Maneuvering the globe and personal hardship one keystroke at a time

Shirley Osei-Mensah, an 18 year-old entrepreneur, knows adversity well.

At the age of 15, she fell ill and had to stop schooling to pursue treatment. Not willing to let sickness deter her education, Shirley searched for solutions that would allow her to continue studies.

Now a student at Keystone National High School, Shirley, who lives with her parents and sister in Kumasi, takes all her coursework online and has found time to create a lucrative business from blogging.

Focused on inspiring others, Shirley uses her web exposure to share her story of self-motivation, and provides tips about entrepreneurship and making money online.

TEDxYouthInspire: Most of the young people we see around Accra, working and schooling at the same time, do so to support their families and themselves. What was the urgency for you to start a business?
Shirley Osei-Mensah: I didn’t start my business to take care of family or myself. I felt sick in 2007 while in school. I felt pain in my eyes and head, and I couldn’t write or read from a text book. I could only read from the PC or the TV. So I stopped schooling in pursuit of treatment. While on treatment, I joined a question-and-answer website primarily to help people find solutions to PC-related technical questions and also to find an online job. As a result of that, I discovered articles on kids making money online. I also discovered how to design a blog and make money from Google Ad Sense. The first time I made a blog it didn’t go all that well so I started over in December 2009. Now I am ranked very high on the Allexer ranking website.

TEDxYI: What challenges, if any, have you faced being both young and a woman?
SOM: Well, as a young woman, when you talk to somebody about your business, they don’t take you seriously. They think what you are saying is stupid, especially since the field I’m in is mostly dominated by males. But it’s not all that tough for me. When I was in school, I had a lot of competition with boys in quizzes, so for me has become fun.

TEDxYI: You are in high school and go to school online in Ghana. How is that possible?
SOM: In the United States, there are high schools that are registered as long distance education providers. They provide education through correspondence; either through snail mail or email. So, I’m not a Ghanaian student, I’m a US student.

The school provides study materials online – my school also has an option to choose text-based or electronic-based correspondence. Assignments are uploaded when completed. But there is a problem with attending school this way – it’s expensive. It costs 2,195 USD per year, plus textbook expenses to attend.

TEDxYI: Bill Gates, the mogul behind Microsoft, dropped out of school to pursue his business idea. What is keeping you in school?
SOM: I thought of that but my mum said that wasn’t an option. She said, school comes first and I should do schooling first and then business can come second. I told her about Bill Gates but she still insisted that I be in school.

TEDxYI: Are there any challenges with combining school and business?
SOM: Yeah there are a whole lot of challenges. It depends on your time and socialisation. For me, the social part is not a problem because I am not all that well. But you should know when to do business and when to do school. So I have divided my day into two parts; I do school from 7AM to 12PM and business from 1PM until I go to sleep.

TEDxYI: What advice do you have for your peers?
SOM: Don’t let what has happened to you let you down. I know it’s tough, I haven’t even finished going through all the tough times yet. But you shouldn’t focus on the bad side. Focus on your strength and then see how you can use that strength in your current situation to succeed.

Shirley Osei-Mensah will be speaking at TEDxYouthInspire in Accra, Ghana on April 10, 2010. To learn more about her visit www.shirleyszone.com.

Rawlings Sam, a TEDxYouthInspire volunteer, conducted this interview with Ms. Osei-Mensah.