#WWLW: This is why we love Linda

November 2, 2016

Our September cover girl; Linda Ikeji needs no introduction; She is the amazing lady who completely revolutionized blogging as a profession in Nigeria. She came into the limelight in 2007 when she fully launched her popular Linda Ikeji Blog which has served as a one stop shop for local, international, celebrity news and gossip site. Ever since then, there has been no stopping her as she has continued to make strides, gaining world-wide recognition whilst amassing wealth along the way.

But there is more to this inspiring woman than meets the eyes; beyond her huge success, fame (and all the drama that comes with it), Linda who just celebrated her 36th a few days ago remains your typical girl next door who had a dream; took a chance and literally broke the internet to make it work. Her inspiring story is one that has been told and retold over and over again; the tale of how hard work and persistence is key to success.

Like she is known to share, her climb wasn’t an easy one; she has tried out her hands on lots of projects and has never been deterred by failure. She stayed true to her hustle and it paid off in the end. Here is some trivia about her that you probably didn’t know;

• Linda was born on the 19th of September 1980, to a family of humble background.

• She started to express her love for writing at a tender age of 10, which started out as a hobby. She went on to study English Language at the University Of Lagos.

• Determined not to let her parents financial situation stop her; she took up odd jobs like modeling, waitressing and writing while in school to support herself.

• Fresh out of the university, she launched her first company “Black Dove Communication” a modeling agency and event management outfit media in 2004.

• She is also the author of an inspirational book titled “It takes you”

• Desperate to succeed she had a hustle back in 2009; I-tees by Linda Ikeji.

• On her 30th birthday she had to shut down her office and moved home because she could no longer afford to pay rent.

Fast forward to the present; her phenomenal LIB amidst controversies is known as one of the most active blogs in Africa with a massive following and has earned her worldwide recognition including a feature on the prestigious Forbes Africa magazine list, an interview on BBC and the biggest Google search trend in Nigeria for 2014. She recently launched her multi million naira media empire; Linda Ikeji Media and this week she launched Linda Ikeja Social- a social media partner where she hopes her followers will engage with one another.

In her bid to give back to the community, she launched her non-profit themed “I’d rather be self made; No thanks” project which essentially assists young girls between the ages of 16-25 who have great business ideas and are willing to venture into entrepreneurship.

Our girl Lin Lin (as she is fondly called) is proof that all you need is a dream and the zeal to see it come to fruition.

Check out her detailed no hold bared conversation in the September issue of TW Magazine.