Welcome back to the Presenting, Pitching & Public Speaking Podcast. In this episode, Toni speaks with BBC 2018 Apprentice star and self-made Mumpreneur Khadija Kalifa. Their conversation takes a look at how Khadija has used presenting, pitching and public speaking in her career, from running a family business to being a superstar on the 2018 series of the Apprentice.

Key Takeaways

What Made You Apply To The Apprentice? I watched it for years and thought I can do better. I love business, love sales, and meeting people. I didn’t think I would get on but being in the final six is amazing. I applied the year before but missed the email, so getting this far this season is a great feeling.

Do You Care About What Other People Say About You? I don’t care about what other people say about me if they are going to be hateful. I used to care a lot about what other people say but the more I networked and met with like-minded people I cared less and less. My sister would get affected the most but I think there has been a turning point where the positivity outweighs the negative recently.

Did You Have To Do A Pitch When You First Applied To The Apprentice? Your first round of interviews is your elevator pitch in the application process. I got a lot of positive feedback from that. There are lots of different interviews through the process and being ‘real’ was really essential in the process.

How Does The New Found Fame Feel? I love people, so meeting everyone is great. So many people came up to me asking for a selfie but not yet an autograph. I’m grateful for the new found fame because I think people really want to change their lives and I want to help them do that through business. I’m grateful for the new found platform.

How Difficult Was It Being Away From Your Kids? It was really difficult. Being in the Apprentice is difficult because of the annoying other people in the show but also because you are away from your kids for up to two months. It’s annoying in business you have to be one thing or another: parent or businesswoman. I want to make it easier to fit being a parent and a business person together.

Do You Think The Apprentice Is A True Representation Of You? Yeah because I have a good heart but I am feisty. All entrepreneurs have an element of aggression or assertiveness about them. It’s not an insult because I think it’s passionate.

Do You Believe That The Skills You’ve Learnt In Presenting Yourself Well Have Helped Your Career? Definitely, I had my first paid speaking gig recently and I wanted to be authentic so I didn’t have a powerpoint or notes. Eventually, someone is going to like me for who I am. I’m not trying to be very corporate, I’m just a mom who is hustling. What I love about speaking is the feeling you get when students come and speak to you after the speech.

Do You Get Nervous? Yeah, you can still hear it in everyone’s voice. You have to channel your nerves in the right way. Surely even Beyonce gets nervous before she performs and you have to go onto stage with a fierce alter ego.

Get Into The Mindset Of An Employee. I realised that the employees were never going to see the business in the same way as I do. It’s not their business. When your an employee you don’t care about the big picture as much. It can take a while to realise this.

In Five Years Time, I would like to be happy, have a nice house. Money is one of the biggest factors of people being down. Running this business has been a financial strain, so having a support system is really important.

Best Moments

‘I love business, love sales, and meeting people.’

‘Focus on your own destiny and your own success.’

‘People are going to judge you anyway.’

‘I want to see to get the best out of people.’

‘Trying to make business more open to being a Parent.’

‘If you need help get the help.’

‘It’s all about passion.’

‘Hustle until your haters ask if your hiring.’

‘If you’re not nervous you're not going to give the best performance.’

‘People don’t connect with you unless you show your care.’

‘You need to remember what it was like for you as an employee.’

‘You don’t always have to keep your errors or insecurities to yourself. Speak to people.’’

ABOUT THE HOST

Toni Gargan is a Double World Record-holding Public Speaker, Mentor, Entrepreneur, and Professional Property Investor. She acts as the Director at Owen Oliver Property, a family-run property investment company helping others gain passive income through investing.

Aside from building her amazing property portfolio, she’s also a full-time mentor for property investors through Progress Property and Unlimited Success. Toni has since then discovered her true passion – helping others by training and mentoring through public speaking.

She now hosts her own show, Presenting, Pitching & Public Speaking Podcast, which aims to help you be confident, improve your speaking & communication skills and present better for you, your team, and your business.

CONTACT METHOD

• Toni’s LinkedIn
• Toni’s Twitter

About The Guest

Khadija Kalifa

BBC Apprentice 2018 Candidate and self-made Mumpreneur

Khadija Kalifa is a busy Mumpreneur on a mission to build an empire, whilst raising two under 5's and inspiring others to make their passion their profession.

As a current BBC Apprentice Candidate who has built a profitable cleaning business, employing 30 staff over the last four years, whilst raising two infants, Khadija has learnt many tricks of the trade.

With experience in educational and event speaking, from planning lessons to freestyling, she loves to inspire and motivate everyone to achieve their full potential. Khadija was raised by a single mother and the eldest of four children. Khadija went to school in an underprivileged area of Peterborough and spent time mixing with the wrong crowds whilst feeling frustrated with her families financial struggle. Khadija told the world from 12 years old that one day she would be rich and successful and it was in year 12 that Khadija really pulled her act together and realised that her success was down to her and her alone.

Khadija's main topics of discussion are around overcoming adversity and hardship both in childhood and after the complicated birth of her first daughter. Khadija speaks about taking a negative and using it as fire to fuel success. Khadija discusses how everyone of her studied subjects helps in her business today and shows proven links between them, such as English Literature and Language assisting with writing emails and blogs. Khadija tells the children how your Network is your Net Worth and to treat the caretaker the same as the CEO. To always be well mannered, polite, humble and grateful for everything. Khadija speaks about branding, unique selling points and making your business stand out in a crowd. Showing good morals and ethics within your brand is always a win, she says.

Khadija can show you how a young Mum who grew up in an underprivileged area, turned her daughters birth trauma into a motivational story and became a current BBC Apprentice Candidate.

Contact Method

Website: www.opalandpearl.com

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