Kennedy-Stewart
Kennedy Stewart
My Jumpstart Training
Adamu Musa
About Adamu Musa
Adamu Musa grew up in Bauchi State, Nigeria during simpler but challenging times. Now 60 years old, he fondly remembers helping his parents with farm work and household chores, walking long distances to fetch water and attend school.
These early experiences taught him the values of hard work, patience, and perseverance. Inspired by his father’s tireless work ethic, Adamu was motivated to build a successful business to support his family.
He is married with ten children and takes great pride in providing for them. Although his father and some siblings have passed away, family remains a central and cherished part of his life.
Adamu Musa
Business Goals
Adamu Musa’s business is special because he genuinely cares about his customers and always strives to help them quickly. He is not just focused on making money but wants to support his community, especially those facing tyre problems.
With many years of experience, Adamu knows how to fix issues properly. Though his shop is small, he takes pride in offering honest, reliable service.
Owning the shop has given him the ability to support his family, send his children to school, care for his wife and mother, and help his community, which brings him great fulfillment.
Adamu Musa
Obstacles
Adamu Musa has worked in his field for 35 years, gaining valuable experience through a two-year apprenticeship in his community. He trained under a skilled vulcanizer and developed the practical skills he uses today.
However, owning his shop comes with challenges. His biggest struggle is the lack of funds to buy better tools and improve the business. Slow periods make covering daily expenses difficult. Balancing the needs of his large family, including children, wives, siblings, and an elderly mother, adds financial pressure.
Despite these hardships, Adamu remains dedicated to supporting his family and keeping his business running.
Adamu Musa
Our Partnership
Adamu Musa dreams of expanding his vulcanizing business to earn more income and better support his family. He envisions a bigger, well-equipped workshop where he can employ and train young people in his community.
For his family, Adamu hopes all his children will complete their education and achieve success, living better lives with more opportunities than he had. He also wants to continue caring for his mother and supporting his siblings.
To grow his business, Adamu needs new tools like a tire inflating machine, spanners, a pressure gauge, a sturdy workbench, a proper toolbox, and shade to protect his workspace.
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, Adamu will utilize our proposal to propel sustainable growth of their business.
My Jumpstart Proposal
Throughout the program, we worked closely with Adamu Musa to gain a clear understanding of their business goals. Though Adamu 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 Adamu to optimize their business through a new budget, financial tracking systems, and logo.
This new budget enables Adamu 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, Adamu Musa, 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.