You were a person before you became a professional: Sharon Olateju on Nursing, Business and Becoming More

Some people discover entrepreneurship after years of working. Sharon Olateju started much earlier.

Before she became a nurse, Sharon wanted something of her own. That teenage idea has grown into Shay’s Hub, a thriving merchandise company creating customized T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies and tote bags for individuals, communities and corporate events.

With over 5,000 products sold, more than 1,000 clients served and deliveries to over four countries, Sharon reflects on starting young, building a business and finding her way as a nurse.

African Nurses: Who is Sharon Olateju beyond the titles of nurse and entrepreneur?

Olateju Sharon: I’m someone who genuinely loves to enjoy life. I love connecting with people, building meaningful relationships and learning from them. I’ve come to understand that people are one of my greatest assets

I’m also very inquisitive. I ask questions, learn things and try to become better.

Beyond the titles, I’m just someone trying to live, learn and grow.

African Nurses: You’ve said nursing wasn’t necessarily the career you always dreamed of. Why did you choose it?

Olateju Sharon: As a young person, I knew I wanted to be part of a system that contributes to people’s health. I wasn’t particular on becoming a nurse. I could have become a doctor, medical scientist or something else in healthcare.

When the time came, I chose nursing. Studying nursing changed my perspective. Caring for people when they are vulnerable made me more grateful for life, good health and the opportunity to learn.

It’s a different ball game of what you learnt academically and actually caring for people. Nursing gave me that practical experience.

African Nurses: You started your business before nursing. What made you start so young?

Olateju Sharon: I wanted something of my own. To build an enterprise 

I started as a teenager, what started simply as an idea became something worth building. It was simply an idea I had and decided to pursue, I didn’t know it would become this big.

I’m grateful I identified something I was interested in early enough to explore it.

That’s what I tell young people: pursue your interests. You never know how your life can turn around based on your decision to start; you can’t find that out if you don’t start.

African Nurses: What exactly are you building with Shay’s Hub?

Olateju Sharon: Shay’s Hub is a merchandise company. We produce and sell T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies and tote bags for corporate events, uniforms, casual events and of course individual wear.

There’s a lot that goes into the customer experience, understanding that it’s not just about producing clothing.

Clothing communicates. What we do is we amplify the identity of your brand and express who  you are, what your community represents or what you want people to remember about an event.

When a client comes to us, we try to understand what they want their merchandise to say, then create something that reflects that identity.

The experience matters as much as the product.

African Nurses: From a teenage idea to thousands of products sold, what has the journey taught you about yourself?

Olateju Sharon: It has taught me a lot.

I started wanting to sell products, but the business became much bigger than that. It showed me how much growth can happen when I commit my time to it, showed me my capacity, my resilience and how much I genuinely love growth.

When you build something over time, you discover parts of yourself you might never have seen otherwise.

African Nurses: What has been the hardest part of growing the business while working as a nurse?

Olateju Sharon: Scaling and balancing responsibilities.

I’m a nurse as well as an entrepreneur. I have to grow professionally, improve my business and also live as a person. Combining all of that can be stretching sometimes.

But I’ve learnt that I can’t give everything the same attention and intensity at the same time.

Sometimes my business needs more from me. Sometimes nursing does. Sometimes I need time away from both.

Those things cannot be my identity. I need to detach.

Scaling is one of the biggest challenges in business, but I’ve learnt that consistency gives anything room to grow.

African Nurses: You describe balance as a myth. What does that mean to you?

Olateju Sharon: The concept of balance is a myth. I say that often.

Balance implies equal weight or equal attention but real life doesn’t work that way. Some seasons will demand more from you in one area than another. Balance implies equality. Life requires prioritization. 

First, I understand that I’m human.

It’s okay to get tired. Ambition and rest can coexist, so I’m not running myself into the ground. If I’m tired, I rest.

But there are days when I know, “Okay, this feeling isn’t enough for me to take a break,” and I push harder. We are all hungry, but our appetites are different.

You may take a few bites and feel satisfied. I may finish the same meal and immediately ask, “Okay, what’s next?”

That’s the thing about ambition: satisfaction is personal. What feels like enough to one person may only feel like the beginning to another.

Me, I know where I’m going, so I’m thinking, “Okay, we’ve gotten these results. What’s next?”

African Nurses: What is one business mistake that significantly changed how you operate today?

Olateju Sharon: Documentation and delegation.

I wish I had documented more from the beginning, even the small things. Write it down. Take a picture. Keep a record somewhere.

I didn’t learn the art of documentation early, sometimes you don’t realize how valuable something is until later.

I also tried to do too much by myself for a long time

Then as I grew, I learnt to delegate responsibilities. That’s one of the blessings of business: creating job opportunities for people. I’m glad I’ve worked on that.

African Nurses: How has nursing contributed to your career as an entrepreneur?

Olateju Sharon: Nursing has given me many transferable skills: critical thinking, relating to people, communicating with people from different walks of life and dealing with pressure.

I’ve taken all of that into my business. In nursing, there’s a guide to follow. There are things you’re expected to do.

In business, you take calculated risks. Sometimes you have to explore uncharted territory to get results.

African Nurses: What has entrepreneurship taught you that nursing school couldn’t?

Olateju Sharon: Business has taught me to take risks and break the rules.

With the human body, things are different. For every action, there’s an expected outcome, but Business doesn’t always work that way.

You can try something; realize it doesn’t work and decide to do the opposite.

It has given me insight into dealing with different situations.

Business has taught me to take risks and sometimes it requires you doing the uncommon things to achieve your results 

African Nurses: What has been your proudest moment so far?

Olateju Sharon: The woman I’ve become through building the business.

The business has shown me parts of myself I wouldn’t have discovered if I was in my comfort zone. I started wanting to sell products, but it became much bigger than that.

We’ve sold over 5,000 products, served more than 1,000 clients and delivered to over four countries.

Beyond the numbers, I’m proud of who I’ve become through the process.

African Nurses: What misconceptions do you think healthcare professionals have about starting a business?

Olateju Sharon: Many people think they need a lot of money. Others think they need to wait for the perfect time.

You don’t need to have everything figured out before you start.

Start small. Be consistent.

But don’t start a business simply because you want quick money. People will see through you. Especially your audience, I promise.

Identify a problem. What need are you meeting? Is there a market for it? Who is your audience?

You have to be willing to build and stay consistent.

African Nurses: What would you say to a nurse who wants to start something outside healthcare?

Olateju Sharon: Don’t put yourself in a box. Your Work Is Part of Your Story, Not the Whole Story

Being a nurse doesn’t mean you have to do only that for the rest of your life. Your identity is bigger You have other interests and hobbies. Go for them.

You’re a speaker? Improve on your speaking prowess. You love to write? Get better at it. You paint? Dive into the artist’s world.

You don’t have to live your whole life within the scope of, “I’m a nurse, full stop.”

Sometimes people know I’m a nurse and see me doing business, so they ask, “Are you already leaving us?”

Doing business doesn’t make me less of a nurse. I can build, grow, learn and flourish in more than one space.

African Nurses: When people mention your name among African nurses, what do you want your story to represent?

Olateju Sharon:  I want my story to represent the freedom to be more than one thing.

I want people to understand that choosing a profession doesn’t mean choosing the limits of your interests, your creativity, or your ambition. You can be excellent at what you do and still explore other things that excite you.

You can have a career, build businesses, pursue creative interests, develop new skills, or simply discover new parts of yourself along the way. And you don’t have to justify having multiple interests by becoming less committed to any one of them.

I think we sometimes put ourselves in boxes too early. I want my story to show that you can give yourself permission to be multidimensional, to evolve, and to pursue the different things that matter to you.

Conclusion

For Sharon Olateju, entrepreneurship was not an escape from nursing. It was an interest that began long before “nurse” became part of her identity.

The two worlds have given her different strengths.

Nursing taught her critical thinking, communication, pressure management and how to connect with people from different walks of life. Business pushed her towards uncertainty, risk and uncharted territory.

But the biggest lesson may have little to do with either profession. It is the freedom to see yourself as more.

Sharon’s story is a reminder that a professional title can describe what you do without defining everything you are.

You can be a nurse and an entrepreneur.

You can be ambitious and still rest.

You can build something of your own without abandoning the profession that shaped you.

You can do both and flourish.