Armaan-Shah
Armaan Shah
My Jumpstart Training
Madugu Ibrahim Haruna
About Madugu Ibrahim Haruna
Madugu Ibrahim Haruna married his wife in 2010 in Bauchi, and together they have two children, a boy and a girl, all living in the same home. He is the second of nine siblings, with five brothers and four sisters.
After losing his father, Madugu took on the responsibility of supporting his aging mother and younger siblings, ensuring their well-being and academic success.
Raised in Bauchi, his father inspired him to value honesty and hard work. Drawn to hairstyling by a friend’s passion, Madugu aims to grow his business to better serve his community and provide for his family.
Madugu Ibrahim Haruna
Business Goals
Madugu is confident in promoting his barber business and attracting customers by always delivering the best service possible. He values strong, dependable relationships with his clients, focusing on their satisfaction rather than just profits.
Since opening his shop in 2015 with savings and support from close friends, Madugu has enjoyed making his clients look stylish and feel good. He sometimes offers free haircuts to community members who cannot afford them.
His business has changed his life, allowing him to support his family and provide for their needs while addressing the shortage of barbers in his neighborhood.
Madugu Ibrahim Haruna
Obstacles
Madugu learned the barber trade from a close friend who patiently taught him everything, starting with how to hold clippers properly. After two years as an apprentice, he became a full-time barber and has now worked in the field for ten years. His extensive experience sets him apart from many competitors.
However, he faces challenges balancing family responsibilities with running his business. Limited funds prevent him from purchasing new tools and renovating his shop, which is necessary to attract more customers.
Keeping up with youth demands for modern hairstyles also requires updated equipment, which remains a barrier to growth.
Madugu Ibrahim Haruna
Our Partnership
Madugu’s ultimate vision is to develop a standard barber shop that consistently offers the best services and a comfortable environment for customers. He aims to create meaningful job opportunities for community members eager to grow in the business.
His dreams include building a safe home for his family, providing quality education for his children, and training youth to become professional barbers. Passionate about his work, Madugu depends on his business to support his loved ones.
Partnering with Leadership Initiatives will help him access crucial funding, tools, and skills needed to expand, create jobs, and uplift his community.
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, Madugu will utilize our proposal to propel sustainable growth of their business.
My Jumpstart Proposal
Throughout the program, we worked closely with Madugu Ibrahim Haruna to gain a clear understanding of their business goals. Though Madugu 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 Madugu to optimize their business through a new budget, financial tracking systems, and logo.
This new budget enables Madugu 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, Madugu Ibrahim Haruna, 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.