In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Ade Toye, founder of Imposed Design LLC and host of the Friends of Work Podcast. Toye shares a pivotal personal story of becoming homeless after moving from Nigeria to the U.S., describing how a mindset shift—choosing to reframe his circumstances—helped him recover and taught him that attitude outweighs ideas. He outlines his core business belief that sustainable success comes from consistently delivering more value than clients pay for, and stresses that caring for staff and customers matters more than profit. When asked for advice to his younger self, Toye emphasizes patience, collaboration, and bringing others along on the journey. He attributes his happiness to his Christian faith, loving God, and serving others regardless of personal circumstances. Toye recommends Mortimer J. Adler’s How to Read a Book, highlighting the importance of reading for understanding and applying knowledge, and he challenges listeners to articulate what they gained from any book they read. His favorite quote is from Luke 12:15—“Beware, guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own”—which reminds him to avoid self‑centredness. Finally, he directs listeners to his Facebook page and group for the Friends at Work Podcast and his Twitter handle @FriendsAtWorkUS.
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Welcome to the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner, and today I have Adé Toyé with us. He's the founder of Imposed Design LLC and the host of Friends of Work Podcast. So welcome to the show, man.
Thanks for having me, Tyler.
Of course, thanks for joining us. We'll dive into the first one. The first question I have for you today is is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Okay, so this story has a lot in it, so I'm just going to give the highlights. Uh, I wasn't willing to compromise my values, uh, in a business dealing and a bunch of other things, and I found myself in deep financial problems that eventually got me homeless, and I lived on the streets for several months. Uh, this was shortly after I'd moved from the to the U.S. from Nigeria. And this situation really affected my self-esteem, my self-worth. I really felt pity for myself. But then one day it occurred to me that I could reframe my situation. And although my situation hadn't changed at that point, my outlook changed because I decided to look at the situation differently. And so I smiled more, I laughed more, I went places I was previously embarrassed to go. And people liked who they saw and not what I wore. And gradually I got out of that situation and back on my feet. And the key lesson is that you have to change your mindset even if you are still in a bad place. And it was through this experience that I learned that it doesn't matter where you come from. If you're likable and have a goal, people will invest in you. And your attitude is greater than your idea. You are bigger than your— Or you are your biggest asset.
And what's the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
I would say this: sustainable success is dependent on consistently delivering value. I try to deliver more value than my clients could possibly pay for, no matter how much they pay.
And what's your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.
Uh, to always know that it's not all about money. You should genuinely care about your staff and customers' welfare.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
I would say, okay, so this is my experience. I'm a multi-talented person with many interests, and I learned to do many things. Uh, I mean, schooling in Nigeria as an undergraduate, as an engineering undergraduate 23 years ago. I was cloning computers, I was publishing, I was a public speaker, I did stage theater. I was constantly learning new skills and I could do many of these things reasonably well. But as much as I value these things, I realize I would tell my younger self, be more patient with other people. Carry them along the journey because even if you can do a lot of things, you can't do everything by yourself.
And in your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
This is me. I'm a Christian person. I will tell you, loving God and serving others. I have found from experience that I'm most happy when I feel in tune with God and I'm serving others irrespective of how good or bad things are going with my personal life.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
It's this book called "How to Read a Book." It's a funny title, but it's, it's "How to Read a Book" by Mortimer J. Adler. He talks about how to read for understanding and not just for information. I read a lot daily and I've read hundreds of books on many different subjects ranging from management to finance to business development and much more. But when I read "How to Read a Book," my ability to grasp meaning and apply what I read rose astronomically. And with these skills, I could easily qualify a book to determine whether it was worth my time. And if it was, then I would read it with better understanding than the average reader. And from what I also learned from Mortimer is that the aim of reading isn't really about how many books you read or have read. It's about finding the nuggets of wisdom that apply to your situation and applying them. So when somebody tells me they've read a lot of books or they've read a book, my question is, what is your understanding of it and what have you done with it? And if you can't answer both these questions meaningfully, I ask you, why did you read the book in the first place?
And what's your favorite quote and why?
I honestly don't have a favorite quote. I have a lot of quotes, but one of the quotes that rings in my mind a lot, like I mentioned, I'm a Christian person, is one of the things that Jesus said. It says, "Beware, guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own." And this quote from Luke 12:15 reminds me not to be self-centered and not to place my self-worth in the things I've acquired, because I can't take any one of them with me when I die.
Thank you so much for coming on, man. The last question I have for you before we let you go is, where's the best place for people to find you online?
You can find me on Facebook, either my Facebook page at Friends at Work Podcast, or on the Facebook group Friends at Work Podcast Group. Or you can also reach me on Twitter at my Twitter handle @FriendsAtWorkUS.
Perfect, brother. Thank you so much for coming on. We appreciate it.
Thank you so much for having me.
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