Yemi Timson, a Crude Oil Analyst/Economist, has a very investigative mind and a strong taste for African cuisines. Is it possible to try a dish from every country in Africa? Her strong curiosity, lead her to create her own production company Tunuka Media and develop two podcasts from it. One podcast called Overlook, and the second one Africa In My Kitchen that she co-hosts with the cook Ijeoma. How does a Crude Oil Analyst find the time to upload episodes every week? Automation software, templates, and task timers. We talk about which tools she uses, and other and actionable techniques to help you keep from getting burned out.
Mentioned in the show:
Yemi Timson:
I have absolutely no video of myself online.
Amora Brown:
Okay. Well this, this might be the first one! And you could build your online brand.
Yemi Timson:
Yes! That's what's big these days.
Amora Brown:
Yes. I mean, I have a YouTube channel where I talk about plants and-
Yemi Timson:
I watched your, I've been watching your YouTube. I went and watched the one about when you talked about going from, into tech space, that was really good. You need to give me your skincare routine after this.
Amora Brown:
Girl.
Yemi Timson:
Because I see nothing. I see no spots. I hide mine under concealer.
Amora Brown:
Nothing.
Amora Brown:
Okay. Yemi! Thank you so much for coming on my show today.
Yemi Timson:
No problem.
Amora Brown:
So excited to have you. You look nice.
Yemi Timson:
Haha Thank you!
Amora Brown:
And just happy to be here. Now, you said you got chosen to do Podfest?
Yemi Timson:
No. I , you know, I heard, recently that, you know, I put forward a topic to speak at one of the case study sessions. So I got an email. Thank goodness I went back to look through my emails because apparently had missed the original one, but yeah, like that's going to be good. I'm excited. And looking forward to, you know, it's the first time I just threw my hat in the ring and yeah, I'm happy.
Amora Brown:
Goodluck. I'm super excited about.
Yemi Timson:
You should be at my session. I'll hunt you down.
Amora Brown:
Oh yeah! I'ma have to come by.
Amora Brown:
Hopefully if I can, if I can know in advance and have a schedule for sure. Like that would be super awesome just to watch.
Yemi Timson:
For sure.
Amora Brown:
Okay. So question. We talked about this earlier, your nine to five, you're actually an analyst for crude oil or AKA and energy analyst. And how did you get into that specifically? Like that is very different from your podcast show. So tell me, how did you get into that field?
Yemi Timson:
Sure. I'll start, I'll tell you a little bit about myself just to get us started. So, my name is Yemi. It's, a Nigerian name. So I'm Nigerian by birth, Canadian by adoption. And then, well, not adoption. I wasn't adopted but naturalization.
Amora Brown:
Oh.
Yemi Timson:
But, so that means I've adopted Canada as my home for now. I'm, I'm a trained Economist. So as an Economist- and the good thing is that my economics degree kind of spans several fields. So as an Economist, I got trained obviously in the math and all those fundamentals and all the regressions and all the fun stuff. So what I've done over my career is work in several fields, including the financial parts. I've worked in health as a Health Economist. I'm now working as a Crude Oil Analyst/Economist. And I kind of got into that because I know I had passion for several topics.
Yemi Timson:
I am also endlessly curious. So all of these sectors were, have been in a public sector, right? So I've worked in the public sector across several provinces, which is equivalent to states in the U.S. So I've worked across several public service roles. And so I remember like even after being in finance for awhile, I was like, "Hmm. All right". I was kinda curious about the health space, mostly because I had read a paper in grad school about how immigrants tend to be healthy, but their health regresses when they live in a country for a long time. So I think that had kind of picked my interest in health economics. It was just one paper and then also my interest in behavioral economics. So once the opportunity came about, I switched to healthcare. Being Nigeria, and one of our major exports is crude oil, which is oil and gas. And so it's always interested me how crude oil impact the economy and stuff like that. And how just one sector has the power to swing the entire country one way or another. So once the opportunity came up to switch, I did.
Yemi Timson:
So I, and I said this before in other spaces. And I always encourage people. I'm not that old I'm, I think I'm still a Millennial. I sometimes forget what brackets they fall into. And I've said this before, you know, you just have to get your basis right. You know? In most cases, what changes is subject matter. One plus one is still going to be two, regardless where you're looking at it, in health or in crude or somewhere else. It's always going to add up. You just have to know the topic well enough to apply it properly.
Amora Brown:
That's really Interesting, and thank you for sharing that with us, because I know you've mentioned that you're from Nigeria. The first thing I think about is food. And I know your podcast is about different recipes and different foods as well, too. So how did you come up with the idea to talk about that and trying different foods? Like where did that interest come from?
Yemi Timson:
All right. So right now my company is called Tunuka Media. This one over here *points to the icon on the computer screen*. I think for me, I'm analytical, but I'm, I also have a creative side, which is part of why I have the podcast. And I think that's kind of what we're talking about here. In addition to that as well. I have stories in my head that I, you know, want to tell as most COVID podcasts is do anyway. It's a nice bridge. If I go into the food like Tunuka Media as a company, the intent, it's a nice bridge between my day job and my podcasting. Because as an Economist, taking out all the math, your fundamental role is to take things that are very complicated and make them simple, right? There's a whole bunch of numbers, whatever it is. And you take it and make a story, it doesn't always have to be a good, but it's a story.
Yemi Timson:
You take the number, you analyze it and you put it out. And so that passion for kind of making complicated things simple, it's kind of what led to podcast company. So the podcast right now, I produce two shows. One is Africa in My Kitchen, and the second one is called Overlook. I'll start with Overlooked first. Overlooked is a podcast that was born out of my curiosity to learn about other countries. So I noticed that not a lot of people know things outside, say for example, North America, because that's where I live right now. But things that happening everywhere from Myanmar to India to Djibouti. It was almost like a personal goal to start reading more about other countries. But now, since I know I have to put out a podcast, it's like an accountability journey for me. It's almost like a personal thing for me, but I'm glad other people get to listen to it as well.
Yemi Timson:
So for example, last week I talked about a story it's called Wirecard and it's essentially one of the biggest accounting scandals in German history. And it's not on our news over here. $2 billion went missing, actually, it didn't go missing and that's never existed. It was, it was hilarious. I had so much fun like going into it that I think I may have drone on a little, but that's on that Overlooked podcast. Now Africa in My Kitchen, I can't take credit for that too much. Like, I'll take some credit but not full. So I co-host African in My Kitchen with my friend called her name is Ijeoma. The idea for Africa in My Kitchen is her baby. She was a journey to start writing and exploring African food, trying to make a meal from every country on the continent. We got together, wine was involved. "Hey!".
Yemi Timson:
She had a blog she wanted to start. I had a podcast I wanted to start. We're like, "let's bring this baby together". and Africa in My Kitcehn was born. Every two weeks we pick a country. Then we pick up a meal or a dish. I forget which one she always asks me to. She gets on me about mixing dishes and meals, but we pick one and then we make it. And then also talk about the meal. We also talk about the country, some of its history, some of it's people, food draws you in, but you leave learning so much more, not just about the food but about people, the country. So if you so happen to find yourself in a restaurant from Ethiopia, at least you have one recommendation from us!
Amora Brown:
Oh, that's going to come in handy. It almost reminds me of this show called Check Please, to a certain extent. Where people try different foods in different parts of like the town that they are from or whatnot. And they do their reviews. Its one of my favorite shows.
Yemi Timson:
Yeah. It's, it's been interesting. There's some meals where we're like, we're pretty sure we mess this up. And that's part of the journey, right? Some, we definitely mess up the cooking. Well, not we, because she does all the cooking. I do all the eating and I comment, which is amazing. You guys get yourself friends that love to cook. And so-
Amora Brown:
I love to cook too. I can cook now, when I want to. If I don't feel like it, I might not cook. But if I want to cook, oh I'm going to cook. And the food will be delicious. It will be done correctly.
Amora Brown:
In my opinion.
Yemi Timson:
Hmm. Okay. If you don't say so yourself.
Amora Brown:
No. When it, when it comes to food. Oh, it's not a joke for me. No me. Not for myself.
Yemi Timson:
You know, I'm one of those that I appreciate good food. I just don't like making it myself. I like good food. Like I don't, I like, you know, when it's done, I appreciate good food. I just, just cooking it. Like the efforts versus payoff. Like, in my head, I'm like, I could use that time. And I think because it's kind of, it's different. Right? Everyone has a different thing that kind of draws them in. Some people find comfort in cooking. I personally don't, like, I would rather like if instead of cooking-
Amora Brown:
Enjoy the food.
Yemi Timson:
I would do that. So I'm the kind of person that I would- I enjoy putting Ikea furniture together. You know, that kind of thing. Like things like that is kind of things I enjoy. Like I read about tech news and I do things like that. So that's where I get my energy. Right? So it's different for everybody, I guess. Yeah.
Amora Brown:
Now, can you tell us a little bit about Overlooked? Is that also a podcast as well?
Yemi Timson:
Yeah! So, that is the purple one down here. *points to the icon on the screen*. The one where I talk about the news every week. So it comes out every week. And so that's the one where I talk about the Wirecard scandal, which is the biggest fraud. It's actually fascinating. I do think Hollywood would probably make it into a movie. Essentially $2 billion was kind of made up in the company accounts. And this company was actually listed as one of the top 30 companies in the country. It's went from trading at almost $200 per share. Now it's a penny stock. Its not even what $1.
Amora Brown:
Oop. Not a dollar. Not $1.
Yemi Timson:
Yeah. It's. Yeah.
Amora Brown:
Oh my God.
Amora Brown:
Okay. So now that you have these, all of these podcasts together, for those that are working, this is something that goes to my head. How do you find time to work on these creative outlets while also doing your nine to five job?
Yemi Timson:
I think some of it is, is a little bit of a balancing act. Is it easy? No, not really, but I enjoy the podcast so much. That's one thing too doing something, you kind of- you enjoy. There are parts of it I don't like. I don't necessarily like editing, you know, I wish I could just outsource that. The moment I start making money, that's the first thing that is going, you know? But the research actually gives me energy. The recording gives me energy. So things like that. Whenever it's time to work on your creative project, you don't go "oh, why".
Amora Brown:
Yeah. That's true.
Yemi Timson:
Right? There has to be in my view, some balance between your nine to five and your other gig. If one is pulling you down, the other one should pull you up. You can't have two things pulling you down. So for me, how like find time is I'm I plan very diligently.
Yemi Timson:
I also plan my rests right after work, nobody's coming between me and my nap. I take like a 35- 40 minute nap because I see podcasting as like a second job. Obviously some of it gets done on weekends and things like that. I use this app called Pomodoro. It's any kind of timer. So there's a timer that essentially what it does is that it times you with tasks. So you say, "oh, I want to spend 15 minutes reading this article after that I move on". So I kind of try to schedule. Another good thing, I tend to create a lot of templates. So that's what I spent a lot of time on when I first started. And especially if someone is going into podcasting, I would highly recommend it
Amora Brown:
Gmail now has this feature where you can create templates within their email. And I love it!
Yemi Timson:
Exactly. So for example, imagine you had to send out emails and newsletters and things like that. If you just had a template, intro middle, this, your, your bottom is always your socials. And so you just kind of fill out the middles. So for example, if you go and look at the Tunuka Media Instagram page, one thing you'll notice is that all our posts are fairly templated. Its a slight change to the wording. And then there is the part at the bottom standardized. Another thing I do a lot of is automation. So I try to automate as much of my life as possible, even in my regular life. So if it can be done seamlessly and automated, I do that. A good example of that would be posting on all social media platforms. So you don't want to have to put things up and think, "oh my God, am I posted on this place or this place, or this place?"
Yemi Timson:
If you can post it once and just have something just posted in many places as possible, do that. So Facebook creative studio actually helps a way, you can actually post an Instagram on your Facebook page as well at the same time. And if you use, for example, WordPress as a blog, then it also allows you to post that blog to your socials, including Facebook. I think it's just little things that add up where you can save 20 minutes here, 30 minutes there templates something that you can proofread it enough that, you know, there's not that much mistakes. I mean, I template everything, even my hashtags.
Amora Brown:
Automate it. Yeah. Simplify it.
Yemi Timson:
Whether it's podcasts or something else, try to simplify it automate as much as possible. Try to plan your time. But also don't over book yourself because you don't help anyone when you're tired. Because at some point the quality starts to suffer
Amora Brown:
That's true. You know, I took a nap right before this interview. I was like, I'm not going to lie. I took a 30 minute nap.
Yemi Timson:
I did too.
Amora Brown:
And I was like, I feel so much more refreshed.
Yemi Timson:
Yes!
Amora Brown:
And you know what it remind me of? It reminded me of my childhood. Like, remember when you get out of school and you come home, take a nap and you would get up and you have all this energy? I'm like, "oh my God, we need to incorporate naps into our everyday lifestyle". That's something I think that is missing. Like if we took more naps, I think we would feel a lot more refreshed. Look more refresh.
Yemi Timson:
Even a 10 minute power nap set an alarm. It's almost like cooling and reset your brain. Because for me, I think my body's so used to it. 5:30 I start getting sleepy. That's just how bad.
Amora Brown:
Well, I have one more question for you. This question is from a man named Chris Markel. He's a Writer and he's an Actor and he actually has a film that he's staring in, it's called Fraternalings. And he was somebody I previously interviewed his question for you was, do you think podcasting chose you or did you choose podcasting?
Yemi Timson:
I'll definitely say I chose podcasting.
Amora Brown:
Okay.
Yemi Timson:
I think for me, I'm an ambivert by nature. So when I'm with people I know, and I'm comfortable with, I get a lot of energy there when I'm not in situations or places where I'm too comfortable, I kind of redrawing to myself. So I'm a chameleon depending on which situation I'm in. So with podcasting, I found it to be the most usable medium to tell the story,
Amora Brown:
Right.
Yemi Timson:
Unlike some other mediums.I don't have to put myself out there. I can put as much of myself out there that I'm willing to put out. Depending on your nine to five job, it might be something that is required for your job. I'll give you an example and it's extreme. It's not my podcast. So for example, imagine there was someone who was in a job in a field that was really, really ultra-conservative, but the person has a desire to talk about something that is really, really liberal.
Yemi Timson:
I'm thinking if you're in a very strict, for example, job, maybe like a lawyer or something. And then you want to talk on a podcast about something that was really sexual. Those two worlds may not necessarily jive and the person may not want to put themselves out there. Podcasting is a beautiful medium, because you can get your voice out without getting all of you out. You can keep some of yourself for yourself and keep your world separate. For me, when I started my podcast, that was something I was very cognizant of and something I wanted to do. I'm coming out with a little bit of that shell. Step in with your toes, the deep end sometimes can feel overwhelming. Some people just say, "go for it" and jump into it. Go at the pace that is most comfortable for you. For me, that's what podcasting was.
Yemi Timson:
We have stories to tell and for us the best way to say it was through audio. And honestly, sometimes, especially for me, I've been listening to podcasts for a very long time. I think some people going to podcasting at about the same time they were listening to it. So I've been listening to podcasts for very, very long. And I love audio dramas. Like I love the idea of being immersed in the way someone is telling the story. It just kind of jived. When I looked at all the mediums where I want to tell the stories, you know, there's writing there's video, there's so many things. Podcasts, I think was the one I chose
Amora Brown:
Before we head out. I want to ask a question for you to ask the next interviewee.
Yemi Timson:
Oh, for your next, the next person you want to interview?
Amora Brown:
Yes. Yes.
Yemi Timson:
Okay.
Amora Brown:
Any question that you would ask a creative artist because they could be a podcaster, or they could be a filmmaker. They could be a, an artist, a singer, musician. They could be anything. So what question would you ask them on the podcast?
Yemi Timson:
Let me take a second.
Yemi Timson:
Okay. So I am an Economist as well. So, I'm going to ask something that has to do with money. So if you were handed $10,000 with no strings attached, how would you take your creative medium, whatever it is to the next level?
Amora Brown:
Wonderful. I like that question. That is an intelligent question. Ooh, we got $10,000. No strings attached. You don't have to pay taxes on it.
Yemi Timson:
No strings attached. You don't have to pay taxes on it. You don't have to give it back. It is just $10,000. Here you go. Take your, take your craft to the next level. What would you do? What would you do actually? I'm going to ask you the question. You're also creative. You can, you can, you can, you can also ask them next person.
Amora Brown:
If I had $10,000 now, I would... If somebody gave me $10,000, I would take half of that and save it. Don't touch it it's as if it never existed. So I only have $5,000 and that $5,000, I would try to split amongst each month as if I'm going to live off of that. And it's not a lot, but I try to it reinvested back to myself. So I don't have to go back to work. I would like to make a living off of my podcast or make a living off of my acting and singing. So that $5,000 I would have to reinvest that back into myself. I would have to pay for all the bills that need to get paid in order for me to continue on my craft. So I can't continue my podcast if I have bills to pay. And my podcasts aint making no money.
Yemi Timson:
That is true. That's a great answer.
Amora Brown:
So, that will go towards my bills. Now, once all my bills are paid, then I actually have spending money. So that's how I think when it comes to, to that.
Yemi Timson:
That's a great answer.
Amora Brown:
I think it's like, you pay yourself first and then you pay your, you know, if you can afford to pay your bills, you know, if you can afford to pay yourself first. I mean, so everybody can't just save all that, but I just say, okay, half of that I would save and I will continue hustling. Cause you can't live off $5,000.
Yemi Timson:
Nope.
Yemi Timson:
Yeah. It's, it's pretty, it'll be pretty tight for sure.
Amora Brown:
Thank you so much Yemi being on our show. I want to find out where we can learn about any new things that we should look out for from you.
Yemi Timson:
Oh yes. So I think the best place would be to follow Tunuka Media on Instagram or YouTube. On YouTube we essentially don't have video yet. It's just a static audio of our episodes, but on Instagram we're most active, so follow Tunuka Media on Instagram that is T.U.N.U.K.A Media, which is, a Yoruba word, which is my mother tongue. Yoruba word for open-hearted. I love the word so much. So yeah. Tunuka media on Instagram. You'll get you'll know when you episodes are coming out and we also post fun facts in the middle of the week sometime. Yeah.
Amora Brown:
Thank you so much for joining us Yemi.
Yemi Timson:
No problem.
Amora Brown:
And I hope you have a wonderful rest of the day.
Amora Brown:
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