#CreatorStories showcases the honest personal experiences of digital creators who monetize their knowledge of a skill and sell it on Selar.

We share these stories every week to inspire you to create and sell a product out of your wealth of knowledge and be a part of the digital creator economy.

This week, we turn the lights on Laju Iren.

Let’s get to know her, shall we?

Kindly introduce yourself

I am a best-selling author, book-writing coach, and filmmaker. I’m a wife, a mom, and a pastor. I have different nicknames – there is PL, and then some people call me A to ZL because I do quite a number of things. I am typically called the Lord’s storyteller because most of what I do for work and ministry revolves around stories. That’s me.

What has your career journey been like?

It’s been an interesting journey. One common thing I’ve done throughout my career is to tell stories. I always say that stories change our minds by targeting our hearts and for me, writing and telling stories were first a hobby before it became something I studied, a qualification. 

I studied mass communication and worked as a journalist, and later resigned to become an inspirational storyteller full-time, telling the kind of stories I wanted to tell. In these capacities, telling stories then became a career, a business, and a ministry. 

I believe it has always been a call so in everything I do: teaching, writing my own books, and making my own films – there is storytelling attached to it. 

Every step I took, led me to where I am now. For example when I was studying in school during my first degree or my second – I didn’t know there was something like a book-writing coach but from being a journalist and resigning to focus on my blog, I realized that I didn’t just want to be a blogger, I wanted to be an author.

Then, I published my book and had them on a couple of bestseller lists, only to receive questions like “How did you write? How did you publish it? How come it took you such a short time? “What has made you so successful at it?” 

I went from blogging to becoming an author, and from becoming an author to realizing that people need to know how to self-publish a book and that is what led me to becoming a book-writing coach.

About filmmaking, I have always wanted to do it. After writing my first fictional book “Loving Amanda,” I wanted to make it a film, so I decided to just do it. 

So even though I didn’t start with “Loving Amanda”, it was the film I always wanted to make. I had to first work on a couple of short films and series to be in a position where I could then make “Loving Amanda.”

One thing has always led to another, so it’s like when you open one part of you and then it leads to other parts of you that were just waiting to come out. That’s how it’s been for me.

Having worked as a journalist for years, why did you choose to quit your full-time job to become an author and speaker?

Well, I am a deeply spiritual person. I love Jesus a lot and He practically controls my life, which is a good thing. I knew I had just about five years to work as a journalist. It was never my full-time career goal. 

I had always wanted to tell The Lord’s stories and be involved in ministry before I graduated from school. So, it was just a job I was good at. 

Also, it helped to prepare me for the things I do now. I was writing before I became a journalist but it wasn’t very serious. However, while working as a journalist, there were no excuses, I just had to write. 

So when I left the job, I already had that culture embedded in me and it helped me write my first book as a full-time author, and that has been one of my biggest books so far. 

Overall, it was never my goal to be a journalist for life, it was part of the journey to where I was going as God led me. Today, I have my dream job and I’m happy with it. 

How would you describe the transformation from employee to digital creator/employer?

That’s a good question. I heard this phrase somewhere about how when you resign from your 9-5 and you choose to work for yourself, you’re moving from 9-5 to working 24 hours. 

Another person said, if you do what you love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life. Another one also said you won’t work a day, you’ll be working every day. And I agree with all of them. 

Working for yourself is not a walk in the park, it’s not always the easiest thing, but I love it. It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself, having a level of self-awareness

For example, I don’t like to work on a project for longer than 3 months. I prefer short-term projects with deadlines. It enables me to plan the different stages of the project and when each stage should be done to move over to the next stage. 

That is why I like storytelling, there are dynamics. In storytelling, there’s the business part, the writing part, being on set and putting the crew together, there’s postproduction and lots more.  Overall, I like the versatility that my career has. It’s been an interesting journey, one that allows me to take ownership of the stories I share and how I tell them. 

If I had the choice, I’d do it all over again, probably the same way. Not that I know everything, but I am grateful for where I am now and I’m grateful for the possibilities I do see, and for all the lessons I’ve learned on the journey because it is a journey.

With your professional achievements amongst many others, will you say you have achieved career satisfaction?

That would be a yes and a no. I am satisfied with the job that I do, but I am not satisfied with the impact that I have made. I am happy and I know that there is so much more ahead. There are so many more stories to be told in much better ways. 

So yes I am satisfied that I have peace, I’m excited about what I do but when I think about the impact that’s yet to be made, I am not satisfied yet because we still have a long way to go but I am excited that we will make the impact that we desire to make as a company.

In your years of being an author, coach, speaker, leader, and pastor, what’s one important thing you’ve learned? 

I have learned so many important things but I think one overlapping lesson from all of them is that nobody can tell your story for you and your story cannot tell itself.

So whether you are an author, coach, leader, speaker, or pastor you have to put yourself out there. Even if it’s the gospel, you need to put it out there. If it’s a film, book, story, or coaching course, put it out there.

Referrals are good, and having a good reputation is good too. But your work does not have the ability to speak for itself so you must give it a voice. You must learn to tell stories as a storyteller. Intentionally tell your stories. 

How do you handle being a Pastor and the demands of ministry, with your various online businesses? 

It’s a great thing. God has helped me and I have a magnificent support system – my husband is really busy but he is a supportive person. My parents are extremely supportive and I have a small team for Laju Iren publishing and Laju Iren Films. My team is like my family. 

One thing I’ve learned to do is to know what to outsource and what is important enough that I have to do it myself. So I do a lot of things but I don’t do every single thing myself. There are some things that people can do for me that would help me and there are some things only I can do for myself. 

Only I can pray for myself, be a wife to my husband, and be a mother to my kids. But I don’t have to do every single thing for them. 

Of course, sometimes things interlock but I try as much as possible to set boundaries, so I say No a lot. I am very strict about my time and the activities I engage myself in. 

There are some people who can show up anytime – like when it comes to my family they can show up anytime and I’m there for them but I try not to make every single emergency my emergency.

Another thing I am grateful for is a team. I don’t have to be the one always counseling every other person, that is why we have other pastors and counselors. So even though I love the people and I love the work, I realize that if you want to be there for people you also need to show up for yourself. So that when people get you, they get the best of you.

I also believe in training and delegating. One of the reasons I write books is because I want other people to know about my books. When I first resigned from my job to go into full-time ministry, I spent hours counseling people about their relationships. Then, I realized that with all this knowledge I could turn it into a book.  So I wrote my book titled “Dating Intelligently” which I think is one of my most successful books now. 

And many times, people ask me questions and I have most likely answered them in the book, so I refer them to the book. I don’t have to put myself in a situation where I am burnt out, to feel like I am being impactful or I am working. 

Tell us about the Loving Amanda project. We see it’s your most recent movie project. 

We worked on Loving Amanda last year in February and it was my most expensive project at the time. Because of this, it meant that we were not going to put it on YouTube as we did for other films. 

We tried to sell it to a number of platforms but their figures were not figuring (laughs). And because we had already carried our audience along, from pre-production to production, we knew that our first exhibition needed to be important. 

Time went by and we hadn’t premiered the movie because we hadn’t gotten the offer we wanted. I was also not in a rush because it’s a movie and it wouldn’t spoil even if it stays long, compared to other things. One day, my husband suggested that we do something of our own and sell it to our audience. 

We thought of doing it physically but it wasn’t very feasible, considering we had made a lot of investments in the movie. Then we had the idea of doing a virtual cinema.  It was a risk but it was one that didn’t require too much investment.

So we went on with the idea and started looking for platforms that will make payment seamless for our audience. I really want to commend Selar because it was really quite seamless and they would also follow up on people who had not completed their orders. 

That really helped and we didn’t have to follow up with people who may be for one reason or the other didn’t complete their order. 

It was an experiment that paid up, especially because we were able to make our money back from the film. We marketed it for about 6 weeks, and we were able to make the principal and extra profit. 

It came out okay and I am grateful to God for that experience. If my audience ever gets to read this, I really want to thank them. A great philosopher said “na the love wey we see, an en give us liver” so even though we weren’t really known in the industry, our audience really showed up for us, paid money for a film no one has seen, to watch on a platform no one has watched a film before and they went to buy from us and I will always be thankful for that experience.  

Tell us about the Christian Storyteller Prize. What was the inspiration behind that project? 

The Christian storyteller Prize is Africa’s premier prize for Christ-centered stories and I truly believe in inspiring stories creatively told. 

I think that there are not enough stories out there in terms of fiction and film that represent what we stand for as believers. I started that in 2020 when I turned 29 to be a CSR arm of my business under Laju Iren publishing and films which is under LajuIren.com, my entire business name. 

Every year we hold a competition for Christian storytellers to share more Christian stories and the winner goes home with $1000. Due to its nature, we’ve been limited in terms of funding. But that’s changing now and I believe we’ll get more and more people to sponsor as we continue. 

What major challenges have you faced being a filmmaker, coach, and author?

Since we just started out, it takes a while for people to believe in you. I truly believe that if there is quality to what you are doing and the willingness to put yourself out there, you will easily overcome challenges when they come. 

Also, funding isn’t the easiest thing for creatives but it is possible and it pushes you into a situation where you have to be proactive and think outside the box.

Generally, the challenges I’ve faced have paid off because they pushed me to think outside the box and find better alternatives by the grace of God.

What has been the most interesting thing about digital products for you?

That is a good question, I don’t think anybody has ever asked me that before. I think that most people don’t know that I love my space. So if you see me outside, I am very extroverted, and I am very friendly. If I’m speaking in public, I am really comfortable doing that. 

But, I am an ambivert and what digital products have done for me is let me work from home. 

My office is my BQ downstairs, I love it so much, and it’s really always been my dream to work from home and just be close to my family. Work-life balance is so important to me and digital products have helped me do that. 

I am also really good at selling them. I tried doing a physical product business one time, but I lost my money and lost the money my husband gave me to put in. It just wasn’t for me. 

Since I am very passionate about stories, most of my products are stories in one way or another and I find it really exciting. 

Another thing digital products have done is put me in a situation where I don’t need a large capital for quite a number of areas of my business. 

My coaching business has really been successful and of course, I pay for courses and platforms, it is knowledge I have gathered over the years, filled with my wins and losses so I’m not saying that it is not worth anything, It is worth a lot. But I am saying that it is not so capital intensive compared to physical products. 

Also, I love that people can take my courses, and enjoy my products without me being present with them. Of course, I still sell physical books but the ability to replicate a product without spending an arm and a leg feel very refreshing. 

Digital creators work hard but it is not a work-until-you-die kind of thing, you can take a break and still be making money. I love that it still gives you the opportunity to breathe even when you have to work hard to create the product in the first place. The possibilities are endless and I’m grateful to God for giving us the internet.

How do you think Pastors and other religious leaders can be creators while managing their calling?

Pastoring is first of all an assignment. So a pastor is first of all accountable to God. Unlike other businesses or careers, it comes down to what God would have me do first before anything else. 

I’m very careful when it comes to situations like this but we have to understand that the content we share as pastors is very important. I truly believe it is the most important content in the world, so intentionality and excellence, and a willingness to put our best foot forward when sharing that message is very important.

What advice would you give to other creators who are inspired by you?

I truly believe in inspiring stories creatively told so it is one thing to be good at storytelling, it’s another thing to tell stories that change people’s lives and help them be better and do better. 

So I hope that I have inspired anybody as a storyteller to tell stories that affect people for good. 

Storytelling for good because you can tell stories properly but they are not stories that contribute to society. So you can be really gifted in that area but how does your work give back to society? 

Also, I would say put yourself out there and don’t be afraid to fail. Remember why you are doing what you are doing and don’t wait for anybody to believe in you.

It is always beautiful to have people believe in you but I’d say believe in yourself and if it’s Christian storytelling you are doing, believe in what God has asked you to do but then put yourself out there, keep doing better, and work with the resources that you do have. 

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It’s time to share your story. If you don’t, another person will tell it for you, but not as well as you. Take the first step by creating a digital product with your stories.