Mount Holly, NJ – October 8, 2026 – Habib O. Lawal, a product manager at Accenture and active real‑estate developer, explained how he balances a demanding corporate career with multiple entrepreneurial projects. Lawal believes a stable job can provide the financial foundation and organizational insight needed to test and launch new ideas.
Career Path and Education
Lawal earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Rhode Island, then entered Fidelity Investments through its LEAP program, spending nearly five years in Jersey City. After completing a master’s degree in Cybersecurity, he joined Accenture in March 2022, where he now leads product‑management initiatives.
Entrepreneurial Activities
Since 2019, Lawal has invested in residential properties, expanded into development projects, and pursued government‑contracting opportunities. He stresses that ideas are abundant, but execution depends on disciplined structure. “I can have five ideas in a week,” he said, “but that does not mean I should work on all five.”
Lawal notes that real‑estate development often requires months of planning, while business relationships can take years to mature. He advises entrepreneurs to protect time for work that may not yield immediate payoff, emphasizing consistency over bursts of motivation.
Lessons From Corporate Experience
Working at large firms such as Fidelity and Accenture has taught Lawal how teams communicate, how projects are managed, and how decisions move through an organization. He argues that this exposure is valuable when building a business, where no external structure exists. “When you work on your own business, nobody is creating that structure for you. You have to build it yourself,” he explained.
Balancing Priorities
Lawal cautions against treating every side project as a future company. Some initiatives are worthwhile for the knowledge they provide rather than their profit potential. He recounts exploring a networking venture and applying for government contracts after leaving Fidelity; while those efforts did not quickly become businesses, they sharpened his decision‑making process.
“You learn that being interested in something and building something are two different things,” Lawal said. “At some point, you have to decide whether you are willing to keep showing up when the idea stops being exciting.”
Outlook
Today, Lawal continues to split his time between Accenture, real‑estate development, and other entrepreneurial pursuits. He views his corporate role not as a barrier but as one component of a broader professional life. “The goal for me has always been to keep building,” he said. “Sometimes that happens inside a company. Sometimes it happens through real estate or another business. I do not think you have to choose one identity and stay there forever.”
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
