degree, and I would definitely maybe grow and get it. I don't find it a necessity right now because I still don't know what I want. I think, for me, right now, I'm in a place of discovering the things I really want, and I want to go and go back to school when I really know what I want, but one of the things that I value so much that is dear to my heart is Africa has a lot of very interesting brands that the world may never get to see.

                                    I have been toying around with the idea of building an agency that markets and puts African brands to the world, because we've got so much that the world doesn't know, and the world needs to see it. The problem is not because it's not good, but the problem is, "Oh. We are not really marketing it the right way," and so I think I've fallen in love with marketing, that that's definitely a place, thinking of swimming into and figuring out where it takes me, so people can really get to see the kind of quality that comes out of Africa to the world, because it's very good. The world just doesn't see it. I guess that's the Dorothy that I'm seeing in five years. She should definitely have an agency.

Muthoni Waigwa:         And she will have an agency, because you have the strength, you have the resilience, you have the positive mindset that will take you there. Marketing is so exciting. I remember when I was working in an advertising agency, you go through the different briefs that the clients share, and you write up these different texts and different TV commercials, and you see them on air. It's an amazing experience, but I truly like what you've said, that you want to create an agency where you highlight African brands to the world, because the world is not seeing them as they are, which are great.

                                    They are making a difference in their sphere of influence. And truly, Africa is rich of stories, rich of different brands that are doing amazing things, and I wish you all the best as you build this agency, and don't hold back. Sometimes we may be looking at ourselves like, "Oh. I'm in my mid-20s. Maybe not yet," but no, start today, because your 30-year-old self or your mid-30s self will be like, "Yes, Dorothy. Thank you so much for taking a bet on yourself."

Dorothy Nakaggawa      Absolutely, absolutely. Oh, I was just saying, sometimes it's the place of where you think you're still, I don't want to say young enough, but is it really worth stepping into these places right now? It's, literally, basically fear, but you realize you just have to step into those places. Just have the courage and step in and go do those things, because at the end of the day, you realize it's just one life. If you don't do there, you would've missed out, or if you start when you're 50, it's not too late, but if you started when you're 30 or when you're 20, you'd be so far.

Muthoni Waigwa:         I hear you. Start now. Don't think about maybe 10 years down the line, 20 years down the line. The time is now. I want to thank you, Dorothy, for coming onto the show, and I am cheering you on.

Dorothy Nakaggawa      Thank you, Muthoni for having me. It was a very interesting conversation. I kind of got into the things that I barely talk about it myself. It's more like uncovering what you really question.

Muthoni Waigwa:         I like it, and if you could end this conversation with one sentence, how would you end this conversation?

Dorothy Nakaggawa      You don't have to have it all figured out. Don't put pressure on yourself.

Muthoni Waigwa:         Yes, you shall figure it out. But the thing is this, you have to take the step. So take the step, not tomorrow, but today. I invite you to carry the lessons learned in this podcast into your own lives, embracing your inner strength and nurturing resilience in the face of adversity. Let's forge a future where we support one another and celebrate the triumphs shaping our journeys. Thank you for listening, and stay tuned for more inspiring episodes that will continue to ignite the flame of strength and resilience within you. Until next time, I'm your host, Muthoni Waigwa, bidding you farewell, but not goodbye.