Jack_Gronek
Jack Gronek
My Business Training
Emmanuel Sunday
About Emmanuel Sunday
Emmanuel Sunday is a passionate and skilled barber from Yelwan Tsakani in Bauchi State, Nigeria.
With over 15 years of experience in creative, high-quality hair styling, he dreams of opening 2by2 Barbing Salon, a space that goes beyond haircuts to inspire confidence, foster connection, and celebrate grooming as an art form.
He envisions a welcoming community hub where style, culture, and service come together. His goal is to create a visually appealing and uplifting environment that enhances appearances and spirits alike. Emmanuel believes barbing brings joy to clients and dignity to those who master the craft.
Emmanuel Sunday
Business Goals
At the heart of 2by2 Barbing Salon are the values of resilience, creativity, equality, and service. Emmanuel’s business is not just about cutting hair but about empowering individuals, building strong families, and uplifting his community.
His ultimate vision is to make his shop a source of pride in Bauchi State that creates jobs, strengthens community bonds, and inspires future barbers through integrity and consistency.
Emmanuel envisions a clean, vibrant, and welcoming shop with haircut icons on mirrors, a cozy sofa, soft music, and dedicated spaces for children, all designed to ensure every customer feels respected and inspired.
Emmanuel Sunday
Obstacles
Over his 15-year career, Emmanuel has mastered a wide range of techniques, including Maloo cuts, beard trimming, shaving, and hair dyeing. He has also developed a unique style by blending traditional Nigerian hairstyles with trends seen on television and social media. His favorite work involves complex cuts that test his creativity.
Emmanuel’s biggest challenge is financing. Without startup capital, he continues to operate from a neighbor’s shop and lacks the professional tools needed to deliver premium services.
Despite this, Emmanuel remains focused, hopeful, and determined to break through these barriers with the right support.
Emmanuel Sunday
Our Partnership
Emmanuel is seeking support from Leadership Initiatives through mentorship, business training, and funding for essential tools, including rechargeable clippers, a generator, wash basins and sterilizing equipment.
His goal is to open his own shop, expand his services, enhance the customer experience, and improve his marketing efforts to grow the 2by2 Barbing Salon brand in Bauchi.
He hopes to build a sustainable business that can support his family, provide a stable home, and eventually expand into multiple branches across Nigeria. Emmanuel also aspires to train local youth in barbing and change lives through skill-building.
My Grant Proposal Presentation
As part of the International Leadership and Business Internship, I collaborated with top development experts to help grow and strengthen my business partner’s brand.
At the end of the program, my team presented our final proposal to a panel of judges from the Leadership Initiatives Grant Committee. This formal pitch allowed us to apply our entrepreneurial skills, showcase our strategic plan, and advocate for meaningful change in our partner’s business.
Our team was awarded a grant that will fund the implementation of our business partner’s plan, providing life-changing support that will expand operations, improve financial stability, and create new growth opportunities. Over the next year, this grant will help transform the future of their business and improve the quality of life for both the entrepreneur and their community.
My Grant Proposal
Throughout the program, we worked closely with Emmanuel Sunday to gain a clear understanding of their business goals. Though Emmanuelhas 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 marketing materials that would support the growth of their business. We devised a plan that would allow Emmanuel to optimize their business through a new branding strategy.
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. These visual assets help create a consistent and memorable image that builds trust and recognition among potential clients.
Internship Highlights
Our business development journey began with a one-on-one Zoom meeting with our partner, Emmanuel Sunday, and our Nigerian project coordinator. This initial conversation laid the foundation for strong collaboration and helped us better understand Emmanuel’s background, family, goals for the business, and the specific challenges they were facing.
Hearing directly from Emmanuel gave us the insight we needed to begin brainstorming practical, personalized solutions. Each morning, our team held focused discussions to refine our ideas, reflect on expert advice from the day before, and adjust our timeline to move our plans forward efficiently.
Throughout the process, on-staff project coordinators and business development experts guided us, helping us ask the right questions and turn our ideas into meaningful, actionable strategies.
I had the unique opportunity to visit the Egyptian Embassy, where I gained insight into the role of diplomacy in fostering strong relationships between Egypt and the United States.
The embassy functions as a center for international collaboration, working with partner countries and global organizations to address pressing issues such as poverty, gender inequality, and climate change. Through this visit, I learned how diplomats engage in meaningful dialogue and policy development to create sustainable, people-focused solutions.
Officials from the Egyptian Embassy shared how they partner with local communities to identify needs and implement programs that empower individuals and strengthen long-term development. This commitment to community-driven impact inspired my team and me as we worked to develop our own business proposal focused on creating lasting change.
During my visit to the Embassy of Poland, I explored how diplomacy shapes international cooperation and development. The experience provided a deeper understanding of the embassy’s role in promoting peace, fostering economic partnerships, and addressing shared global challenges.
Embassy representatives discussed how their work supports cross-cultural exchange, advances policy priorities, and strengthens relationships between Poland and the United States. I learned how embassies serve as bridges, connecting governments, communities, and organizations to create innovative solutions for global issues.
This visit broadened my perspective on international leadership and inspired me to think critically about how collaboration, cultural awareness, and strategic planning can drive meaningful progress, principles we applied while developing our business proposal.
Throughout the internship, our team had the incredible opportunity to collaborate with top experts in business and economic development from Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. State Department, and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
One of the highlights was a session with Carla Brooks, Business and Development Officer at the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs. She gave us a crash course in marketing and advertising, breaking down the key elements of what makes a campaign actually work. Her insights helped us think bigger and more strategically about how to position our partner’s business for success.
With support from Ms. Brooks and other global leaders, we sharpened our ideas, refined our strategy, and built a powerful pitch deck to present at the end of the week. Their guidance helped us take our business proposal to the next level creating a plan designed not only to launch a venture, but to transform our business partner’s future.