Madison-Byrdsong
Madison Byrdsong
My Jumpstart Training
Yahuza Abdullahi
About Yahuza Abdullahi
Yahuza Abdullahi, affectionately known as Alaranma in his community, is a passionate welder with over 18 years of experience.
Driven by a deep love for his craft, he dreams of building a successful welding business that offers high-quality metalwork and creates opportunities for others in Bauchi State. Known for his strong design sense and commitment to durability, Yahuza strives to earn his place as a trusted name in welding.
His work reflects more than skill. It represents resilience, hope, and dedication to his family and community. Yahuza’s vision is rooted in service, growth, and lasting impact through craftsmanship.
Yahuza Abdullahi
Business Goals
Yahuza Abdullahi’s welding business is grounded in integrity, hard work, creativity, and a strong focus on customer satisfaction.
His vision is to become the leading provider of high-quality welding services in Bauchi while supporting others by training aspiring welders and creating jobs. He plans to establish a thriving workshop in a high-demand area, offering expert fabrication of gates, doors, and windows.
To expand his services and meet higher standards, Yahuza hopes to upgrade his tools with an inverter, bending machine, spray machine, and aluminum welding equipment. His target customers include homeowners, contractors, and businesses seeking dependable, long-lasting metalwork.
Yahuza Abdullahi
Obstacles
Yahuza Abdullahi began welding in 2007, first apprenticing for a year before spending eight more under a second employer. Since then, he has built a strong reputation for crafting durable gates and metalwork that reflect both quality and creativity.
Despite his skill, Yahuza has faced many challenges. He saved during his apprenticeship to buy the tools needed to open his shop in 2016. The COVID-19 pandemic brought financial hardship, forcing him to sell a plot of land to prepare for marriage.
Today, limited access to affordable equipment, shifting customer demands, and insufficient capital remain major obstacles to growing his business.
Yahuza Abdullahi
Our Partnership
Yahuza Abdullahi is seeking mentorship, business training, tools, and funding through Leadership Initiatives to expand his welding shop and improve product quality.
He hopes to learn new techniques and marketing skills from student interns to grow his customer base and operations. Over the next five years, Yahuza envisions a flourishing business equipped with modern tools and a wider reach.
He wants to give back by mentoring youth interested in welding, supporting his wife’s home business, and providing his children with quality education. As he says, his goal is to create jobs and help his family succeed.
My Jumpstart Proposal Presentation
During the Jumpstart Program, I worked directly with some of the world’s leading developmental experts in order to expand my partner’s business and brand identity.
At the conclusion of this internship, our team pitched the final proposal to Bill Stefan, Leadership Initiatives Board Member and Deputy for Enterprise Management for the Department of Defense. This formal pitch allowed our team to practice our skills and utilize our entrepreneurial toolkit, all while showcasing our efforts to transform the business we partnered with.
At the end of the pitch, we were able to receive feedback on our proposal for our business partner. Over the next year, Yahuza will utilize our proposal to propel sustainable growth of their business.
My Jumpstart Proposal
Throughout the program, we worked closely with Yahuza Abdullahi to gain a clear understanding of their business goals. Though Yahuza has leveraged their skills and years of experience to create their business, they face obstacles hindering the expansion of their work.
Guided by their vision, we crafted a proposal detailing the infrastructure and marketing materials that would support the growth of their business. We devised a plan that would allow Yahuza to optimize their business through a new budget, financial tracking systems, and logo.
This new budget enables Yahuza to allocate funds toward essential materials and equipment, supporting the optimization of their services. Effective financial tracking will be crucial for managing growing profits and preserving assets, ensuring the business’s long-term growth and stability. Investments in a logo and marketing materials, such as signs and flyers, are also vital for establishing a strong brand identity and expanding the customer base.
Career Exploration
Our team began the business development process by having a one-on-one Zoom call directly with our business partner, Yahuza Abdullahi, and our Nigerian project coordinator to ensure productive collaboration.
After discussing important considerations for our marketing materials including local populations, family situations, and prior experience, we began our exploration of the business industry.
We received briefings on marketing and branding tactics from Carla Brooks and Nikki Hendricks.
Outside of the classroom, we received a personalized tour of the Embassy of Austria where we learned about Austrian culture, US/Austria relations, and international business.
To begin our exploration of the medical field, we learned about patient histories and doctor-patient interactions from Dr. Zainab of the Kidney Center of Kano State, Nigeria.
We also got hands-on training for building plaster casts. After receiving this training, we had the opportunity to build model casts and practice assessing damages and breaks.
At the end of the week, we got to put our medical skills to the test through a demo EMT scene where we used triage and emergency response.
To explore the legal field, we received a briefing on legal advocacy from Professor Sarah Stiles, an experienced educator and leader in advocacy and leadership.
I also got to meet esteemed DC District Judge, Adam Hunter. Judge Hunter taught us about questioning, data analysis, and evidence collection.
I also received a personal tour of the University of Maryland Crime Lab where I learned about forensics science, evidence viability, and how to assess crime scenes.
We got the opportunity to learn about different aspects of the intelligence community from an active government investigator, Kesha Middleton. Ms. Middleton taught us about the role of investigators, how careers in government work, and the process for entering the government and intelligence fields.
Outside of the classroom, we took a tour of the International Spy Museum. Throughout this tour, we learned about intelligence and counterintelligence equipment.
We also got the opportunity to discuss topics related to global affairs and government relations through our meetings with the Austrian Embassy officials, government officials from the NSA and DoD, and through collaborations with representatives of universities including Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University, American University, and more.