The Working Girl Diaries is a new series where we unlock the doors to the diverse and dynamic worlds of women navigating careers and finances. See this as your personal backstage pass to the lives of modern-day women from different walks of life.
Just like Single Girl Diaries, this series aims to provide unfiltered and authentic insights into the lives of working women everywhere. The aim is to dismantle gatekeeping, putting all women in a place where they are informed and prepared for the career journeys they desire to embark on. It is also to help break the stigma and taboo that surrounds money talk.
This month, Onyechi Onoja, a Professional Dancer, takes us through her journey in the entertainment industry. She has carved out a unique space for herself in Lagos, Nigeria, where she balances her passion for dance with writing, voice-over work and a growing parfait business. While she doesn’t operate on a traditional salary structure, her diverse income streams, including dancing, writing, and voice-overs, highlight her entrepreneurial spirit and adaptability in an unpredictable industry. Despite the challenges of managing multiple gigs and the financial uncertainties that come with them, Onyechi’s story is one of resilience, creativity, and the relentless pursuit of her artistic dreams.
Occupation: Professional Dancer
Industry: Entertainment
Pronouns: She/Her
Age: 25
Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Salary: Not on a traditional salary structure
Debt: None
Current Savings Amount: N80,000 (I recently had to pull funds from my savings)
My Working Life
My name is Blessing Onyechi Onoja. I am a 25-year-old professional dancer, a writer and a voice-over artist. I’ve been writing for six years, dancing for four, and I started my voice-over side gig about two years ago. It is something I am still exploring. I attended the Federal University of Technology, Akure, where I studied Computer Science. I had my first job at 20. It was a writing gig. Since primary school, I have enjoyed writing. I wrote an essay once, and my English teacher praised me, saying I should venture into writing, and that passion kicked more from there. Before my first writing gig, I dipped my toes into product design a little but quickly realised it wasn’t for me at the time.
The dance styles I practice are Afro and Amanpiano. However, I would say recently, I’ve tilted fully into Amanpiano. Additionally, while in university, I started a business called Parfaitify. I make yummy parfaits and cook them in bulk to be delivered to people’s homes. My entrepreneurial journey helped my dance career in school because having to meet people helped my networking skills, which ended up being very beneficial in the dance industry. Once, one of my customers asked me to promote a song for him, which was exciting. Besides networking, I have found other values from this work. One time, I delivered food to a client who was grieving and still in denial; that inspired me to write something about death and its different stages. It’s an experience I will not easily forget.
My Money Life
I was 18 when I earned my first income. I made a very random 15k teaching my aunt *Amaka how to dance. It was quite funny actually. Trust me, I was dancing like a soldier ant, yet Aunt Amaka really took that lesson seriously. I mean, she paid for it, so of course. This was even before I made dance professional; it motivated me, though, earning from something I’ve always had a flair for. I felt like a superstar. My current income streams are from dancing, writing, my voice-over gigs, and being a pest to all my relatives. They all don’t have a fixed income, so I mostly make money from my steady allowance from family. I do not have a lot of responsibilities, so I know how to manage whatever I have. When I earn from all angles, I make sure to spoil myself a bit. I make an average range of 50-200k for a dance gig, 50-70k for an article and about 30- 60k for voice-over gigs. My allowance varies; it’s typically 50-250k and comes in weekly or monthly, depending on my needs.
I could spend about 20-30k on meals, groceries, and dining out. I spend about 20k on skincare, haircare, and hygiene products; I have cousins from whom I get freebies. Lastly, general upkeep would be about 50-70k. This is the somewhat regular amount I spend monthly, largely due to the freebies I get. The prices of any and everything in today’s economy have skyrocketed. When it comes to transportation fares, that’s where my money drains. I could spend more than 50k in a month on transportation alone.
The only debt I have right now is what I took from my savings. I had an urgent need for cash last month, so I gave into the temptation to take it from there which wasn’t difficult because I didn’t restrict or lock my savings to any specific month. So, right now, my supposed savings is shaking. I needed to buy a bracelet and some skincare products, lend a friend money, and buy some things for NYSC camp. I have roughly 80k there now, which is sad. If it wasn’t obvious already, I splurge and indulge in bracelets. I love bracelets from Swarovski, Pandora and the like, which can be pricey, so when I make money from all income streams, I just close my eyes and buy some for myself. So, if I make about 150k in 2 weeks, I can buy bracelets of about 20-30k and be fine with that.
I can be an overthinker regarding financial decisions, especially when I know I might make less than I want to within a set period. When I need to make financial decisions regarding my career, I typically start by carefully assessing my financial situation, including income, expenses, and savings. I create a budget that allocates funds for education or training while maintaining a healthy financial cushion. When considering investments, I evaluate the potential return on investment against the associated risks. I also understand that financial circumstances can change, so I maintain flexibility in my plans and am open to adjusting my approach as needed. The last course I took was a product design course, and I paid about 25k for it earlier this year. I decided to give product design another go.
Over the years, I have evolved in terms of finances. My regret is not starting to build my savings a lot earlier. I could have been a millionaire by now. Like a lot of people, I started my financial journey being a spoilt brat and a spendthrift, eventually, came in, and I could no longer be that person. As such, I do not follow the societal expectations around money because if I do, I will be pressured to make crippling financial decisions. I try not to drown myself in consumerism and materialism. However, one thing I have learned from societal norms is to make sure to have a strong support system—a financially stable partner. Lastly, I handle unexpected financial expenses or emergencies with the help of my family. Whew!! I thank God for them.
The Life of a Professional Dancer
Oh! Let me walk you through the time I had three gigs in a day. I woke up in the morning, said my prayers, had my bath, brushed my teeth, and prepared breakfast for everyone— cousins, uncles and aunt. I had to be strategic about my plans. I started with a writing gig at 7 am. I had to write an article and review a book. Essentially making it two pieces that day. My thought process when writing an article will always be based on the topic. I make sure to get my inspiration right.
I rounded up writing just before noon. Then, I had a content video shoot to get to and on my way there, Lagos Traffic did me dirty. The video shoot was for a promotion on Instagram and a second personal shoot. Like the articles, that made it two different shoots. I was making my way from the Island to the Mainland and the Traffic at Freedom Way and VI held me down. Additionally, when I got there, the videographer hadn’t even arrived so waiting for him was stressful. It was a really long day.
Eventually, maybe past 10 pm, I got back home to record a voice-over for an Instagram ad. Seeing as I am still dipping my toes into the voice-over space; I use my phone and a quiet place to record. I’m always given a script, and I just use my talent to make it amazing.
The Journey to Dance
I started dancing when I was a child but back then, I never saw it being a career because my parents didn’t buy the idea of me being a dancer. I secretly participated in a few dance competitions at school until I graduated. Not long after that, I watched dance videos on Instagram and was so motivated to shoot something similar. I posted the video and saw a few comments of encouragement, and then my aunt saw it. She was so excited that she asked that I teach her. That was where I made that first 15k. It was literally my path to being a professional dancer.
For now, I can easily balance all my jobs because I don’t get gigs from all of them at the same time. Since they come in bits, I can allocate time for each but I can’t wait to be in a space where they all come at once. Ironically, that is also my biggest challenge—not getting gigs all the time. I’m always pumped to do them all but I overcome that by just being patient and consistent in marketing myself. Honestly, my ability to see my growth helps with my patience and allows me to stay focused on my goals. My family members as well.
Prioritizing self-care for me can look like ensuring I look good, smell good and stay hydrated. I think positivity does it for me, that way I stay happy and relaxed amidst my busy schedule.
An International Collaboration
A memorable moment or highlight from my dancing career so far is when I did a music video that involved an international artiste. It was Leighanne Pinnock ft Ayra Starr. Ohh!! It was fantastic. Learning dance in a different way ended up being both intriguing and immensely valuable. Set life was fun and it was just an experience that I thoroughly enjoyed.
I found out a week before the gig. I was in school, so I had to leave a few days before rehearsals(my school was in Akure and I had to fly to Lagos). At rehearsals, learning the routine was intense and challenging because it was hip hop which isn’t exactly my style so I had to take my time to learn it and in consequent rehearsals, we had an international choreographer come in and make corrections to the routine. This actually led to me getting distracted because I found it a little difficult to switch my mindset from the routine we had already been taught. I had to learn the corrected ones and then we were separated into different groups.
The night before the shoot, the female dancers stayed at an apartment where a hairdresser came in to style all of us. The following day, I remember being so anxious about the shoot because I was trying to not forget the routine and still stay pretty. We shot somewhere at CMS in an abandoned building and I remember it being exciting and tiring at the same time because we had to climb stairs which drained my energy so much.
I had an outfit that fit which rarely happens to me on set (my outfits are always too big lol), emphasizing the care and attention that was given to the dancers. It was so sweet, we were always asked questions like “Are you okay? Do you want something? Take a break if you’re tired.” I also had a conversation with Leigh Anne. She was so warm to me. She asked questions about shooting in Nigeria and talked about how much she had loved her stay here so far.
That day was so bright and dusty. The dust was all over my body while we were shooting. We shot until it was late at night. Even though I was tired, I was happy at the same time because I did something I loved which was dance and watching how we were grouped and called at specific times where we were needed on set just made it easy. I think I’d say just it being an international collaboration was a stand out for me.
Not all Nigerian music video shoots have been this smooth (I mean the ones I have been on). Sometimes, you may not be attended to as much as you’d like or we’d have to figure out our steps and marks after shooting in the middle of the night. But some sets I’ve been on have been just the way I described this international shoot. Hopefully, I will experience more of this.
Advice for Aspiring Women Dancers
If you love it, please go for it, but make sure to make money from it so you can enjoy it from different angles.
The financial advice I would give someone seeking a similar career path to mine would be to please, spread your tentacles, learn skills, and make money from other things. Don’t put your financial strength on just one thing. I want to establish a sustainable career in dance by diversifying my income streams. I am actively building my social media presence to attract potential clients for freelance work, choreography, and teaching. Additionally, I am exploring opportunities in the advertisement of brands that influence my dance career and pursuing business courses to enhance my entrepreneurial skills.
My long-term career goal is to become a well-known dancer, performing on prestigious stages worldwide. To achieve this, I am rigorously training in various dance forms and attending workshops. I believe that a strong technical foundation will boost this. Furthermore, networking has helped my communication skills and allowed people to know my work.
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