Q: Please tell us about yourself
My name is Christy Kanu, I'm the GM of Property Crew Group. We are into real estate development, real estate sales and real estate investment basically. So we are a full service real estate company. We deal in various aspects of real estate, even as much as facility management.


Q: What are your biggest strengths and what are your biggest weaknesses
*So you started working in business at a very young age. Looking back now, what are those early experiences that you had? What did they teach you?

Yeah, basically it taught me that money is nothing but a tool. It's not the end point. Money is a tool that you use basically in achieving your goal, not the goal itself. The most important thing in business or as an entrepreneur is to create value at all times and also, you know. create valuable interactions with people as well, not just money. And the most important lessons I've learned is sustainability is one of the greatest assets you can have as an entrepreneur. how to maintain sustainability, you have to be able to create value. And apart from being able to create value, you also need to have that integrity and also have your clients, be a lover of people. Once you want to serve people, if you are out there to serve people, definitely when you solve people's problems, eventually you make a lot of money doing that. So basically that's what I learned from a very early age doing real estate and being an entrepreneur




Q: What is your typical day like now
* So there are many people in real estate like in Nigeria, but not everyone built a career from it? What do you think has kept you in the game? Because you've been there for a long time. So what is the secret? Why are you still on top of your game after so many years?

I would say consistency. In everything you do, it's always very important to be consistent, and apart from consistency, knowledge, you keep learning because I think I've improved over the years. From inception, I've not been this knowledgeable. So one thing you need to be consistent with is also knowledge, and also you have to be passionate about what you do, basically. So my passion for real estate has sustained me to this stage. And when we talk about passion, we are talking about your love for the job regardless of whatever you need. Entrepreneurship is not easy. It's not a walk in the park. There are a lot of challenges, but if you have passion, no matter what challenges you face in the course of your work, you still just keep keeping on, basically.



Q: How did you start your day when you first started at work
*
Was there ever a point in your journey when you seriously questioned whether you made the right decision?


Absolutely, In fact, no entrepreneur will sit and talk to you and say there were no times that you just questioned what was going on. So there are a lot of challenges, especially in this our economic climate, there are a lot of challenges for business owners and entrepreneurs. So yeah, there are a lot of times I questioned the reason I started. But like I said, with passion, regardless of what you face, regardless of what challenges come your way, you will always find a way to push through.


* So real estate in Nigeria can be extremely competitive. So what is the one thing you believe separates a serious person and someone that is just not really taking it seriously? What makes it a career for one person and maybe just a business for another person?

Like I always say, real estate, you have to have the knowledge. I always say that a lot of people come into real estate without knowing their onions. So once you don't know your onions, you just work anyway, anyhow, but if you know your onions, and you’ve taken out time to study, to learn what you are doing, to have a lot of experience and knowledge of what you are doing, Of course, it's going to set you apart because knowledge for real estate, what we sell in real estate basically is knowledge and information. With the information you have, you can be able to help a potential client, and with knowledge, with what you've learnt, you can also practicalise it in helping your prospective clients.


* So you have been vocal about wealth creation, what does real wealth mean to you?

Like I always say, real wealth is not just about money. It's about creating value and helping people create wealth, being a responsible citizen and also doing good things. So most people might come and say creating wealth is just about money. No, creating wealth is the ability to be able to multiply, to invest, to help increase people's investment portfolio as well as yours. Not just the numbers. And it's also about your creativity, putting your creativity out there and being able to do your best and do your quota in making the world a better place, so to speak.


Q: How was your early life growing up, your days as a teenager
* What is one property investment mistake you see people make repeatedly despite all the information out there?

People make the mistake of, you know, when they see a very lovely property, they'll just be like, I want to buy this property without asking the necessary questions. They just look at the facials. That's why you have practitioners, that's why you have professionals.
But a lot of people buying properties make a lot of mistakes. They just see a property because it's fine. They just want to buy it. They buy through emotions. They use emotions to buy property without going in depth to do the necessary due diligence. It's very important because in our society today, there are a lot of ways you could be shortchanged. One of the worst investments you could make is buying a property that does not have a good title or is under litigation. That is why it's very important for you to do due diligence. So a lot of people buy based off of emotions and disregard the necessary due diligence before purchasing a property. So before you buy a property, I would advise it's not just about seeing the location, seeing the good price, seeing that the property is good, is very flashy and lovely and you love it. You also need to do the necessary due diligence and documentation to ensure that the property has the right title and is a good investment.


Q: What made you choose to be in the career you are in today
*You have worked around luxury properties and developments over time. How do you balance the desire to create beautiful, high-end properties with the question of affordability because of the economy?

Like I always tell people. The fact that a property is luxurious does not mean that it should be high-end or very expensive. One thing about property is that once you are creative enough to come up with something, you have to put pen to paper. If you design from the concept, you have to get it right. You might have all the money in the world at the end of the day. If you don't have your concept and your design right, you might not get what you want so luxury does not necessarily connote expensive. Luxury starts from the conceptualization and ends at the finish stage. Luxurious property does not necessarily mean that it has to be very expensive. It's just the creative aspect. When you are very creative to ensure that you get everything done from conceptualization to the finish stage.

Q: Did the degree you did in school directly help you with your chosen career
* What has been the most difficult business decision you have made so far?

I would say expansion. I'm an entrepreneur in every aspect of it. I'm into real estate. Real estate is my core and my foundation. At some point, I decided to expand. Now, I do hospitality. I have hotels. I also have restaurants as well. So, diversifying was really very difficult for me. I think it was my major leap, especially in fields that you're not so comfortable with. For real estate, I could diversify into different aspects. I'm not just feeling because they all work together. But now, going outside of that real estate into other sectors, it was really daunting and very challenging for me. But yeah, we're doing well.


* What did it teach you?

It taught me that as an entrepreneur, there's really no limit to what you can do.

As far as you are able to work on one sector, you could also excel in other sectors as well.

Q: What was your first job
* As a woman building and leading businesses in a traditionally male-dominated field, have you ever felt that you had to work twice as hard to get the recognition and respect that men get?

Well, the good thing is there are a lot of people right now in businesses, a lot of women in construction and real estate. Unlike before, Before, you could do a really handpick to count the amount. But the good thing is that a lot of women are actually very enterprising right now, and a lot of women are even doing the job better than men. Back in the days, a few years back when we started, we had to prove ourselves double. You have to work harder to be noticed, to be given any recognition in the real estate sector. I think right now, we have a lot of women in the real estate sector, and they are also very recognized as well. So the challenge is not as much as it used to be.

Q: What was it like getting your first salary pay cheque
* What is one misconception people have about successful women in business that you wish would disappear?

One thing about women and women in business, I noticed that a lot of women are very enterprising and industrious, but the thing is they sell themselves short. Because a woman, you see a lot of women making it in their businesses and all, but at the end of the day, they credit it to the male. And most times, a lot of them, oh, you're dating this, you're following this, that's why you're making it. But inside, these people are actually working really hard, but at the end of the day, you see them circumventing themselves, not giving themselves the flowers for doing the job.


* Your LinkedIn presence often combines business, world, faith, and personal reflections. How important has faith been in your business journey?

Faith is number one. Even before I started, I had a faith, and it is faith that has pushed me through to this stage. Even when I faced challenges in business, in the early stages, the teething stage of my business, I stood on the faith. I started with the faith, and I'm still walking on the faith.

Q: Did you have a mentor in your early days at work
* You've mentioned mentoring people and making time for one-on-one conversations that matter. What do you look for when you want to mentor a person?

I think there should be passion. There should be this fire in you and this can-do spirit. Once someone has the will, there's always a way. So I just want to see that spark. Once I see that spark, it's always very easy for me to say, okay, this is someone that you can mentor, and you ensure that the person becomes successful. Because they already have the spark, what they need is to just show them the way and give a helping hand. So it makes the job easier, so to speak.


* What is the biggest prize you've had to pay for becoming the woman that you are today?

Hard work. I would say hard work. The prize I had to pay, because I learned from a very young age from my mom that before you could be anything, you have to do the hard work. So the biggest prize I would say I've paid is consistently working hard and not giving up on me, on myself, on my business. That's the biggest prize I get.

Q: What is your current or your last job
* What failure changed you more than success did? What did you fail at that taught you a lesson that success wouldn't have taught you?

So the thing is, we all that are into businesses and entrepreneurship will face a lot of failures, especially in different aspects of the business we're doing. So in every failure you face, you learn more lessons than what you learn when you succeed. Once you fail at something, there are a lot of lessons you would learn from that singular failure so that it even makes you, turns you into an expert If I would start, when I went into hospitality, at the first stage, during the first period, I encountered some hiccups, which I would not call failure because I would rather call it hiccups. But then again, it taught me a lot of lessons that when I decided to go back to it, I did it better. And of course, it's flourishing.


* So when you walk into a room today, what do you think you bring to the table that you didn't have 10 years ago?

Christiana: I bring everything. I bring a lot of things to the table. At this stage, I bring my experience. I bring my knowledge. I bring my years of hard work. I bring, of course, my wealth. I also bring a lot of investments. If I walk into a room, I would just say I'm basically the full package if you need anything like capital appreciation, wealth creation, real estate, hospitality. So I have a lot that I bring to the table right now.



Q: How do your balance your work and your life
* What does legacy mean to you beyond properties, companies, and financial success?

Legacy is being able to build something that will outlive you, which is what every entrepreneur strives for. It's not even about making the money. It's that impact and ensuring that impact lives after you. That's why you see me. Apart from even making money from real estate, I always want to give back. I always want to give back to the society by creating more entrepreneurs, by mentoring more entrepreneurs, and also helping the less privileged as well. Even in the journey of my entrepreneurship journey, I also ensure that I help a lot of people, impact them. That's why I'm also working on my real estate book, which will be launched in December. I want everybody to be able to look at that, read it, even years to come. Even when I'm not going to be here, it's going to be there. It's a legacy that will live even after I'm gone.


*What is one uncomfortable truth about success that you think people should know about?

The uncomfortable truth is that things are not always as it seems. Unless you are in the picture, you won't know what every successful person you see is going through. They don't show you the nights they cry, they don't show you the uncertainties, the periods that it feels like you're being overwhelmed, the pressure, everything.

What people see is that this person is successful, the money is there, they're doing different projects, investments, but the challenge is they don't see the hard work these people put into the job.




Q: How do you manage stress
* At this point in your career, are you more interested in building businesses, building people, or building a legacy, and why?

I'm interested in doing all. In business, you cannot be a successful business person without building people, without connecting with people. People is the most important tool you use. If you have people, you definitely create money. And another thing again, If you have value, you have to be a value creator. If you create value, you will always be able to. I want to do that. I want to keep a lasting legacy. I want to build a legacy that will outlive me.


* What would you like people that meet you or read about you in Ten years, what would you like people to remember you for or take away from your story?


What I would like them to take away is that hard work and consistency pays off eventually. Because in our society right now, people just believe that you don't really need to work hard, I don't think that's an easy way to go about it. I should be very honest. Hard work pays, and it still pays. I know a lot of Gen Z would be like, you don't really need to work hard. Anything you want to put your mind to, you need to be consistent about it and work hard. I think that is what I want people to understand is that what made me or what carried me to this extent is that I'm always willing to do the hard work

Q: What has your professional journey been so far including your work experiences
* What are you building right now that you're most excited about?

There are two things I am currently building, I am trying to make property very accessible to the low income ordinary Nigerians, to every Nigerian I want them to be able to access property, just like we have it abroad. Right now, a lot of people don't have their own personal houses. At the end of the day, they might even die not being able to afford to own a piece of the earth. I want real estate not to be just for the premium high-earned HNIs. I want low-income earners to be able to access properties, real estate investment. That's why I'm working, whether by co-investment or investing individually in low-income buildings.

I'm also working towards doing a lot of writing about real estate, real estate investment, and educating people about how they can invest in real estate the safest way, and it’s not just about investment, especially for children, I want to write books for children, children in pre KG, kindergarten, primary to secondary school, It's always better to catch them young, especially when you're talking about investment. I'm working towards writing books that they would start at an early age to start learning about real estate and investments that would help them later in the future.


* What's your favourite way to unwind after a stressful day?


My favourite. Lately it changes, but lately I would say how I unwind is watching movies, I watch a lot of movies now, it used to be, hanging out or go to a lounge, listen to nice music. But right now I'm a bit more private, so I do movies. I do a lot of movies now.

Q: Beef or Chicken or Fish
* Coffee or tea?

Coffee.



* Going out or eating in?

I think 50-50. It used to be purely going out, but right now I'm a little bit more private, so I do a lot of eating in, So I'll say 50-50.


* If you could live in any city in the world for one year, where would you live?

Any city? I know it's going to sound funny. For one year, I won't leave that city. Please, my Lagos. I would have said New York or Dubai for just one month, but for one year, I can't leave my business that long. So I would rather do Lagos.

Q: Hot or Cold weather
* If you could swap life with one person for 24 hours, who would it be?

I love Michelle Obama or Oprah. I love powerful women, so I could swap with either or both.


* If you could have dinner with three people, dead or alive, who would be at the table?
Dead. My mom, definitely. That's one. My dad and my sister. Okay. Okay, alive.

Alive. Currently, I would have Oprah, Michelle Obama, and the third person, Donald Trump.




Q: Hot or Cold weather
* If you could swap life with one person for 24 hours, who would it be?

I love Michelle Obama or Oprah. I love powerful women, so I could swap with either or both.


* If you could have dinner with three people, dead or alive, who would be at the table?
Dead. My mom, definitely. That's one. My dad and my sister. Okay. Okay, alive.

Alive. Currently, I would have Oprah, Michelle Obama, and the third person, Donald Trump. I would want to pick his thought process, because he's really big on real estate and investment as well, and hospitality too.




Q: Morning, Afternoon or Night
Night.
Q: Sweet or spicy foods
* What's one thing you can't leave the house without?

My water bottle.

Q: Read, Watch TV or Listen to music to relax
* What's one luxury you genuinely enjoy?

Luxury that I enjoy? I genuinely enjoy? Like I said, I'm a very simple person, so one luxury that I enjoy is being able to be in my own space and have a quiet time and being able to function.

Q: Read, Watch TV or Listen to music to relax
* What's one luxury you genuinely enjoy?

Luxury that I enjoy? I genuinely enjoy? Like I said, I'm a very simple person, so one luxury that I enjoy is being able to be in my own space and have a quiet time and being able to function.

Q: Native, Formal or Casual clothes
* So what's your biggest pet peeve? What's your biggest no-no when it comes to life in general?

I don't like people that lie or people that are deceptive. I generally don't like to be around people like that.

Q: Window seat or aisle on a plane
* So last question. If your life was a movie, what would be the title?

What would be the title? She Came, She Saw, and She Conquered

Q: Please can you give us 3 people that we can interviews as well
I will get back to you
Q: Please can you give some advice to the young people coming behind you
* That's a good one. Thank you so much for your time

Thank you for having me.

Q: Please can you give some advice to the young people coming behind you
* That's a good one. Thank you so much for your time

Thank you for having me.