In this interview with NIKE POPOOLA, the Creative Director, Thelma West Diamonds, Ms. Thelma West, 30, speaks on the relevance of investing in diamond business

What is the nature of your business?

I deal in wholesale and retail of diamonds, precious stones and jewelry. I am a partner and director in the wholesale company, which is based in the city of London. We supply jewellery manufacturers, West End / Bond Street jewellery stores, and other selected retailers with loose diamonds, gems and handmade pieces of jewellry.

I also run a business which concentrates on the private and personal – Thelma West Diamonds, with my workshop and office based in London. Clients vary and hail from all around the world. I get to create pieces to order, whether it is an engagement ring, diamond sets or very high end one-of pieces.

I make sure my clients get the best value for their money and above all, un-compromised quality, because in my opinion; a well-made piece of diamond jewellery will look amazing for generations.

My services also include advising my investor clients. Not a lot of people know, but diamonds are one of the best kept secret investments that exist today. With good advice and guidance, it will generate you a very healthy and safe return.

Why did you decide to start this kind of business?

I have always been in love with great looking jewelry and sparkly pieces. I always played around with my mother’s collection as a child. I decided to study diamonds after my A-levels, but then found out that it’s not such an open trade with easily accessible trade secrets. It’s a skill that is being passed on from father to son. It took great research, determination and patience to find my feet in an intimate, male-dominated trade. After studying, I got my first job as a diamond grader 10 years ago and the rest is history.

What are the challenges of doing diamond business?

The biggest challenges are managing some of my clients’ expectations, managing my team and ensuring that all the links work efficiently.

What keeps you going despite the challenges?

I love what I do. Every step gives me joy; from meeting my clients (new and old), to designing and eventually creating something amazing for them; or knowing that a diamond purchased for an investment within a year generated 20 per cent profit for my client.

How do your clients know when the investment is profitable?

I advise my clients on the best time to buy and on an exit strategy in order to maximise the profit.

Why is buying diamond an investment?

It is one of the simplest, safest and easiest ways to store funds. Like most investments, it is all about supply and demand. We have a limited supply of diamonds in the world. New markets with developed middle class are pushing demands on luxury goods. You can see that in the high end watch industry. More and more companies are adding diamonds to their products. All these will continue to push the prices of diamonds up.

What expansion plan do you have for your business?

At the moment we are concentrating on European and Middle Eastern based customers; looking to expand into the Nigerian market.

Do you think this diamond business is appreciated in the country?

Most definitely! With every new idea, people need to open their minds to new possibilities. Most of my Nigerian based clients are regular jewelry buyers and previously purchased their jewelry from Dubai and Italy.

It took some amount of education to let them know the huge difference between what they spend their money on over there and what I create for them. Eventually, they became my clients and I provide outstanding and personal services for them.

What are the things an intending entrepreneur should know before starting a business?

Do not be afraid to fail. Write everything down. Speak to positive people. Set your mind on your goals and dedicate yourself. Don’t cut corners; it will determine who you are and eventually will give you success.

What should a lady consider when choosing the kind of jewelry to buy?

Make sure you are getting value for your money. There are different karats and quality of gold and platinum. So be aware that not all that say 18k is solid 18k gold. Diamonds also come in a wide range of colours, quality and cuts.

Get advice if you have a private jeweler or gemologist; otherwise, ask as many questions at the store. Get all the details. If you feel you are not getting the right information demand to speak to an expert.

Jewellery stores are always well lit and pretty. It’s only natural we have the tendency to get carried away, but if you are spending a lot of money, it’s worth knowing some facts about metals and diamonds.

What value does diamond add to dressing?

It adds so much class and sophistication to the simplest outfits. Your personality shines through with the style of jewelry you wear. It’s disappointing to see a person with style and money in cheap, badly made jewellery.

What kind of occasion should a person use diamond for?

You can wear diamonds every day. Studs, tennis bracelets and rings/engagement rings are classics and suit all occasions. For men, gold tie clips and diamond cufflinks take a plain suit to an impressive suit. For more special events you can have more fun by going for more elaborate and glamorous pieces.

How conducive is doing this kind of business in Nigeria?

It’s tougher in Nigeria mainly because of security, transport and insurance. Educating people about the great value of diamonds whether as an investment or as a piece of jewelry is one thing; moving items around in a country where infrastructure is not up to standard makes our business here a lot trickier and sometimes impossible especially for first-time investors. However we are hopeful that the country is moving in the right direction and eventually things will get easier.

Does a person need to be educated to do this kind of business?

Yes, some level of education is required to be in the diamond and jewelry business. It would depend on the role or position the person aspires to. A creative, inquisitive mind, an adventurous spirit and a steady hand go a long way. I have taken on apprentices with basic education and a couple have done brilliantly in the trade.

Is education relevant for someone who doesn’t want to be employed by others but wants to be self-employed?

Education is vital, but not necessarily the conventional university education for creative people. When you have an open mind, the things you learn from life, travel, exploration, learning from good people, trying and failing add more to your person and passion. I am always learning. I read a lot and will stand at a street corner to watch a street vendor mold glass because I might learn something new, or just admire his patience in such a delicate craft.

Is diamond business time consuming?

Yes it is. There are so many aspects to the business, all of which have to work accurately for the business to function properly. When you start, you manage all these yourself; as you build a team, you delegate and manage the team.

Aside from this business, do you do other things?

Yes, I invest in people. I love creative people and dreamers – people who talk about their passion and not about making millions. Combine this with hard work and nurturing and we have a winner.

What advice do you have for unemployed graduates in the country?

Don’t be afraid to try something new. Not everyone was created to wear a suit and tie and man a desk. Think outside the box. Try working with your hands. Write your ideas down. Share them, embrace partnerships. Most importantly, never ever give up.

What motivates you in life?

Motivation changes at different points in my life. When I was in my teens, I just wanted to create beautiful things that people would love. That was my definition of success. At 21, I was head buyer and business manager at one of the biggest diamond wholesale suppliers in Europe. Now at 30, it’s the same – success, which implies doing what I love for people who appreciate my craft; nurturing talents and building relationships.

What do you think can be done to help reduce unemployment in the country?

We need to build entrepreneurial skills. However, government needs to provide basic necessities for any thriving society. It needs to create an enabling environment – good roads, security, and most importantly power. This will help small scale businesses; startups and attract investment at that level.

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In this interview with MOTUNRAYO JOEL, founder of Purple Events, Jumoke Sawyerr, 30, talks about how her dream business became a reality

Tell us a little bit about how you started your business?

It all came in bits, until I could put the pieces together. I started by sewing clothes. Later, I ventured into sewing wedding gowns with needle and thread. I remember vividly the first commercial handmade wear I made. The client was a plus size woman, so I had to put in extra effort into her wear. Thank God, I was well rewarded for the job. When the client got to the United Kingdom, she called me and told me that her white friends applauded my work and also wanted same for themselves. All these really encouraged me I must confess.

When I felt I had more than just sewing to offer the world, I moved into other aspects of creative arts such as  bead-making, hand woven cufflinks/jewelleries, fabric fashion-bags, slippers, wedding accessories, exotic hats/ fascinators, event decorations and event planning. With all these knowledge, I decided to start up my business called Purple Events.

 How did you get trained for the type of business you are involved in?

My training was more of an inspiration from God. He kept inspiring me to create things with my hands when I was young. One day, I spontaneously requested for a spare fabric from my mum. I got a needle, thread and other minor sewing materials. Then I began to sew; the rest is history.

I also remember that as a child, I liked to play with colours; my crafty fingers were ever busy creating one thing or the other. I assume this was where the inspiration to design came from.

As the years went by, I read several books, attended workshops, seminars and trainings. I did researches on the internet and till date, I still get trained and informed because I believe that the largest room in the world is the room for improvement.

 Have you always been entrepreneurial?

Yes, I have always been entrepreneurial at different phases of my life. I have always loved to come up with one new idea, product or the other. I greatly derive pleasure in being unique, breaking new grounds in business and being a pacesetter. I strongly believe that with God on my side, anything I conceive and believe will definitely be achieved. So I try as much as possible to create new products and designs that would add value to the lives of people and to the nation at large. In the process of solving people’s problems, I accumulate wealth in return.

What were the main challenges you faced in the early life of your business?

Finance was the major challenge back then. This type of business is capital intensive; getting money to buy all the necessary materials in different colours was a major problem. Another challenge was getting capable hands to assist in doing the job.

Getting people to believe in my work was  also a challenge. As a starter, people thought I was inexperienced. I had to do a lot of marketing; from houses to offices and institutions, trying to convince people to patronise me and sharing my thoughts and ideas with them.

 How much was your capital?

I started with practically nothing more than my set of needles and some of my mum’s spare fabric to play around with. The profit realised after a long time from handmade dresses was used to start the bead making and wedding accessories business. The turnover from these was then used to buy colourful materials such as table covers, chair covers, sashes, flower vases and other decorations.

 Do you offer trainings?

Yes I do offer trainings and empowerment programmes for all classes of people.

In addition, I am extremely passionate about children. As part of my contribution to building their lives, I offer vocational trainings to them at subsidised rates.

 Are young entrepreneurs in Nigeria receiving enough support?

It’s pretty sad that young entrepreneurs are not getting any support. Because of our economic situation, we have to strive to be self-employed in order to reduce the unemployment rate as our quota in boosting economic growth.

The economy is really not helping matters. People in places of authority don’t want to employ freshers. They don’t want to believe that starters have great potential and could go extra miles to satisfy their clients. They go as far as employing foreigners instead of employing our youths here.

Government needs to do more in ensuring that more talents are genuinely discovered and assisted to accomplish their dreams.  There should be avenues whereby young entrepreneurs should be assisted with start-up capital and there should be talent hunt television programmes on creativity, designs, art and crafts; not only in singing and dancing.

 What is your advice for unemployed graduates?

My advice to the unemployed graduates is that they should kickstart projects with the smallest amount of money they have because where there is a will, there is a way. They shouldn’t wait for the government to come to their aid. I tell people, “Start from somewhere and God would magnify it.” Remember drops of water make a mighty ocean.

Take a close look at your environment and have a deep urge to add value to people’s lives by being a solution to their problems. Endeavour to explore a niche. If you do what everyone else is doing, your clients will think they are doing you a favour. So one needs to be unique and stand out.

Also, unemployed graduates should remember that in actualising their idea to do great things, they should turn deaf ears on scepticism, doubts and fear. They should rather follow their hearts.

If you could go back to when you started; what will you do differently?

I remember as far back as when my younger brother and I would sit down to create some  outstanding unique things, we took it as joke but sincerely, those works could have taken us to limelight if there was someone to encourage, promote and catch us young by displaying these works at exhibitions.

Years back when I newly started my business, I was really fortunate to be gifted in dreams. Whenever I slept, new designs and ways of doing things were always revealed to me; even information that would help to boost my business in future. As a result of ignorance, I took those dreams for granted though I wrote some down on paper but a larger percentage wasn’t documented. Now, I try to ruminate on those things but just can’t get to remember them any longer.

 Do you think that entrepreneurialism is something that is in the blood? Or is it something that can be learned?

It’s possible it can be in the blood but either way, one should always learn. An entrepreneur will do better if he or she learns from her environment or someone.

 What has kept you going?

God; my superb parents, wonderful siblings, family friends and neighbours; these have kept me going. Sincerely, they were all there for me at the initial stage and have kept close till date. In addition to these, continuous thirst for more ideas through motivational books, couple of articles online, my Bible, also keep me going. I clearly understood from the Holy Bible that my gifts will make way for me before kings and not mean men.

 What are your plans for the future?

I have a huge desire to succeed in this industry. I wish to exploit my environment more by coming up with unique concepts and ideas which people will embrace. I hope to build brands with people I can trust. All these I hope to achieve with help from God. I am committed to giving all that I can to positively affect the lives of everyone I interact with. I hope to be a great achiever, a pace setter in this industry; to provide job opportunities to the unemployed so that those coming new into this industry can see me as their role model and emulate me.

Above all, my utmost desire is to be a philanthropist.

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Ms Adeshola Komolafe, 30, is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Media Insight. She is also a member of the World Bank Youth Forum. She tells IFEANYI ONUBA her experience in a male-dominated field of marketing communications

What kind of business are you engaged in?

I currently run an integrated marketing communications company called Media Insight.  We have our head office in Abuja and three project offices across the country. We provide high definition video streaming services, digital media services, research from baseline surveys to perception/ expectation surveys. We also do media relations, communications audit, media research and mapping. It is a firm where we have a practical eye for today and a vision for tomorrow.

Why did you decide to go into business rather than look for a paid employment?

I didn’t just go into business. I had worked with an integrated marketing communications company – for about five years – where I believe I had the right type of mentorship that helped me to grow into what I am today.

I just knew it was time to start. I have always had a passion to help people consistently meet their communication objectives; to help people create and sustain communication between their brands and their target institutional, and individuals communities.

What did you study in school and for how long have you been in business?

I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and a master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration. I have also taken several courses in my field here in Nigeria and in a couple of countries abroad.  Media Insight is just about three years old and we are growing.

You hardly find women running integrated marketing communications firms, how much more a young woman. How do you manage this?

When I looked at the economy of Nigeria and the changes and improvement we need, I was convinced that the future of entrepreneurship in Nigeria would depend on women. I am not saying that women will replace men but we need to transform our options alongside theirs.

It is true that we have more men running IMC firms. However, the more women we have as executives, the better it will be for us to moderate the influence of masculinity on all of us.

 How do you manage your business?

Management is constantly evolving and top performing organisations adopt different organisational structures, depending on their level of development and nature of business.  As a growing company, we adopted a hybrid structure, combining aspects of matrix and project structures.

Naturally, I head the team and we have project coordinators and project officers. We have an administrative division, but most importantly, the nature of the client and project determines how the business is managed.

For instance, we have a client whose job requires that we travel to different states and we work on the move. What we have done to ensure the success of the client’s project is to get a van and setup a mobile video production suite in the van. Just as if you have an OB Van.

We do video recordings for the client on the spot, edit in the van and upload on move. You practically live in the van for weeks. That means you need to have facilities that will provide internet for you in the remotest part of the country. It might surprise you to know that there are places in this country where you will travel for five hours and you won’t get mobile service, how much more internet service to upload high definition video.

Yet, the client expects you to upload videos for the world to see on the spot.  So, in cases like that, although rare in the real sense of it, you must have all sorts of satellite Internet facilities that will give you Internet network in the villages.

The business is fun as it brings in new experiences on daily basis. The most important part is that Media Insight falls into the category of businesses that gives opportunity to young people to show their potential; learn on the job, lead teams and projects and come up with creative ideas.

 Who are your target clients and how do you get them?

Our clients cut across government — ministries, departments and agencies — and international organisations among others. Our work speaks for us. Ninety per cent of our clients are based on recommendations.

 Is the business capital intensive and how do you source for funds?

Well, to start a business in the Central Business District of Abuja is not particularly cheap for a young person. But I had some savings and I had help from my family. Once the business started, it became easier.

Most people think you need to have all the equipment to run a business ready before you start; you don’t.  If you acquire all of the equipment you think you need before you start, you will only find out that some of them will either be redundant or not as useful as you thought. It will tie your capital down.  We got the basic things we needed to run the company and started, then acquired more as the need arose.

 How will you advise fresh graduates who are desperate for jobs?

We all have skills inside of us. The best thing is to work to discover those skills and find ways to commercialise them. You can make money from the skills you have without any capital. It took Media Insight three months to break even. But before we did, we opened our doors to other integrated marketing communications firms in Abuja who needed help with writing their IMC proposals, developing concepts for their own clients and doing creative designs.

At that initial stage, it was comfortable doing this but of course, that was not where we were heading to, but I had taken the decision to start a company and I had to make some income and there was no way I was going to fail.  It was just wisdom.

How can government encourage young females to embrace entrepreneurship?

According to the recent unemployment survey by the National Bureau of Statistics, we have more young women below the age of 35 out of jobs than their male counterparts.

With these data, I believe government needs to put in place policies that will help to increase the number of young female entrepreneurs. Nigeria does not have any policy in place that focuses on young female entrepreneurs and this will continue to make it difficult for more young people to become entrepreneurs.

Take just one instance, if a young woman walks into the Corporate Affairs Commission to register a limited liability company, and a man worth N100m does the same, they will be required to pay the same fee. This is simple and basic. There should be policies on trade, lands, finance, which will bring flexibility to the efforts of young people.

If you look around, government will tell you we are doing a lot to help young female entrepreneurs, but then it is difficult to recognise this. Why? This is because there is no inter-ministerial body coordinating this. You have YouWin by the Federal Ministry of Finance.We have programmes like SMART Woman by the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology and the efforts of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria. At the end of the day, the programmes are scattered.

There is no coordination and this is simply because of the absence of the right policies. Governments have the unemployment statistics; what is stopping them from using the same statistics to form the basis for policies that will bring more female entrepreneurs into the system?

 What are the challenges you face in this line of business?

Oh, gender challenges, there are times people look down on you because you are a woman. That is the number one challenge.  There are times I experience deep resistance because of age and sex. This is a problem that is rooted in the realities of life.

 How do you overcome these challenges?

The word is excellence. I try as much as I can to ensure that the company delivers beyond the client’s expectations. I love to see when clients celebrate their return on investment based on projects we handled for them.

To trust in the performance of Media Insight as a company is to trust in the performance of a young woman surrounded by a great team of young people awash with ideas and lit by youthful energy.

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In this interview with MOTUNRAYO JOEL, the founder of AMA-Dove, an educational outfit, Michael Adekanle, 29, talks about honing skills in order to succeed in business

What kind of business do you do at Ama-Dove?.

AMA-Dove, is an international education outsourcing firm that is based in Lagos. We place students into leading overseas universities in USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Australia, Germany, China, Dubai, Mauritius and New Zealand.

How did you get trained for the type of business?

I worked for a company that was involved with this kind of business. After mastering all that I needed to know about the business, I resigned and lunched my own company.

When did you develop business skills?

It all started during my secondary school days. I used to take photographs of my friends in school and people on my street. I would then go to studio to get them printed and then sell the pictures to them. With my savings, I was able to buy a brand new digital camera, which only a few of us could afford at that time. I also bought tools for shoe making. I used to make and repair shoes. Thank God, my mother didn’t discourage me. She never for once asked me why I was repairing shoes; maybe, because she knew I was well organised and had my priorities right.

Why did you opt for business instead of a paid employment?

I am a man with vision; I believe I got that from God. When I was a child, I used to dream about my future, about how it would look like. When I started work a few years ago, I knew my salary wasn’t going to take me far but would only give me a good start in life as a man. When things became unbearable with my little salary, I honuorably resigned from my employment so I could have enough time to invest in my business and make it grow.

What were the main challenges you faced in the early days of your business?

Challenges are part of life. At every stage one gets in life, one will face one challenge or the other. The two main challenges I faced were office location and sales. Getting an affordable office space was quite challenging. At some point, I wanted to go back to my old job, but I had to summon courage, intensified efforts and the rest is history. Thank God, I don’t face those challenges anymore but there are higher challenges I face.

How much did you raise to start the business?

I started the business with N3m. I didn’t want to start small so that my growth in the business would be rise faster than normal. I even had to buy a car and brand it. I also had an official opening ceremony of the company. I knew I had to spend all that money in order to attract the right kind of clients the business needed. I believe that if one desires something big, one must be ready to offer a big sacrifice.

Do you offer training programme?

We only do in-house trainings for our workers. But soon, we hope to start training people on how to start and grow their businesses. I will be citing myself and a few other successful business owners I know as practical examples.

Are young entrepreneurs receiving enough support in Nigeria?

There’s no support or encouragement in Nigeria as far as business is concerned. I want to believe it is because people are careful about what organisations to patronise. Here in Nigeria, if one wants to make it in business, one will need to have good start-up capital for one’s business. Nigerians are moved by what they see; that is why branding is very important. They want to see how you package your business before they patronise you. Aside this, one must be ready to impress one’s clients and offer free services most times. Then, when one has gained one’s ground and successfully delivered, one can then ask for a pay.

What is your advice for unemployed graduates?

My first advice is that they should acquire entrepreneurial skills. They should take the pain to start something productive now and I can assure them that within two or three years, it will pay off. The companies in Nigeria cannot employ everybody; likewise government’s agencies and we all cannot be politicians or civil servants. If everybody sets up a business and the business is thriving, we would be contributing our quota in reducing the rate of unemployment in Nigeria.

If you could go back to when you were just getting started, what would you have done differently?

One thing I would have done differently is in the area of staffing. And I think that has to do with the quality of education in Nigeria at present. So many graduates only want to earn salary at the end of the month, but they are not ready to drive the objectives of the business. Many of them are not equipped to be productive on their jobs. I made the mistake of employing too many people at once. I thought they could help in spreading the gospel of what we do; instead they were using my funds to attend interviews for other jobs.

Do you think that entrepreneurship is in the blood or is it something that can be learned?

As humans, we are wired by what we can picture or think about. There is no excuse for failure. If one has to learn to be an entrepreneur, one should take it up as a task and if it is already in one’s blood, one still needs to engage in training. For me, it is in my blood and I got trained on it too so I can become perfect.

What are your plans for the future?

I have so many plans and goals to achieve. I have plans for marriage and family, finances, investments, and many other things that will place me on top in Nigeria and in the world. I am not limiting myself to one business; I have plans to do other businesses.

Aside your business, what other sector of the economy is attractive to you?

It will be the agricultural sector. Seriously, we need to improve on that sector. I will love to invest my time in agriculture in Nigeria if it receives encouragement in the area of funding from the Bank of Agriculture. I know there is one but I am not sure it’s functioning.

A few years ago in England, I was going to Chemsford from Birmingham on a coach; if you are familiar with that route, you know that it is a very long journey, but the amazing thing was that I saw many farms on my way despite the fact that we say the United Kingdom relies solely on taxes. There are still many farms everywhere in that country. Every one of us needs to get involved in agriculture either in small or on a large scale.

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Sunday Ogbu, 30, is the Managing Director, Henry Blessing Global Ventures. He told OKECHUKWU NNODIM why he opted to run a private business

Why did you choose to run a private business?

I decided to run my own business because there are not enough jobs in Nigeria. I cannot depend on government to survive and I cannot be wasting my time and future searching for jobs that are not there. I told myself that I could create a job for myself. So I decided to learn this trade and after learning, I started it. And since I started this job, it has been okay for me as a person.

Can you explain your kind of business?

The name of my company is Henry Blessing Global Ventures and I am the managing director. I am into communications; particularly I deal in the repair of handsets. I also sell telephone accessories to my clients and often times I ensure that these handsets are properly serviced.

How long have you been in this business?

I have been in this business for more than five years and I must tell you that I enjoy the business. You may wonder why I say this but the truth is that as a young man who got married early, it is with this business that I take care of my family and other people who depend on me. People may wonder how this is possible. But the truth is that it is possible to be a young entrepreneur and run a small private business like this one and take care of your family from the returns you make here.

How do you manage your business?

This question is very important, especially to young entrepreneurs because our economy is very challenging. Many starters of private businesses find it very tough to manage their ventures. But I will say it is only God that has been seeing me through in all these years that I have been in business. It is not easy for a young man to start a business, grow it and eventually make it in Nigeria. In fact, it is not easy to make it in Nigeria as a private businessman not to talk of someone who is young and managing a small business.

It is quite challenging because there is hardly any help from fully established organisations like banks and other reputable companies. So, one has to struggle hard to survive and this has to do with your level of determination to succeed. However, one important way through which I manage this business is through savings. I do a lot of savings and at the end of the day, I make sure that I invest what I save in a genuine deal, either by using it to expand this business or putting it in something profitable.

Who are your target customers?

My customers are the people I meet on daily basis and they include everyone who uses a phone. As long as you use a handset, you are my potential customer. So you will agree that I have a very large customer base. This is why I said I enjoy what I am doing.

Is the capital needed for this kind of business much?

For a starter, the capital needed for a business of this nature is not that much. You can start with as little as N100, 000, but I will like to state that it is a kind of business that requires a lot of money. If you put much funds into it, you will definitely recoup your investment faster than what is obtainable in some other kinds of business. Also, the amount you start with depends on the area you wish to go into. Some areas may need more than N100, 000, while others may require a little less than this amount.

What are some of the challenges you face in this line of business?

Top among the challenges most persons doing this kind of business face is the lack of adequate capital. To enjoy this business and as I said earlier, to recoup the investment made, you need a good amount of money. I don’t mean that you cannot start or run this business with a little capital. What I am saying is that one needs to have adequate funds if one wishes to regain what one invested in the business in record time.

Another challenge that I faced as a young entrepreneur is where to locate the business. Most times the environment to locate your business can be quite challenging. For instance, those of us in Abuja are not finding it funny here. Getting a shop in Abuja is not easy and the taskforce and some other government agencies here are not helping the common man when you consider the way they treat us.

What are your investment principles?

Before I invest in any venture, I always make sure that I find out the genuineness of such business. This is because I hate regretting or making mistakes in business. You know that mistakes in business can be costly. So I try to ensure that any investment I am involved in is genuine.

I also make sure that I have enough cash that will at least sustain the business for a while before it starts making returns. The cash may not be all that is needed for the venture, but it must be enough to avoid unnecessary problem in the business.

How can government support young entrepreneurs like you?

If the government can create the enabling environment for small business owners, it will be well appreciated. Government should not just concentrate on creating enabling environment for multinationals; they should consider small and micro businesses in the country, too.

They can do this by building shops and creating affordable business locations for small entrepreneurs. This will help the small business operators and will also encourage people who are jobless to stop searching for jobs. Instead of searching for jobs, such persons may decide to get shops and start their own businesses; especially if the shops are affordable and are strategically located.

When we say a shop should be affordable, what we mean is that it should be within the reach of a starter. When you build a shop and say the price is N200,000 per annum, then it will not be affordable for most entrepreneurs who wish to start their own businesses. But if government can build a place and say people can pay like N60,000 per annum, many beginners may not find it difficult to raise the cash and take the shop.

Remember, as a beginner, after paying for the place, you should have a substantial amount as capital for the business. So, government should device ways of encouraging people to start their own businesses by creating enabling the environment as this will discourage the persistent hunt for white-collar jobs.

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In this interview with MOTUNRAYO JOEL, the Creative Director of Hesey Designs, Eseoghene Odiete, 24, talks about how she started her business with little capital

What kind of business do you do at Hesey Designs?

Hesey Designs is a fashion label that specialisesin creating custom-made apparels and accessories for women. Blending our exotic creative designs with African prints, we seek to spread great stories of Africa through our designs.

While trying to make a name for ourselves, we are currently focused on growing the accessory line of business. Items in our line include bags, footwear, and jewelries. Our products are made from the finest materials sourced from our local markets in Mushin, Oshodi and Aba.

We also work with local craftsmen; which is in line with our vision of promoting our economy. Hesey Designs has been featured in over 100blogs, several publications such as Complete Fashion, Guardian Life, TW Magazine, City People Fashion and Style, Ok! Magazine, amongst others.

Apart from making profit, we also run an empowerment centre for women and young people.

Have you always been entrepreneurial?

Well, my mum ran a small business while we were growing up and I usually watched and assisted her. Also, while at the university, together with two other friends, we sold T-shirts to get extra cash.

So how did you get trained for this business?

When I wanted to start this business after my university education, I didn’t have an idea of how to go about running a proper fashion label. So I read up a lot of articles and business management books from the Internet. I read books and articles on how to start and run a fashion label especially with little funds. I watched several bag production videos on Youtube.

I sourced my first set of fabrics from my tailor workshop. After creating the first set of products, selling them became an issue. So I searched for different fashion blogs and sent each of them a mail about my designs. The response was unbelievable and I was in business.

The Internet afforded me the brand massive awareness that traditional media could not have given me. I got the opportunity to work with several traditional media (Magazines and TV). In July 2013, I had an interview with African Magic StarGist and have been featured in several blogs and magazines.

Today, not only is the business growing fast within Nigeria, I am currently receiving and processing orders from different countries.

What inspired you to create the business?

I have always been intrigued by the fashion industry, even as a child and have always wanted to build a fashion brand that would promote the Nigerian culture and build the economy. I passionately believe that trade not aid is key to Africa’s development. So after my university degree, I decided to set up a fashion brand with a mission to promote Nigeria and Africa, so Hesey Designs was officially born in July 2012.

What are the main challenges you faced in the early days of your business; and what are your current challenges?

As a young entrepreneur, starting up was difficult. My first main challenge was sourcing for fund. I had to make do with the little savings I had and grew from there. Getting the products out was another challenge.

I couldn’t afford a shop so I made use of the Internet. I sent emails to several fashion sites requesting that they feature my designs. I knew I had a great product but I needed to be known. Many of them featured the products and my contact. A lot of people started contacting me; requesting for products.

My present challenges are getting adequate materials, dealing with craftsmen and shipping products abroad. It’s very expensive sending our products to customers abroad. We are lookingforward to working with a courier firm that can offer us great services at a fair price.

How much did you require to start the business?

I started the business with my savings of about N10, 000 naira. I produced a few bags, sold them and reinvested both the initial capital and the profit into the business.That was how I got here. I also started receiving orders so I made customers pay before I produced the products.

Do you offer trainings?

Yes, but I like to call it empowerment because you are not just learning how to produce beautiful products but also learning how to start and run your own small business. So far, we have worked with over 40 women and equipped them with the necessary skills needed to create beautiful, authentic African items that can set them up as entrepreneurs.

These women have gone out to set up their own small businesses and they are doing pretty amazing things. We will be setting up a full empowerment school soon and we will be able to take in some of our students as workforce.

Are young entreprenuers in Nigeria receiving enough support?

There is a rise in the drive towards entrepreneurship. Government and corporate organisationsare supporting small business with the necessary funds to take their businesses to another level; there are several grantsfor SMEs these days.

Apart from funds, there are several youth empowerment programmes especially by more experienced entrepreneuers. I was privileged to speak at the IbukunAwosika Ignite TV in 2013. This is one of the many programmes that set out to inspire and support young people to do great things.

There is also the Girls Inspiring Girls show by PejuLawal where over 2000 girls gather together and share their experiences and entrepreneurial journeys. More can still be done by our government, corporate organisations and influential individuals.

What is your best piece of advice for unemployed graduates?

As young people we can do more than write CVs and apply for jobs. We have great potential in us that is waiting to be harnessed. We can build great businesses that will one day employ graduates. So instead of waiting for the perfect job, think of a positive thing you can do with your hands and start at it. It may seem little now, but with determination you can grow it into something really big.

If you could go back in a time machine to the time when you were just starting; what would you do differently; and what advice would you have given to yourself if you could only relay one piece of advice to your former self?

I would have started earlier. Initially I was afraid. I felt I didn’t know enough to start and run a business. I wanted to raise enough funds and start big. So I spent a lot of time trying to start the best way I thought. So, for my message to my former self and to all those about to start, I will say: “Start with what you have and grow from there.”

Is entrepreneurship in the blood or is it something that can be learned?

My elder brother thinks I was born an entrepreneur. I think so too. I have always been a passionate believer, a goal-getter, a planner, and a risk taker. As a long distance runner back in school, I was always focused on getting to the finish line no matter how tired I was. There are some traits I had long before I started my business. These are traits that every entrepreneur needs to succeed.

What are your plans for the future?

I see Hesey Designs becoming an internationally recognised brand with outlets in different countries. I am looking to expand; increase sales, empower more people and get closer to our vision.

The Federal Government said it might start giving unemployed graduates similar allowances as corps members’. What is your take on this?

I will simply cite this quote: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

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Damilola Solesi, a 25-year-old owner of SMIDS, an animation production company, talks about her passion for motion pictures in this interview with TOBI AWORINDE

How did you develop interest in animation?

I have always loved cartoons; ever since my growing up days. I started out as a gamer from the age of seven and dreamt of being a game programmer until my SS2, when I saw the first Pixar Animations Studio movie, Toy Story. I just knew that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

I researched on the career and I discovered that I needed a degree in computer graphics, which was not available in the country at the time and even up till now. So, I settled for computer science at Bowen University. I started the journey to acquiring all the knowledge that I needed.

I am largely self-taught, learning online. I also did an introductory animation course at the Nigerian Institute of Information Technology and learnt a lot from international platforms and people, building my skills from there.

How did you start your company, SMIDS?

As I started to learn more about animation, I discovered that there was no one doing it in the country. Around that time, I joined a group in the university called the Purpose Group, which was teaching about entrepreneurship. I got bitten by the entrepreneurial bug. So, rather than go abroad to get a job at Pixar, I told myself that I could start my own Pixar here.

I started informally during my service year, working on a project for one of the biggest non-governmental organisations in Abuja. I registered the business formally, immediately after my service year. I used all the allowances I had been saving. I got it registered and moved back to Lagos to hit the ground running.

How did you arrive at the name?

It is quite interesting. For quite a while, the name in my mind was Envision Animation Studios but it didn’t scale through the Corporate Affairs Commission. This turned out to be a great thing, because from my study of global brands, I felt most of them had names with one or, two syllables. So my fiancé, now husband, came up with SMID, which where letters from my name. I then added the last ‘S’. Our goal was to stay within one or two syllables. Looking back, I think we thought right.

What are some of the challenges that come with doing such a business in Nigeria?

At the time we started, almost four years ago, most people had no idea what three-dimensional animation was, and they never thought that it could be done in Nigeria. So, it was a challenge educating people. This posed a great challenge, because even those who knew a bit about it thought it was basically something we could do simply by opening our laptop and playing away our time. So, when I tried explaining to them how much it cost to get a simple one-minute advert done, I could read the looks on their faces: ‘Isn’t it supposed to be so easy?’

Also, I had no idea how capital intensive computer animation was when I started. I was motivated by pure passion. So, getting the funds we required at the beginning to set up a basic studio was difficult. To achieve the basic funding, I started with my savings, and then relied on family heavily. Then, I started to apply for anything out there that looked like a grant.

Over time, we got a number of grants and scholarship opportunities that helped us to stay alive. The most recent and helpful of such grants has been the Youth Entrepreneurship with Innovation programme, promoted by the Federal Government.

There is also the challenge of getting skilled manpower to scale up the business, as animation is still not taught in the county. As a result, to expand our team, with the help of YouWiN, we started a four-month apprenticeship programme to train and then employ young people who aspired to have a career in the animation industry.

There are also associated challenges with doing business in Nigeria: power, multiple taxes, and so on. But for each challenge, we find the best way out because we really don’t have a choice but to succeed as a business.

What sort of productions do you do, besides advertisements?

We started out with adverts. And even though we still do adverts as a quick revenue source for our business; we are currently moving into content production for film and TV. We are currently working on a short film, which we started two years ago.

We also have a children’s animated TV series in production. And we have started plans for an animated feature-length film. We started with adverts, because they are short and they help us hone our skills and better our pipeline; as an added advantage, we get paid for it.

We have now moved into content, which was our original goal and is currently lacking in the country. The content market is slightly different, but it has always been a dream for us to be able to produce content.

However, due to the heavy capital needed to complete a lengthy content production, we are actively looking to partner with top children-sensitive brands to co-produce with.

How long does it take to complete one production?

Every production is different. But on the average, we can finish the production stage of a 60-second television advert in three weeks or less, depending on the details of each project. For a short film, we can finish in a month. For long productions, like television series and feature-length films, it takes longer; in some cases, a year or more.

We are constantly improving on our pipeline, to make it more effective and faster, using a variety of methods, including technology and manpower.

How easy was it getting finance at first?

Getting funding in Nigeria is slightly hard. But things are getting better now, with a growing class of angel investors; venture capitalists, which most of us aren’t ready for yet; and government grants, which entrepreneurs can choose from, particularly those of us in the technology space.

As an entrepreneur, you need to be clever and go after every opportunity that presents itself to be able to grow, particularly when you are in a new and highly capitalised industry. At the beginning, it was hard to get people to put funds in an industry that had not been fully established.

I started the business with my personal funds, and those of family members and friends, and we grew from there. We have since accessed the YouWiN grants, which helped our business to scale up. As we move into the content market, we will be accessing many more varied funds.

How do you deal with competition?

The industry is still young, so I don’t readily see the other players as competitors. We are all working to grow this industry and there will have to be a lot of collaboration for us to prove that this is viable. I am extremely passionate about the industry as a whole and want to see it work. My only challenge in this regard would be people in the industry who have no clue and give the industry a bad name.

What is your disposition to mentoring?

I have benefited immensely from mentoring. I was a mentee at the Women in Management’s Business and Public Service mentoring programme, which transformed my business totally. My mentor, Mrs. Bimbola Wright, has a listening ear for sounding off my ideas. She gives me access to information, as well as her network. She has over time become more than a WIMBIZ mentor. She’s become a huge reason why I have become this successful as a businesswoman.

I was also a mentee on the IBM Women Enterprise Challenge. Remember I mentioned applying for every grant. I also applied for every scholarship available. Besides the WIMBIZ and IBM platforms, I, along with 10,000 other women, got a scholarship from Goldman Sachs to acquire a certificate in Entrepreneurial Management at the Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan Atlantic University.

Also, I have a personal business mentor in my husband, who is a business consultant and has been a huge part of my success story even before I started SMIDS. I am always open to mentoring.

Where will you be in the next 10 years?

Ten years is a long time. In 10 years, SMIDS would have been a billion-dollar company, with productions showing around the world yearly. We would also have begun expansion into other areas and around the media and entertainment industry. We have big dreams for Nigeria, West Africa, Africa as a whole, and the world.

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Managing Director of Byolita Beauty Signature, Abiola Seton, 29, in this interview with IFE ADEDAPO, speaks on how confidence has helped her to create a niche in the business

How did you become a makeup artist?

I always liked makeup and after my national youth service, I moved from one job interview to another until someone suggested a Mary Kay business idea to me. I was using their products. The business involved registering with the company abroad so that I could market their products here and also recruit more people into the business.

When I started, people suggested that I should also market other products. So, I registered with other makeup brands and started distributing their products. Later, my friends told me that it was not enough to sell the products; that I should learn how to apply the makeup on people. Therefore, I came over to Lagos from Abuja to learn makeup artistry.

You were nominated in the Zara makeup contest; how was the experience?

The experience was stressful and interesting as well because I found myself among the experienced make up artists. It was a bittersweet experience because getting the nomination was the hardest part.

For me to be nominated, I got my friends and my friends’ friends to like the picture which I uploaded on Facebook. Even in public places; I had to convince people that I didn’t know to like me on Facebook. We had to get a certain number of ‘likes’ on Facebook to get to the next stage. We got people with Facebook identity and also opened Facebook accounts for people who didn’t have.

It was not easy getting people to trust you because Nigerians tend to be suspicious because of what is going on in the country. But my very good friends were just going about assisting me. We had to go to NYSC secretariat to have a brief discussion with youth corps members and they assured us that they would also involve their families to like the Facebook page. It was worth it at the end of the day.

When I was among the top league and we had the chance to make up celebrities; it was quite interesting. I preferred the last stage because everybody had the opportunity to show their skills. Everyone came from all over the country. At the end of the day, only three people were picked and I happened to be among them.

What was the drive that made you reach the final stage?

I was confident because I already practised a day before on the fashion look I wanted. I was already used to my model although I was not familiar with the products. Selecting the right foundation and powder was a bit tricky. But I was able to overcome that with confidence. I was determined I was not going to look at anybody.

Others had already blended their foundation and the powder but I was still trying to select the shade that would best suit my model. That made me a bit scared but I made up my mind that I would continue because I had already practised. I said to myself that once I got the foundation and powder right, I would finish the rest. It was just by the grace of God that I was picked.

Are certificates required for this business?

Certificates are not really required because right now, the business is an informal one. If you do a good job for somebody and that person asks you to do her makeup on her wedding day, the person doesn’t want to know whether you are a certified makeup artist or where you learnt it from. The person just loves the way you applied it and wants something like that replicated on her.

I don’t think certificates are required at this time in Nigeria but if we get to a point that we approach a client and we are asked to show our qualifications or certificates or we are asked where we got the training; then we have got to the point where certificate will count.

I think later in the future and as technology advances, it may be required because people will start to ask for it. Abroad, for you to operate as a MUA, you have to be certified. They have associations of MUAs.

Are there no associations of MUAs in Nigeria?

An association was formed some time ago;that was between 2010 and 2011 – the Association of Professional Makeup Artists. I guess it is still in operation but not many people have registered or associated with them.

We really do need an association especially because of people who claim to be makeup artists and later they come forward to slash their prices. They are desperate for money so they do jobs for peanuts. That makes people to look down on makeup artists because at the end, the job will be badly done.

Aside the technical skills, what other skills are required for this business?

People tend to get wrong jobs; so one needs to be focused and be specialised. Other jobs may come later. In addition, one needs to have good customer relations and be people oriented because this is not just a business; you are transacting with people. That you are doing a bridal job for someone who did not pay well does not mean tomorrow she will not give you referrals. In this job, you have to learn to manage and relate with people.

How can one create a niche in this business?

You have to determine what your niche is first. If you want to be a general MUA, then you have a wider range than when you focus on a particular thing.

I know some people who are just editorials; they don’t do bridals because they feel bridal is too demanding as you have to be detailed. In bridal, any slight mistake can mare the look.

If you are going to create a niche for yourself, you should know which category you want to work so that you learn everything you need to know about it and then upgrade yourself on the current trends.

How can makeup assist with mood and scars?

It is sad what is going on right now with bomb blast incidents here and there. I feel makeup is not just an art; it is something that elevates someone. It brings out the best and makes people happy. When you do a complete makeover for a dull person, the person brightens up, and looks elevated. The dullness is temporarily pushed aside and he or she feels cheery.

It can also cover some scars. Some brands are known to work on scars. For a bride with scars, there is an amount of makeup that will be put on her that will actually make the person forget the scars.

But permanent solutions will require cosmetic surgery or reconstructive surgery which is done in phases until the required effect is achieved.

What are your plans for the future?

I see myself having a makeup line; apart from the tools, the cosmetics itself. I see Byolita Beauty Signature as not just as a household name in Nigeria, but an international brand competing with top brands. I also want to be a brand ambassador.

How are you working towards it?

Anyone who wants to achieve greatness in life will have to undergo schooling. This is my own time and I am still learning here and there. When I graduate, I will move up there. Brand awareness is key because you can’t just have excellent skills. You have to go out, do jobs and let people know you. Your name has to be out there for you to be a brand ambassador of a product.

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Twenty-seven-year-old Temitope Oluwole is the Managing Director of La Porsche Cakes, Confectionery and Catering. She told PETER OKEUGO why she left a career in advertising to run confectionery services

Did you study hotel and catering management in the university?

I attended Olabisi Onabanjo University where I studied mass communication. I graduated in 2007/2008 but I served in 2010. Within the interlude, I was looking for what I could do with my hands. I developed my passion for cake making before my national youth service year.

How did you develop the passion for cake making?

I took this up from my mother because she was into catering. She did the bigger part of the catering job but she is no longer passionate about it and I had to take it up from her.

I had the challenge of unemployment. It was difficult getting a job and the ones I got were not satisfying and fulfilling the way I wanted it. I had menial jobs then. I thought about it and decided that I did not want to be anyone’s employee. I was good at what I did so I decided to develop my passion.

Did you have the support of your family?

Yes I had the support of my family. When I started, I tried to develop myself and went through trainings. I had people that supported me, and I did cakes for free for people. Whenever we had functions in church, I did cakes for free so that people would also critique my work and tell me how I did.

I also had the support of my siblings. My first birthday gift from my family was an industrial mixer. They supported me because they believed in my dream. Prior to that, I did my mixing with my hands. They knew that I would do better with the support. If I did not have my passion and their support, I do not think I would have been where I am today.

Did you have any challenges initially?

Every business has challenges. I have always been strong and up-and-doing. In my first and second years of trying to put my business together, I tried to do a lot of things at once and they were not working out.

I just needed to be strong. I made some mistakes initially when mixing and I had to discard my works because I wanted to deliver the perfect cakes to people. I kept at it and I became better. I had challenges but I was able to manage them properly.

What else do you do apart from cake making?

I do dress consultation too, but that is by the side. Cake making is the main part of my business.

How long have you been in the business?

This is my fourth year. It has been wonderful and I thank God for where he is taking me. My passion keeps growing every day, and I am happy when I get referrals every day. It is the joy of every food maker to get compliments and referrals from people.

What inspired the name La Porsche?

There was a day I was thinking of a business name. I saw some very common names and I needed a name to stand me out because I am very classy. I thought about the things I do, which included dress consulting, catering, cake making and I knew I had a touch of class in everything I did.

I noticed that people complimented me on the way I dressed too. So I decided to bring it into my business. I saw names like Posh on the street, but I decided to coin mine from the car, since Porsche is very classy. I added the La to it and came up with La Porsche.

What are the factors that crumble a business at the starting stage?

One of the things that crumble a business is lack of standard and structure. I attended seminars in my church, Daystar Christian Centre, and I listened to my pastor talk about starting with what you have. I got the ideas I needed and sold my ideas to people and they bought into it.

Lack of planning could also crumble a business. I took my business seriously and never mixed business with pleasure or relationships. Having a good structure, vision and plan is necessary for the success of a business, before execution.

Do you have any regret not practising your profession?

I do not have any regret not practicing at all. I had in mind to work in an advertising firm. I also wanted to offer my services for free at the places I applied to but because of the situation in the country, people thought I was desperate for a job since I wanted to offer my services for free.

I knew I was hardworking but the jobs were not forthcoming. The ones that came were not good enough to make me stand out as a role model that I wanted to be. I did work at some places but I was not fulfilled like I am now.

Do you see yourself working in the future as a dress consultant?

Yes I do, because that is also part of my business. I grew among four sisters and watched them dress and stand out in the crowd. It is something I am looking at to expand in the near future. I love fashion and it reflects in the way I do things. I do not like it when a young lady does not know how to dress.

How do you handle competition in the confectionery industry?

Before I started my business, I knew there would be competition. I am always determined to do whatever I set my mind to do. I saw the competition but I did not let it weigh me down at any time.

I believe that my work is unique and I always refer people to other places so they could see what others do. I am very confident that my work stands out. I believe what is mine is mine and it cannot be taken away from me.

How do you encourage people?

Sometimes I organise free trainings for people because I believe that if I keep what I have and what I know, I will not be able to get another one.

What makes your products different from those of others?

I do not really have a special recipe that I use but before I start up anything, I commit it to God in prayers. I told God that I wanted to be outstanding before I started my business, so I have that God factor in my business. And as a confirmation, I get compliments and referrals from people.

How did you develop yourself?

After I learnt cake making from my mum, I underwent some other training and learnt the things I did not know. I also learnt the art of decoration. I needed to meet up with the standards of the modern world. I had to improve myself through seminars and workshops.

I also attended Daystar Skill Acquisition Programme also known as DSAP in 2011. It was organised by my church. I enrolled for the cake making class. After that I attended Mix n Bakes confectionaries. That was where I perfected my art of cake making.

Where do you see yourself in the future?

I see myself going global. It is something I dream and I will see it happen. I would run my business on international levels in five years.

What advice do you have for up and coming entrepreneurs?

They should put God first in everything they do. They should search deep inside them and find the gift inside. Everyone has a gift. There is something that makes them unique from every other person. That is where their wealth is hidden.

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Saidat Bello, 25, tells IFEANYI ONUBA how her ability to solve her hair problem spurred her into becoming a cosmetologist

What did you study in school?

I have a first degree from Bayero University Kano. I graduated in 2012. I also have a diploma in Mass Communication from the same university. I’m currently the Chief Executive Officer of Sissie Natural.

Why did you decide to go into business?

I always wanted to be an entrepreneur right from when I was a teenager. When I was in the university I did a little buying and selling business. I joined a youth entrepreneurship organisation, attended seminars and conferences for youth entrepreneurship. During my National Youth Service Corps programme, I learnt a skill and after graduating I started Sissie Natural Company.

Why did you choose this line of business?

I had some hair problems and tried different products in the market, and they didn’t work the way I wanted.

During that time, I was becoming more health conscious and so I started reading about natural, chemical free alternatives. After all these studies, I started making my own hair cream, body scrub and shampoo and I must confess that these worked very well. My friends and family started asking me what I was using, and this spurred me into making hair care products for them and the products also worked for them.

Having satisfied them, I decided to study more about natural hair and skin care products and during this time; I discovered I did not only like what I was doing, I started having passion for it. And so I decided to turn it into a business.

What kind of skill did you learn during your NYSC period and how has it been beneficial to you?

I learnt how to sew clothes and I also make clothes for sale and for personal use. I also learnt cosmetology during that period which lasted about six months and this has helped me in starting and managing the business effectively.

What is the nature of the business that you are currently engaged in?

Sissie Natural is a natural organic hair and skin care products company. Our products are 100 per cent natural. We deal in the wholesale and retail of carrier oils, essential oils, handmade body soap, body scrub, hair and skin butters and cream.

I manufacture the hair cream myself and in doing this, I source most of the ingredients locally. After sourcing for the ingredients, I mix it together based on specifications and then sell.

I also co-manage a company with my sister called Mumtaz Bags and Accessories which deals in the wholesale and retail of bags, shoes, clothes, accessories, diamond, silver and gold jewelleries.

We ensure our customers get value for their money; high quality products at affordable prices.

How long have you been in this business?

I have been in business now for six months.

How do you manage your business?

As a sole entrepreneur I try to understand, manage and take responsibility for every aspect of the business. I ensure my customers get good high quality products.

In the beauty industry, quality is very important; it is what makes the customers to continue using the products.

As an economist I also ensure a good financial management of the business to guarantee profitability.

Who are your target clients and how do you get them?

Children, youths and adult. My clients range from babies to grown-ups – everybody that uses hair and skin cream is my target client. Also, of particular interest to me are those people who are interested in natural, organic and chemical-free products. I provide products suitable for the African skin and hair texture.

I also source my customers through advertisements using social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, online stores and forums.

Is the business capital intensive and how much did you start with?

The business is not capital intensive. I started with less than N50,000.

What advice do you have for fresh graduates that are desperately looking for jobs?

Not everyone can get a white collar job due to the high unemployment rate and not all graduates are suited for it. As a fresh graduate, you need to discover what you are good at; be it manufacturing, retailing, hand skills, rendering service and so on.

Identify someone who will serve as your mentor and get professional advice from them on how to develop your business plan and start up your business.

It is not all businesses that require large capital. You can start up a business with as low as N5,000 and as time goes on, you expand.

You also have to understand that not all businesses will succeed immediately. If you fail at the first attempt, go back to the drawing board, learn from your mistakes and re-strategise. That is how you can become a successful entrepreneur.

How can government encourage young people to embrace entrepreneurship?

Government can help young people embrace entrepreneurship by providing social amenities and infrastructure. Social amenities and infrastructure affect the cost of production and running of businesses.

It is the responsibility of government to create an enabling environment for businesses. Government should also help by providing interest free loans and free capital for entrepreneurs. More vocational skills acquisition centres should be made available to the public for free.

What are the challenges you face in this line of business?

As a new company, convincing prospective customers is a little bit challenging and some of the oils are not readily available in the Nigerian market.

Running a business in Nigeria is not an easy task. How have you been able to survive despite the challenges you face?

I get motivated and determined to succeed each time I have a client that is satisfied with my products. I tell and show them the quality of our products and give them free samples for them to test.

What other key investment principles will you recommend for young entrepreneurs like you?

Be focused, have goals and grow your business. As a young entrepreneur you have to work hard to ensure your company grows.

Carve out your niche, scan your society like a detective at every time to be able to adjust and strive to be the best in your environment.

Strive to understand your competitors and try as much as you can to mitigate risk. Never give up. Talent and education are not enough. Determination and perseverance are very important.

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In this interview with MOTUNRAYO JOEL, the founder, SESEWA Support Services, Adeoye Adekunbi, 29, talks about how she started her dream job

How and when did you start business?

I am the Executive Director/ Director of Search, SESEWA Support Services. SESEWA is a Yoruba coinage — Se isewa? And it means “Is there a job? We are a social enterprise that is committed to providing platforms for improving the employability of the African youth. We achieve this through the provision of internships, work shadowing programmes, and volunteering programmes.

The business started in 2009; at the time I was in the final year of my law programme at the Obafemi Awolowo University. A personal experience led me to starting the business. I had searched for internship opportunities during my holiday period and was shocked at the responses I got. Even when I asked not to be paid, I did not get positive responses. I eventually found an opportunity which changed my life. I found an internship with a law firm which opened me up to what the business is all about today.

This internship made me resolve to bridge the gap between the Nigerian student and Corporate Nigeria; and to find a link such that both parties can be beneficial to each other. Also, I became a different individual and it further confirmed my interest in internship and the impact it can have on my peers as well.

My business started these placements in 2009; we placed our first intern at an energy company in 2009 and since then we have been committed to providing these platforms for young people in Africa.

When you eventually left school, what motivated you into doing business instead of looking for a job?

Prior to starting SESEWA, I had run several businesses within the OAU community. In actual fact, my first sale experience was at the age of nine when I sold greeting cards in a secondary school. So I have always been enterprising.

I consistently gained a lot of experiences as an undergraduate working and engaging myself in opportunities that helped sharpen my skills. The exposure instilled confidence in me to follow my dreams into what I am doing now. I must say the desire to fill this gap led me to running this social enterprise.

Do you still consider practising what you studied in the university by taking up paid employment?

I studied law and I am a barrister and solicitor of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I do love my profession but my business has become more of a calling and I have found purpose helping young people find a connect with their future. I will say I have found where my heart belongs.

For me, work is beyond the pay cheque; it is about making an impact and becoming fulfilled. With my business, I have found more than a pay cheque. There is no doubt that my educational background in law is giving me leverage in my business but practising law is not an option for me.

What inspired the creation of your business?

Aside my enterprising background, so many things inspired me. The first on the list was my desire to change the world, to impact lives and to leave a legacy. I was also inspired to venture into the business of internship because there are no internship business models in Nigeria. My business is building a new direction and we are working towards it daily.

What are the challenges you are facing in the business?

The business runs with a vision to be the one-stop centre for the best waves of fresh talents across the globe. Our biggest challenge has been finding the right people and engaging them through their process of schooling until they start a job. Our community is crowded with half-baked graduates without the right skills needed for the corporate world. It is in this challenge that we are also exploring opportunities.

Who are your clients?

Our clients cut across various fields, from banking to Pension Fund Administrators, SMEs, and the Not-for-Profits Organisations.

Why did you choose to invest in youths?

SESEWA believes so much in the potential youths possess. We believe that if they are given the right guidance and platform, they will shine. We believe that the young people are the real resource that Africa has and has not tapped into; not oil, not natural resources, but young people.

Do entrepreneurs need to be on the Internet before they can make it?

No. The Internet is like the icing on a cake; it beautifies what already exists. It helps your business get a wider reach because of its large audience. However, what makes a business successful is beyond the Internet. It is more of human capital, what the business offers and the values that guide the organisation.

The Internet then becomes an opportunity to be heard, seen and located.

How active are you on the social media? Do they have any effect on your business as well?

I will say pretty active. The impact of social media on businesses cannot be overestimated. Social media have redefined the way business is done. Their impact is enormous. With the social media businesses get more coverage in terms of audience which can help increase the level of impact. We have seen the promotional costs reduced largely because of social media. Our teeming audience are also domiciled there.

What financial mistakes should young entrepreneurs avoid?

Stop waiting for perfect conditions because they don’t exist. As an entrepreneur, start with what you have and where you are. The rule is dream big; start whether small or big, grow fast.

What is your advice to unemployed graduates?

Jobs wouldn’t come to you in the comfort of your room. Get out there; get skills, get employed. Add value to the society. The money should not be the motivation; do what you love and the money will follow because money goes in exchange for value. The starting point should be to discover the value you can offer and where the value is needed.

What are your plans for the future?

To be the one-stop centre for internships in Africa.

A significant percentage of unemployed graduates don’t believe in internships, especially because of the way they view money (if they must work, they should be paid). What is your advice to them?

I will want every Nigeria youth to understand this; employers are on the look out for highly talented and skilled individuals with the right commitment to move their organisations forward. Unfortunately, these requirements are not taught within the walls of our tertiary institutions.

Internships provide the platforms for the individuals to sharpen their skills and develop new ones. So I can confidently say internships are the way out. No employer will have any employee as an act of charity. They pay for value and skills.

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Seun Friday, a 26-year-old fashion designer, tells TOBI AWORINDE about his journey from self-development to starting up his business

What is your educational background?

I graduated from Lead City University with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Science. Before I started my line, I had to get some training on how to make clothes. So, I went to a fashion school in Ikeja, Lagos, One Stop Celebration, where I learnt how to make male and female clothes. It was a nine-month course. Soon, I will enrol in another fashion school to learn more. I believe that adding value to oneself is very crucial.

How did you develop an interest in fashion?

For me, fashion started from university days. I would combine clothes and get great comments from people. But at the time, it didn’t occur to me that I could do this full-time and make a living out of it.

After my tertiary education, the passion I had for well-made clothes grew. I didn’t just want to look good; I wanted to make other people look good too. I had a tailor then that made my clothes. So what I decided to do was to become a middle man. I would tell the tailor what to make and get my commission after selling to people. The joy I got from people looking good as a result of clothes they got through me was overwhelming and that was the point I decided I wanted to do this as a full-time career. I don’t want anything more than just that.

When did you set up your company?

Seun Friday Couture was birthed on January 5, 2013. I had always made clothes and the acceptance was great. I was encouraged a lot by my friends too, but it had not yet become a business.

Why did you decide to use your name for the business?

On this particular day, I was with a friend, Evans Akanno, an exceptional Internet entrepreneur. And he asked me, “Why don’t you start a website, a Facebook page, and more importantly, come up with a name?” We came up with various names and kept changing it, because some other people had used them. But I wanted a brand name carved out of my name, not made up of complex words.

Eventually, with my idea of what I wanted, alongside prayers and Evans’ input, we came up with Seun Friday Couture. Immediately after, we launched our Facebook page and bought the domain name. We have registered the name, but we will be registering it as a company later in the year. I couldn’t afford a space at the time I started, so I worked from home and I had a couple of guys that worked with me. We are looking to get a space now. We have seven skilled workers. Soon, we will storm Nigeria and the world at large. We’re just taking on one day at a time.

What were the challenges in starting up?

There were a lot of challenges. Contrary to what most young people always say, money wasn’t the problem for me. The biggest issue I had was moving from the artistic to the business aspect of making clothes. As simple as it sounds, that is what determines one’s success in whatever field one is operating. Another major one was creating the essential structure for meeting the demands of clientele. But I thank God that now, we know better and things can only get better.

Do you have any role model in this line of business?

Yes and the list is actually endless. It would be arrogant of me to say I don’t have any. Every single person that has been in the industry before me, whether at home and or abroad has inspired me. But there are a few that I connect with and whose jobs I admire. Locally, I would say Mai Atafo, April by Kunbi, and Deola Sagoe. Internationally, I admire the works of Tom Ford and Patrizio Bertelli, a great businessman. I pick one or two things from each of these great designers and fuse them into what I do.

If you weren’t doing fashion, what would you be doing?

If I wasn’t doing fashion, I would probably be doing music or photography. I actually sing and I took a three-week course in photography. So, I still have my hands on the three, but fashion is my number one, and I’m blessed that that is what I get to do for a living. But if I wasn’t doing fashion, it would definitely be one of the two: music or photography.

What is your greatest milestone since you started this business?

The greatest milestone for me since I started would be the people that it has brought my way and the places that I’ve been to in such a short time, as a result of people who saw and admired my works. So far, beyond the money, this for me is and will always be the greatest milestone. Another is that I have been able to speak at seminars organised to inspire, encourage and challenge younger people; together with friends who have businesses as well.

What are some of the lessons you have taken away from being a business owner?

There are a number of lessons I have learnt as an entrepreneur, but I will like to mention the major ones. First is that being a businessman involves dealing with lots of people with diverse backgrounds and ideas about how things should be.

So, in the short while that I have been an entrepreneur, I have been able to learn to understand people and relate with them using that understanding. One needs to be humble to get ahead. Until one is faced with a situation, he can’t really tell how difficult being humble is. But it’s very crucial.

Another lesson I have learnt is discipline. Since you own your business and you don’t report to anyone, the tendency to want to do things anyhow is there. So, discipline puts this in check. Lastly, business is spiritual. Every little move made is very important as it can destroy or spring the company to the next level. Hence, the God factor can never be overemphasised.

What sets your brand apart from others?

I personally believe that fashion is a form of art and its outward expression is solely dependent on the person through which it’s being expressed. Seun Friday Couture would always stand out because of its uniqueness, precision and originality in terms of creativity.

There is a lot of competition in the fashion industry right now. What advice do you have for young people who aspire to own fashion lines?

The difference between those that are up there and the man on the street is what they know. So, first of all, I will ask them to get wisdom from the one true source, God.

Next, it is important that they invest in themselves; that is, having a wealth of knowledge about the industry, developing the necessary skills and getting trained, getting certified, learning the business side of fashion, being disciplined and staying focused.

Aspiring fashion designers should also practice delayed gratification and know that the greatest asset they will ever have are the people that will come their way.

What is your source of inspiration?

My dad and the entire family, including my girlfriend, have been and continue to be great sources of encouragement. I surround myself with people that believe in what I do.

Where do you see your business in the next 10 years?

Ten years from now, Seun Friday Couture will be a household name. We must have been able to reduce the number of unemployed people in Nigeria; own a fashion house, where people can be trained; and most importantly, become a force to be reckoned with in the fashion world, locally and internationally.

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Why did you go into food business?

I did not start the business with a particular interest in food but I started because I had in mind to be an entrepreneur and I saw an opportunity in the food industry. That was why I decided to go into the food business.

When I was in my final year at the University of Ibadan, I was really hungry and needed food and I wished I could just make a call and someone would bring food to me in my room. There was nobody running a delivery service here in UI. I just thought this as an opportunity that I could just tap into.

Fortunately, my mother was running a restaurant outside the university gate. And I could just get supplies from her and we would have an outlet inside the school and also have a delivery service.

That was how it all started. When I graduated I got a kiosk and employed two people; one person to stay in the kiosk and another to run delivery services with a bicycle.

How much did you raise to start the business?

I started with N22,000. My mother gave me N20,000 which I was supposed to use to obtain my masters degree form, but I told her I wanted to use it for a kiosk for the business and she gave her consent. I tried getting N2,000 more to make branded nylon and the ‘take away’ packs. That was how I started. I set up a kiosk and I just collected food from my mother.

In what other areas do you have interest?

Generally, I like businesses that don’t go out of season. I like agriculture and real estate because they are businesses that can never go out of season. These are areas where I will like to invest in the future. I like things that have to do with events. That’s why we are into catering and printing as well.

What business strategies have worked for you?

For any good business, the first thing is to have a good product. Whether a product is being sold or a service is being rendered; it should have a unique selling point that gives it an edge in the market. For us, it is our food. It has a unique taste and is rich in quality. If the product is good, one should be able to shout about it as much as possible.

We have been able to do online marketing for our products. We do a lot of that and we ensure that our delivery service is efficient. We try to deliver to people on time. These are the strategies that have really helped us.

We also have a good customer care service. We follow up on our customers and we have customer care tracking mechanism that makes us know which of our customers has called recently and those who have not.

People buy from our outlets and we do delivery services. Then we have a mini eat-in at our branches outside the campus.

What motivates you in life?

I have a strong drive to be great and make a difference in people’s life positively; to be unique and live an exceptional life; to do things that keep me going. As a result, I don’t have goals and targets that are bigger than me.

Are you considering diversifying?

Yes but that is after I have built Peppered Rice to a point, because it requires all the attention I can give to it right now.

What are the challenges you have faced in running this business?

There have been many challenges. There are challenges in the area of funding because I have some ideas of things I want to do but I don’t have the necessary funds to execute them. I also had issues with where the kiosk was located inside UI because physical planning officials were always chasing us around.

We were forced to move to another location in the Department of Human Nutrition. Subsequently, we were able to get another location inside the school. Presently, we have two outlets inside the school and two outside UI. We have two other outlets in town.

To have consistent staff is difficult. The level at which the business is right now, we have not been able to afford high skilled staff. Therefore, the kind of people we can afford to pay most of the time don’t deliver the kind of service we require from them.

Most times, we need to train and retrain and we try to impart certain attitudes into them because most of them have mediocre attitude and when we demand excellence from them, they feel like we are asking for too much.

This problem, more or less, is a societal one. Most people have a bad attitude towards work.

Ideally, for a start-up, one should not expect to make profit for the first three years.

Those years are meant to grow the business and project a positive image of the company; doing lots of promos and trying to uphold good standards.

During this time, the company may not be making profit but you try to gain grounds.

Unfortunately, not having other sources of income poses challenges to making profit from the business because I try to reinvest all I make back into it.

For instance, this year, all the money I have made has gone back into the business because most of our expansion has been this year. In setting up the head branch and the kitchen, I had to buy a lot of equipment which cost a lot.

Now, because of the expansion, we have a larger consumer base to cater for. There is need for me to set up a kitchen and that in itself costs a lot.

What can be done to reduce unemployment in the country?

Government should create more jobs but the truth is that government can hardly create more jobs. Its establishments are saturated. In other parts of the world, it is not the government that creates the jobs; major corporations like Google, Facebook, General Motors and Electric, coupled with telecommunication and energy companies are the ones creating jobs.

If we are to be productive as the western world is, we should not have issues with unemployment. Graduates should start looking inwards and create value. The more businesses we can create the more people we can get jobs for.

Another problem we have is that most graduates are not employable. The staff that one needs is hard to find. We do not get people who are ready to put in their all and improve themselves on the job.

How do you develop yourself?

I engaged myself in extracurricular activities in school. I also surround myself with a bright set of people. I read books generally and my family has been very encouraging. All these have helped my personality and have developed me.

How do you handle competition?

Our unique selling point gives us an edge over our competitors. Most importantly, we compete reasonably. We try to compete in a place where we know that we have a competitive edge. Because if we don’t have a competitive edge then there is no point competing.

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Dubbed by Forbes as Nigeria’s Mark Zuckerberg, 25-year-old Gossy Ukanwoke is the founder of an academic network, Students’ Circle, and President of BAU Research and Development. He spoke with COMFORT OSEGHALE on the challenges of running Nigeria’s first online institution

What is your interest in online university?

While I was a student, I created a network called students circle. It is also a social network where students come to learn and we provide free resources from leading universities in the world. We grew our numbers to over 100,000 globally.

At a point, we discovered that many of the students were coming from West Africa. They were not just visiting the site to use the resources; they wanted to study and get a degree. We saw that there was an opportunity for us to establish something because the demand was there. That was how the idea of an online university was born.

Was it very difficult getting the online university started?

We started the processes in 2012 to register in Nigeria and along the line, we discovered that we couldn’t run an online university without a physical campus. So we had to diverge and we started building a physical campus first so we could get a licence to provide learning in other forms.

How has the journey been so far?

Challenging, intriguing, interesting; I will leave it at that. So far so good, I am very happy with the stages where we are. Hopefully, before this time next year, the physical campus would be completed and there would be students there. Then, we can start to explore our real vision, which is to look at other models of getting other students and training them.

Do you have students registered with the university?

What we really have at this point is an online institution, not a university. As an online institution, what we are providing at this time are professional courses for 500 students but we cannot attach any degree to it unless we have that operating licence, which will come after we are through with building our physical campus. Over 100 of them are through with their programmes. We have professional programmes in project management, leadership and management, digital journalism and so on.

Was it difficult getting other universities to buy into your idea?

The good thing about it is that I attended a university that supports students projects. So, when I created Student Circle Network, I put the network on Open Course Ware consulting platform. This means we have unlimited resources from some of the best schools in the world for free. They were put on the network so that students could make use of them. My university was able to make every other student in the university use the platform. They went along to make some introductions to other universities that they were working with. That way, we were making institutional introductions to the network and we just went on from there.

How were you able to get people in Nigeria to register in the institution?

First, there was a bit of scepticism about the quality of learning they were going to get. Some people took a chance. About 45 people registered the first time for our Entrepreneurship Innovation Programme; that was the first programme we ever did on the platform.

When they finished, out of the 45, about 30 registered for a new programme. They were happy with the learning that they got. They went about encouraging people to sign up for programmes. If you go on twitter and search for the institution, you will see lots of people commenting on how surprised they were at the learning that they got.

The growth was organic after a few people had taken our programmes and were pleased with the services. First was the flexibility; you could study at anytime, anywhere with any mobile device or computer as long as you had internet access. The other thing was the quality of learning. All we simply did was to articulate programmes from other schools.

We went to already established universities in the United States to give us programmes they were already teaching. Then they evaluated our teachers and professors and we articulated the programme, which means if you get a certificate from this institution, it equates what you would get if you studied at their own institution in the United States. We had to do to this to ensure quality.

Since then, we have been growing that way; people who have taken programmes keep coming back and telling others. We have not done any advertising on any platform. We have grown up to 500 students in the space of a year; we officially opened our doors in March 2013.

How were you able to source your professors?

We just got people from all over the world; the good thing about it is that anybody from anywhere with internet access can teach and learn. Some of our instructors are Nigerians, East Africans, Europeans and Americans.

Do your students cut across all walks of life?

We have students who are still in secondary schools and universities who are mostly taking our entrepreneurship programme. That is the most basic programme that we have. We also have graduates looking for opportunities; many are taking the project management and leadership programme. There are also others working in the media industry taking digital journalism courses.

Did you have problems meeting the requirements of the Federal Ministry of Education?

Well, we made our application and we were given the requirements. We went back and started taking care of the requirements one after the other. When it was time to buy land, we did so. We have gone through the first set of interviews with the National University Commission. We have paid the first set of fees we needed to pay for. It is now left for us to complete our structures and if there are recommendations, we would ensure that we implement them.

How did you raise funds for this project which you started right after school?

We had several options – loans, donations, grants. We have been fortunate to receive grants from people who happen to like what we do. All our funds come from overseas. That is basically why we are running the online institution from New York.

We also make some revenue from the programmes we run which we are putting back into the business. Because of the way we got the resources for students circle, we couldn’t make any money from it. We were getting resources from universities like MIT, Harvard and Stanford for free. The catch was that we could not make revenue from the programmes. We couldn’t even put adverts on pages where those courses were showing because we could not claim ownership of the resources.

While you were still a student, did you know you were going to be self-employed?

I knew it was bound to happen but I didn’t know it was going to happen this way. I knew I would get bored working for somebody else. I didn’t necessarily know that this was what I would be doing at this point. It was just a case of things happening and all leading to a particular destination.

Many entrepreneurs often advise people to work for others before working for themselves. Do you support this?

When I finished secondary school, I worked for about two years before I got into the Grime American University Cyprus. That was where I learned all about Information Technology. So, when I got into the university to study Management Information Systems and e-business, it was easier for me to understand my courses because I had already acquired hands-on experience working for somebody else.

This made it easier for me to handle all these projects on the side as well as running my courses. I personally would make sure my own kids work for someone after secondary school even before they get into the university.

There are several things you learn when you work for others; not just the technical side of things. You learn how to manage people and how to interact with people from various backgrounds. It is good advice.

What is your staff strength right now?

It’s 45.

How has managing your employees been?

It hasn’t been difficult because I run a decentralised organisation. I don’t hold all the powers. I have a close team of six who have very specific responsibilities. They have full control over the responsibilities they handle. All we do is to meet from time to time to discuss what the progress is from each person’s angle. They work with the rest of the employees. My job is just to make sure that we are funded and we stay on the vision that we have.

What is your work routine like?

I wake up between 9am and 10am because I sleep at 4am. I work with my team in New York till they close. That is where the online institution is being run. Working with them means approving documents or making changes. At this point, we are working on a whole lot of documents. Making sure the curriculum is right. If I have a couple of meetings I go for them. I also review emails, letters and documents, hold lots of meetings in between.

What is your advice for those who want to be entrepreneurs?

They should ensure they have the resilience to follow it through. There are mornings I wake up and I feel like just giving up. I felt like going on Facebook or writing a blog post to say I am done because of the challenges I was going through.

Sometimes, one person somewhere would just sit down and say I am not going to approve this, to frustrate you and the rest. Or you are waiting for funding and it keeps getting delayed. Or you are waiting for a single email that would change your life and it takes forever before it comes.

It is important to study the market. Someone once said our market is for Zombies. If you are in places like Europe, you have access to funding for a lot of things. But here you have to work around so many things; finding the right people is not that easy. You should be focused and know what you want.

Listen to the market; know what the people who need your services want so you can build something that is targeted at them. If you build something out of the ingenious idea that you made in your house, by the time you bring it out, you would see that it is not applicable. If you listen to the market, you can always make adjustments so you can provide a service that people will subscribe to. There is nothing worse than building a wonderful service and nobody pays for it.

You have to be flexible; lots of things would come up that you didn’t plan for. Just work around them so long as you achieve your goal. I will give an example. Basically, I still want to do online learning at the university level but I have to be flexible enough to assign my resources to building a physical campus in order to get to that goal. The journey might be a bit longer but if it is going to get us to where we have always planned to be, then that is great. Lastly, I pray a lot.

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The Creative Director, Temiwrites, Miss Temitope Popoola, 24,   tells NIKE POPOOLA her journey into the entrepreneurial world

What is your academic qualification?

I studied Fisheries and Aquaculture Technology at the Federal University of Technology Akure for my first degree.

What are the things you do as an entrepreneur?

Basically, I write. Occasionally, I find myself marketing for one company or the other. I have interest in trading. But I haven’t started exploring that potential.

How did you develop interest in blogging and writing?

I picked up writing as a child. Although, I’ve always been a science student, reading books opened me up to other possibilities. When I started, I found out I could hide myself in it. It became a haven for me like an emotional cave and over the years, it simply got better while I got more immersed in it. After I launched my first book, publishing got more difficult and with school, there just wasn’t time. I didn’t want to lose it; so, I started blogging.

How did you develop writing skill?

I didn’t know I had it in me. I was 11 years old and I wanted to try out something different. A National Youth Service Corps member, who served in my secondary school, came into my class and wanted to keep us busy. The young teacher asked everyone to either write on or draw something unique. I knew my classmates were going to write stories or draw and I wanted to stand out. So, I wrote a poem, ‘The cloud’. When he checked our works, he was very impressed with what I wrote. Before the end of that day, I wrote more than 10 poems. That was how I started.

How do you use the writing talent and blogging platform to make money?

It’s a shame to say our reading culture is dwindling and many people prefer watching films or drama to reading. And with the influx of many satellite dishes, it keeps getting more difficult. There should be a balance; we should encourage our kids to read more and feed their minds. Another thing that people prefer to see or read about is gossip. So, finding people to support or buy literature books is somehow difficult.

What is the relevance of what you do (writing & blogging) to the society?

It’s helping in the development of skills and talents. I am excited seeing people looking up to me and getting inspired to start writing or exploring their potential.

It shows what one is doing is good for the society. Also, people get to share their opinions when sensitive issues or even difficult matters are being discussed on the blog.

Asides from these, do you do other business activities?

Sometimes, I try to keep myself busy by marketing for companies and delving into educational consulting firms. I’d be fulfilled to see people reading more and developing themselves intellectually.

What advice do you have for jobless graduates?

I urge them to Keep their hands busy and remember that the devil uses idle hands.

Do you have any idea of what the government can do to reduce unemployment in the country?

The government could reduce unemployment by supporting graduates financially. This will help them to start their own businesses and will not have to keep searching for jobs.

Do you share the view that education is not necessary to become an entrepreneur?

I feel it is very important to be educated. I will advise people out there to try as much as possible to go to school. Although, we have people who didn’t go to school and are highly successful in the society today; some of them are starting to register in one school or the other now after they have made enough money. Besides, today’s world has become sophisticated and you need quality education to be able to flow well and excel in whatever trade or business you do.

What are the things that motivate you in life?

A lot of things; my mum to start with, seeing the amount of hope she has in me makes me want to spin and do more. I feel I can’t let this woman down. Good music too does it for me. It helps me to relax and put me in the right frame of mind. But generally, challenges, as draining as they can be, I find out that they give me that push and makes me want do more.

What are the challenges you have encountered in developing your entrepreneurial skills?

There have been quite a handful; the environment itself makes you feel like you are on the wrong path. But that is where focus and self-determination give you all the strength you need to carry on and achieve success.

What is your target for the business in the next five years?

In the next five years, I hope to have gained enough ground in this field, to prove to people that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. I want to see people stand up and do their own thing. I want my business to thrive well with God on my side.

Does an intending entrepreneur need to wait for a huge capital before starting his or her dream business?

As an entrepreneur, you don’t need to have millions of naira before you venture into a business. Once you have done investment appraisal to know the viability and acceptability of that dream business, you can then go on with whatever you have. Diligence and focus wouldn’t let you down.

What can be done to develop entrepreneurial skills in youths?

Developing entrepreneurial skills in youths is not entirely dependent on the government. Parents have a big role to play in this. Opening up your child to various possibilities puts them on the right track for the future. It starts with simple piano lessons to drawing and painting. This way, they grow with it, it opens their minds. Creativity starts that way.

Another means of reaching out to the youth is by organising events where they meet people that they look up to in the society. These people could talk to them about developing their skills.

Do you think skills training should be introduced in secondary schools?

Yes, it should. It is a great innovation. I think some secondary schools are doing well in that aspect. With the rate at which things are going in Nigeria, it would be better for youths to be equipped. It would keep our unemployed youths off the streets. This training should be extended to universities too. As a matter of fact, some universities have included the training in their programmes and it is of great benefit to those who have participated in it.

Do you feel entrepreneurs should concentrate their efforts on businesses in the urban areas?

No, I don’t support that. The urban areas are already crowded. It’s only logical for entrepreneurs that are just starting out to set their nets somewhere else. In my opinion, they should try to grow out first, start small and then spread their ideas to the urban areas for competition, if they must.

How should an entrepreneur handle fear of failure?

Every business has risk. There is hard work and there is the God-factor. When one starts a business, one should put in your all and see how it turns out. When the business fails, that means some factors are yet to be considered. Rome was not built in a day, even known business tycoons have failed at one point or the other. Should the fear of failure stop them from investing? Our roads are bad; cars could break down any time but we still move about. Therefore, an entrepreneur who wants to make a landmark should never quit even after a failure.

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The Chief Executive Officer, Tomi’s Colour Pavilion and Beauty, Mrs. Oluwatomilola Adenuga, 27, is a makeup artist. She speaks on how she creates wealth through the beauty industry, in this interview with NIKE POPOOLA

Why did you decide to be a makeup artist?

I have always loved beauty, fashion and everything that has to do with it. I used to sneak out to do my makeup even when I was in secondary school. And from my university days, nothing attracts me more than the art of beautification. I hold a Bsc. in Mass Communications but my interest is in makeup.

Does it require a huge amount to do this business?

Makeup can be capital intensive, depending on the scope of the business one decides to do. When it involves renting a space for a makeup studio, purchasing equipment to aid the training and producing makeup products, it can be capital intensive with millions of naira going into the project. Most makeup artists, however, prefer training with a reputable name and buying makeup products to start up. This may cost between N300 and N1m or more.

Do you see it as a difficult job?

Not at all, it’s my passion. It gives me so much pleasure.

As with any field, there are always customers who might be hard to please. There are many reasons for this. It might be a stressful time for them or some might have had bad experiences with makeup which make them difficult at that moment.

How then do you cope with customers that are difficult to please?

When a bride is difficult, I am not really bothered. I think of the end result. What I do is to proffer solutions to what they may need. For instance, I may suggest a particular vendor for a bride. I also try to be humble when conversing with them, even if the client is obviously younger. On natural therapy, I try to be gentle with their skin, applying the makeup as if they are having a massage. I also try to be friendly with them and share jokes and before long, they become warm and receptive.

Is the business really lucrative in the country?

Makeup is quite lucrative in the country. The wedding industry keeps booming and those who care to look very good don’t mind spending a lot. Some makeup artists charge as much as N100,000 or N150,000 to be with a bride for a day. But many charge less than that because the industry is very competitive and it is better to earn some money than nothing.

Is it appreciated by only the elite?

It used to be so basically because these are the people who understand why they should part with a lot of money just to look good. But right now, makeup has gone beyond just the educated few, more people are embracing the art of makeup; if they can pay for it, then they enjoy the service.

Did you have any professional training to start this job?

Yes, I first trained with a Lagos outfit in 2010. In 2011, I did a refresher course with another firm; and in 2014, I went further to the CS Beauty Academy and British Beauty Academy in UK for more refresher courses.

What challenges have you encountered since you started?

It is a very competitive market so one has to seriously do a good job to be noticed. There are a lot of makeup artists around and so, that offers people a number of options to choose from. There are times for free makeovers just to keep one going. But when one is diligent, the returns will surely come.

What should be the attitude of an entrepreneur to challenges?

You should keep pressing on; keep doing what you know best. Do each job like you have a test because you don’t know who is watching, who can launch you out and refer you to everyone. It is usually rough and shaky at first in trying to find your footing but the reward will surely come once you are tenacious.

What motivates you in life?

I believe everyone has been called for a purpose; I want to help people in the little way I can. There are so many stories untold; if I can reach out to a few of the billions of people through what I do, then I am fulfilled.

Do you feel unemployed graduates should continue to look for paid employment?

They should. There are paid employment offers such as good customer service, accounting knowledge and the rest. But it’s not compulsory, if they can learn these things elsewhere, it will be fine because there are just few jobs for the millions of graduates Nigeria produces. If they do not get paid employment, then they should identify their interests and look for a line of business or create something that will help them in the future.

What are the skills that an intending entrepreneur should have?

They are humility, diligence, tolerance, perseverance, faith, belief in oneself.

What can the government do to boost entrepreneurship?

Government should set up more training centres for those who want to improve their skills. It should provide avenues to give loans for startup businesses, send talented people abroad to learn more skills and then come back to use the knowledge back home.

How do you intend to carve a niche for yourself in the makeup industry?

I really hope to be different from all makeup artists. I want to have a beauty and fashion outfit, which is a beauty community on its own, offering advice, beauty tips, news, information and even weekly celebrity giveaways. I want to help people. I hope to use my influence to give back to the society.

Is it good for ladies to wear heavy makeup?

I believe the occasion should call for the type of makeup worn. Heavy makeup also is a relative term. Sometimes, even natural makeup could be heavy. The skin of the client will determine how much product is usually applied. Some clients have skin blemishes which warrant the use of heavy coverage and concealing before a final and beautiful work is produced.

On the other hand, the use of too much colour is not advisable, especially when it is worn to corporate places- work and functions. Women should know the kind of makeup that suits different occasions. An editorial makeup differs from bridal makeup and everyday makeup. It is not advisable for ladies to always have too much makeup, especially when the occasion does not call for it.

In addition, the skin should also be allowed to breathe. There should be at least a day or two in a week when ladies do not have makeup on. The skin is rejuvenated, free from makeup products and I can say the next application should be flawless.

Is makeup useful only to women?

Usually, makeup is suitable for women but some men wear makeup too. As always, it depends on the occasion. Makeup is usually applied for men when they appear in editorials, advertorials, etc. You might need a man’s skin tone to appear better or have an extra glow which makeup can provide. In modelling, makeup is used frequently as this helps to project the assets of the client. One cannot even overrule makeup for those who appear on the screen too, acting or engaging in some form of entertainment. This is very predominant abroad and in these cases, men wear makeup to suit the occasion or image they want to project.

How relevant is makeup to entertainers such as musicians and actors?

Makeup is very relevant for musicians and actors. Apart from special effects makeup, in creating a broken finger, or using a young actor to play the role of an older person, makeup is important for these artistes, male and female. It enhances their features. An artiste who might have performed in several functions might have tired eyes- makeup can help to cover that up. Makeup essentially will be used to bring out their best and boost their confidence and aura to face their fans.

Is makeup relevant for all occasions?

I will say yes. Makeup is relevant for all occasions; at least, it is nice to look good and presentable because you never know who you could be meeting. Makeup is an art and it is also a form of dressing. It should suit the occasion. There is no need wearing so much makeup if you are travelling – a well defined eyebrow, mascara on eyelashes, powder and lip stain will be adequate. When dressing for a party, one can have all the glamour and attention required for the makeup.

For those who do not like too much makeup, applying powder (the right shade) with lip gloss can go a long way from shifting you from drab to glamour.

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In this interview with IFEANYI ONUBA,the Managing Director, Prosellers Nigeria Limted, Mr Niyi Ologunleko, 30, speaks on how he left paid employment to become an entrepreneur

How did you get involved in business?

I am a business growth consultant and certified business dynamics practitioner. I have my first degree in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Ibadan and afterwards, I went for my Masters degree in Managerial Psychology and a certification in the emerging field of business dynamics at Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands. I started my working career with the Procter and Gamble Company. When I left P&G, I joined MTN where I handled trade marketing for them before moving on to set up Prosellers Nigeria.

What kind of business are you engaged in at Prosellers?

We are a business consulting company with specialisation in the area of sales capability development services. What that means is that we help businesses to gain sustainable competitive advantage by increasing their capability to consistently sell more. In other words, we are in the business of repairing other businesses, because any business that is not growing is definitely dysfunctional.

Whatever an organisation is selling, they always have the desire to sell more and they always need to grow the business and that’s what we help them to do. We do this through interventions that help them to acquire market and trade insight, formulate breakthrough route-to-market strategies, develop a formidable selling organisation – people, processes/procedures and technology and flawlessly implement their sales and marketing programmes. For us, the key is not just some sporadic, one-month growth but sustainable and enduring growth. In doing this, we come up with ideas, initiatives and activities that will trigger what we call a growth causal loop. And it’s all technologically driven, using business dynamics simulation software.

In Nigeria, a lot of people prefer to look for paid jobs rather than setting up a business, but in your case, you left a paid job to establish your own firm. What was your driving force?

One of the factors that make people feel compelled to look for or stay put in a paid job is lack of courage. There is this thing called the fear of tomorrow and this is what is preventing many people from starting up their own businesses.

Secondly there is also the issue of preparation. If you don’t prepare adequately, your chances of success as a business person will be very slim. Somehow, most people see paid employment as a means of income only rather than as an apprenticeship opportunity. If I use my own case as an example, at the time I was going into a paid job, I already knew what I wanted to do with my life and I used the period that I spent working primarily to learn. I was able to select the kind of organisations and job positions I worked in because I knew the skills gap that I needed to fill in order to get to where I was going.

The truth is that if you have a clear destination in mind, your inner compass will ultimately guide you towards it. For example, I knew since my fourth year in engineering school that I wanted to be a business consultant. So, when I graduated, I cherished the analytical skills acquired from my Engineering training but then I kept the spanners aside and took up a sales job.

I also maximised those years to learn, they were like a period of apprenticeship for me.

I didn’t focus on the salary because I wasn’t concerned about the money but what I would gain in terms of experience as a result of working in those organizations. So all the preparations that needed to be done were done before I left paid job to start up my own business.

Of course, there is also the God factor. As a Christian, I pray and put God first in all I do.

How do you manage your business?

For us, our people are our greatest assets. I have developed a means of identifying people who have the right attitude and also highly trained in the area we are into and they have joined us as associate consultants and together, we do some of the assignments that we get. In selecting people, I put a far greater value on attitude than on knowledge or skills.

Who are your target clients and how do you get them?

Most of the clients we work for are in the fast moving consumer goods sector. Although Business Dynamics is applicable to every business, my own past work experience in the FMCG has somehow influenced me to lean a bit towards that sector. Most of the businesses we get are through referrals because in business consulting, direct advertisement is not a very effective channel. Fortunately for us, many of the people who knew me when I was working and who were aware of the kind of results I achieved while working are now very senior people in their various organisations.

They are usually the ones that recommend us to their own companies or others who are looking for the solutions we provide. Besides, whenever we do any assignment, I personally ensure that there is excellence of execution and the client is satisfied, even if we make only little or no profit. If we accept an assignment that we cannot complete for any reason, we refund the client’s advance payment. All these are well-enshrined principles in our company. As a result, the clients we have worked for in the past have the confidence to also refer other companies with similar problems to us, so from there we keep getting our clients.

One of the major challenges people face when starting a business is access to finance, how were you able to raise the money to start up this business?

Capital wasn’t a big challenge for me because I had worked for some years and had some savings. Also, consulting and marketing services do not require very large set-up capital and I was fortunate to meet people who had confidence in what we were about to do. Most of these people can be classified as family and friends and they gave between N1m and N2m each, on the average.

It wasn’t all smooth everytime. There were times we ran into financial troubles but somehow, we were able to bounce back. Building on my experience, what I can suggest on raising capital to any intending entrepreneur is first, have something of your own that you bring into the business. It may be some savings or that you have to sell some non-working assets. Whichever way, you can’t seriously convince someone to bring in their own money for your idea when your own money is not there.

Secondly, you need to build confidence by demonstrating strong expertise or knowledge of the field you want to go into. Thirdly, you need to have a simple business plan that highlights the market need which you want to fill, your right to win in that business and the probable financial scenarios that will make the venture profitable. There are thousands of business plan templates that can be downloaded from the Internet.

Fourthly, don’t be discouraged, keep talking to investor prospects, even if some of them appear to look down at you or mock you. Just learn from the last rejection, make necessary amendments and go talk to the next person. There is a lot of idle money in the economy that people don’t know what to do with.

There are a lot of people working for government and big multinational companies and they have lots of money but don’t have the entrepreneurial ability to start up a business and they keep saving this money somewhere. Many of these people will be very glad to stake their money if they see someone who has a sound business idea that can grow their money.

What are the challenges you face in this line of business?

The greatest challenge for us is the attitude of people. Unfortunately, most of the young people around are just interested in money. They are not concerned about getting the job done first. And sometimes, there are serious integrity issues. However, I’m sure that this is a national problem that resulted from our loss of societal values over the years.

Apart from the people, in marketing field, government is not helping matters because the issue of multiple taxation is one thing we have to struggle with every day.

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The Creative Director, Distinct Look and Assistant Secretary, Beaded Jewelry Designer Association of Nigeria, Miss Olanike Babalola, 30, speaks on the qualities expected of a successful entrepreneur, in this interview with IFE ADEDAPO

What kind of business do you do?

I am a professional beaded jewelry designer. At Distinct Look, we specialise in making exquisite and fabulous handcrafted beaded jewelry for women in Nigeria and abroad with quality products such as swarovski, coral and pearl, semi-precious stone and crystals. Apart from this, we also run an empowerment programme for women and youths.

What inspired you to start the business?

The inspiration came basically from unemployment, especially the age discrimination with regard to available jobs. I realised that most job specifications were for youths between ages of 22 and 28, leaving people above such ages unemployed. Therefore, to assist in the reduction of unemployment, as government cannot do this alone, we impact knowledge through trainings for those who wish to be self employed.

What is your educational background?

I am a holder of an Ordinary National Diploma in Accounting from the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro. I obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Lagos State University. In addition, I am an associate member of the Institute of Business Strategy.

Are young entrepreneurs in Nigeria getting enough support?

Unfortunately, young entrepreneurs in Nigeria are not receiving enough support. We have to work hard to sustain our businesses. Government needs to do more in empowering young entrepreneurs financially because starting a business can be capital intensive. If government can support in this respect, unemployment will be reduced. A lot of youths have the potential to create jobs but the lack of capital is discouraging them.

Government should create a flexible scheme from where we can access funds without any difficulty.

If you had to go back to when you started; what will you do differently?

I would have loved to start my business very early. The fear of the unknown kept me waiting. In addition, I would love to do my feasibility studies properly. This will require me to choose a strategic location because as of the time I needed a place to showcase my works, I selected the wrong location which seriously affected my business.

How did you develop yourself?

I developed my skills through professional training. Being a member of Beaded Jewelry Designer Association of Nigeria has helped me a lot in developing my skills. I do more research to improve myself everyday with the help of God. I also sketch out the designs myself.

What are your present challenges and how do you tackle them?

Every business has its challenges because they are part of life. My present challenge is the pricing of my products. Clients desire good jewelry made with quality materials but they are not ready to pay for them.

Usually, I try my best to make my clients understand the kind of materials I use for my products because the materials are of different grades.

Another challenge is shipping the products to our clients abroad because sending through courier is very expensive. Most times, I watch out for people travelling and send the products through them.

Initially, creating brand awareness was a bit of a challenge, but with focus and determination, God has helped me.

What has kept you going, despite these challenges?

The promise of God has been keeping me going. He promised to make me profit with my hands.

I also get encouragement from my parents and my friends. They have all kept me going. They have always stood by me during any trial period.

In addition, self discipline and the ability to get myself to take action regardless of my emotional state, with the determination to be a successful entrepreneur make me to feel highly motivated and excited about my business. I am creative, I have dreams and goals. I listen to my customers and always want to meet their needs. I am focused and hardworking. I also place emphasis on strategy implementation because when is no strategy, there is no business.

What expansion plans do you have for the business?

I have a lot of plans and goals to achieve. I am working hard so that the business can be a household name globally. I am planning to get a big space in a strategic area that will be conducive for training, one with easy access for clients to acquire professional trainings at any time. I am planning to have online trainings for those who are unable to come to the classroom.

What are the things an intending entrepreneur should know before starting a business?

Intending entrepreneurs should seek God’s face for direction; they must identify the skills they are good at and get professional training on that skill from professionals who are experienced not half-baked trainers. Aside from getting professional training, intending entrepreneurs should have self-confidence and they should believe in themselves.

They must set clear and measurable goals. They should pursue their goals after setting them so that they can achieve them on time. They should not allow obstacles to discourage them from achieving their dreams. They need to calculate the risks involved in the venture before starting it.

Entrepreneurs need to be persistent and determined to ensure these objectives are met. They need to put a lot of physical and mental energy into the business.

They must be original and innovative; just as it is important for them to be versatile and knowledgeable in their chosen fields of business. What usually keep successful business people in business are creative ideas.

Aside from this business, what other things do you do?

It is clear that one stream of income cannot adequately meet one’s the growing life style in Nigeria. So there is need for diversification to ensure a progressive development of one’s business. In my own case, I am also an expert in makeup artistry, ‘gele’ tying, hat and bridal designs. I also offer professional trainings and workshops.

How can be done to address the problem of unemployment in the country?

The acquisition of vocational skills has been identified as a tool for moulding employable individuals as unemployed individuals need more skills.

Graduate of various institutions should be encouraged to acquire vocational skills that would prepare them for self-employment in future as well as financial independence. For this skill acquisition to be effective, entrepreneurial finance training should be organised to enlighten the youth on suitable ways of financing their dream projects and they should be provided with the needed capital to start up on their own.

White collar jobs are not meant for everybody; graduates should occupy themselves with vocational skills instead of waiting for white collar jobs for years. Graduates should implement what they learnt in the university by finding solution to problems. When they do this, unemployment will be reduced because presently, the existing companies in Nigeria cannot employ everybody.

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Twenty-seven-year-old Muyiwa Omosa is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Me-Naissance Group Limited, a mobile phone application firm. He tells Peter Okeugo the story of the young company

How did you set up your business?

It was tough at the beginning. For every successful entrepreneur, there is always a difficult phase; I had to grow up quickly. Bringing my idea to life made it seem like a hard job. For a 23-year-old then, I had thought all I needed to do was to develop the product and everything would just fall into place. It didn’t occur to me that systems and strategies had to be put in place for it to actually become successful. I have been through a lot over the years. I had to go back to the foundation to unlearn some things in order to understand the things I know now. I went through a lot of experiences to shape my character and values. It was a tough phase for me but it made me who I am today; it is still ongoing.

What was the greatest challenge you encountered as a starter?

The biggest challenge for me was having a vision with no plans on how to get there. I had the vision but that was not enough. I needed to set goals and work on them. I attended Daystar Leadership Academy where I was equipped with the fundamentals of business. The biggest learning point for me is that in life, everything begins and ends with a purpose. What gave me the focus and changed my whole outlook about life was having a purpose. I think that is the most important thing anyone can discover because it makes life’s decisions easy; reduces distractions, gives one a reason to live and to love what one does.

What exactly is Me-Naissance Group into?

Me-Naissance Group is a technology company set up with the aim of bridging the technological gap between Africa and the rest of the world and to solve business problems with the help of technology. We design, develope and release a lifestyle application that Nigerians and Africans can relate with and utilise on the go anywhere in the world. It is called TMG App.

What is the TMG App all about?

The TMG App is an all-in-one lifestyle mobile application that helps users to save time accessing and sharing information on the go. With millions of Nigerians using their mobile phones as their primary means of accessing the Internet, a lot of time gets expended browsing multiple websites for information. The TMG App solves that problem by aggregating all the information they would need into one easy-to-use, optimised platform and making it more convenient for them to access and share online services such as movie time from every cinema in Nigeria; sports updates, local news headlines; to watch the latest music videos and lots more on the go. It helps to save users considerable time browsing multiple websites and downloading various applications. It filters all the relevant content one needs. It is already optimised for smartphone so one does not need to zoom in and out; it is just one click away.

What informed the idea of creating the app?

I had just finished my post-graduate degree programme and was just resting in London after over a decade of constant education. I bought the iPhone 3GS at that time and fell in love with it. I was constantly downloading apps and it seemed like I could not do anything without it. One day, I got a call from my parents to come back to Lagos and get a job. I thought my dream of being an investment banker was about to come alive but I remembered my iPhone with the applications and how useless it would be if I moved back. A few days later, I got an idea to create an app for myself since I won’t have apps when I moved back. It started as a ‘selfish’ idea but after doing some research, I realised millions of Nigerians were looking for a solution to this problem as well. That was the birth of the app and the company.

How did it develop?

I spent a few months doing research and holding meetings with leaders of companies. I came back to Lagos for a few weeks to find out what people actually needed access to on their phones. It took about nine months to develop the BlackBerry app and it was officially released in the last week of September 2010. It had over 2000 downloads in the first week. At that time, that was a major feat for me.

Has there been an upgraded version of the app since 2010?

It took over three years to release the upgraded version of the app. The best thing to happen since the first version of TMG App was released is that it can also be used by Nigerians and other people.

Who are your target customers?

The app appeals to a variety of people because we have a range of services that we offer, but our audience is split into two categories. First, to any Nigerian with a smartphone, we believe we can offer at least one service that will help to add value to their daily routine. Secondly, we appeal to students in secondary schools and the universities.

How is the app expected to compete with Internet browsers?

My vision for the app is to essentially replace the web browser for Nigerians on the go. In order to achieve that dream, we would be actively involved in filtering a lot of contents online as well as partnering a lot of brands to bring their services on board so that users can shop, book flights and get the best deals online straight from the app and many more services like that.

Did you study a technology-related course in school?

I studied Computing and Economics for my Bachelor’s degree; Money, Banking and Finance for my Postgraduate. I was definitely preparing to become an investment banker but I guess God had other plans.

Do you consider yourself successful at your age?

People think that being successful is a matter of having the most material possessions. They feel the most successful person is usually the one with the biggest house, money and flashy cars; but that is a lie. My definition of success is discovering your purpose in life and achieving it. If you were born to be the president of your country and you ended up being a banker with billions in your account, you are going to be regarded as a failure because you have failed to reach the pinnacle of your potential. Success is a relative word but I think my definition gives it the right foundation to build on.

What advice would you give to an upcoming entrepreneur?

You have to discover your God-given purpose and potential. I believe everyone was born with unique abilities for specific reasons to solve certain problems. The more people identify the problems they were born to solve, the better our world will be. With a purpose comes a vision; with the vision come goals; with the goals come plans and the plans make your journey orderly, focused and stress-free. The moment you discover your area of influence and purpose, your life wouldn’t remain the same.

How should government help poor young entrepreneurs?

I think like every other sector in the economy, structures and incentives need to be in place to encourage the growth of emerging industries. The first thing I would propose is a review of the curriculum in our schools. I think we are 20 years behind; there are a lot of intelligent Nigerians who have a passion for something but don’t have the right materials or information to harness their talents. I believe with the restructuring of the education system this will be the foundation we can build on for the future of the industries. They have to help entrepreneurs who would be providing solutions to not only national but global problems.

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Twenty-eight-year-old Deji Ijaware takes TOBI AWORINDE on a journey of making footwears and the founding of his company, Dej Shoes Enterprises

Tell us a bit about your background and how you ended up as a shoemaker.

I am the sixth child of a family of 10 children. I was born in Lagos. I attended Providence Nursery and Primary School, Fagba, Lagos. I proceeded to Federal Government College, Idoani, for my secondary education and later studied Microbiology at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye.

My childhood dream was to be a lawyer but my parents wanted me to be a doctor. However, God had different plans for me. So, you could say, ‘Man proposes and God disposes.’ I used to draw a lot when I was a little boy. I’d just see something and draw. I’d draw cars, cartoon characters, just anything that fascinated me, and I still do. But now, I draw shoes. I love to think about a design, scribble it on a piece of paper and bring it to life. It’s no surprise I ended up being a shoemaker. In 2010, after my national youth service, I tried and failed to get paid employment. I took solace in reading motivational books and listening to tapes. I had a lot of ideas; mostly stupid, unrealistic ones, but they felt really good and kept me going. I still have them. In 2011, I followed Leke Alder on Twitter, a decision that practically changed my life. The tweet that did it for me was one where he talked about turning your passion into an enterprise. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Are you ever faced with the challenge of being seen as a roadside shoemaker?

Definitely, there are people out there who would wonder if I am no different from a roadside shoemaker. I have had instances of people ordering shoes; they will ask a lot of presumptuous questions before the shoes are delivered. When they get it, they are thrilled. They find it hard to believe that Nigeria has such competitive brands.

How did you arrive at the name of the company?

After I was convinced I wanted to design shoes, it was time to come up with a name. The first person I asked was my best friend, now my wife. She suggested some names and they were nice, but I just did not connect with them. So, I asked for the opinion of my immediate younger brother. He didn’t even think about it, he just mumbled the name Dej. And it stuck. This was in November 2011. Afterwards, the reality dawned on me. There was no money to start the business. I had a lot of moral support from friends and family because that was all they had to give. I had to get the capital to start up somehow; I couldn’t go to the bank as I had nothing to present as collateral than the ideas in my head and maybe my Bachelor of Science and NYSC certificates.

So, I went back into the job market and a friend helped me to get a job at a government institute. I joined the cooperative there and started saving. I took loans, started the business and it failed. It failed because it had no structure. I knew how to design and create shoes but I had no idea how to run a business. I was getting a lot of patronage from friends and family because the products were good. But I sold a lot on credit, which was a major factor that contributed to the failure of the business. So, I learnt. I started reading about business and entrepreneurship. I then took another loan and started afresh in January 2013. I registered the business, opened accounts and started keeping books.

Was there ever a time you felt like quitting?

I felt like quitting several times. There was the time I got the loan and I travelled to get some expertise in making shoes. What I spent at that time, to me, was a lot of money. The fact was that I had little and there was so much pressure. So, I started selling the shoes and was owed a lot of money and I couldn’t get them back. I just wanted to quit the whole thing because I felt like I was in hell. The only thing that kept me going was the passion. I was losing a lot of money, but I was enjoying the ride because I was excited about everything.

How important is mentoring to you?

Well, I’m not sure I’m a mentor now. I will simply regard myself as a mentee, as I am still learning. It is very important. It is better to learn from other people’s experiences and accounts than you learning from yours because you may not have the grace to survive it. There is nothing new under the sun. Whatever you’re going through, either as an entrepreneur or in business, generally is not new; people have gone through that phase before. So, we should seek help. It is also important to have a business model in order to be focused and, when you’re experiencing any setback, see how the mentor handled his.

Generally, in fashion, most designs are probably inspired by past designs. New designs are a remake of an old one, but with a modern-day twist.

How important is networking in a business like yours?

It is extremely important. I talked about learning and improvement; this is one way you can get that accomplished. It is important that you network. It helps you to evolve too. In the fashion business, it is easy to be ‘stale’, if you know what I mean. Keeping up with the trends is what you do at some level, and then you start to set trends.

Some Nigerians would either buy used low-cost shoes from abroad or go for top foreign brands. How are you challenging this as a young entrepreneur?

I will attribute the case of secondhand and low-quality shoes to income and exposure. There is a certain portion of their income that is set aside for fashion and they feel they will get value for money with secondhand and low-quality shoes. But you could get some nasty fungal infections. What we’re doing in that case is to be competitive. Pricing is the key here and we still keep the premium quality. We have shoes that sell for as low as N5,000 and they’re really good. As for the foreign brand consumers, it is a norm. The foreign brands provide the yardstick for our quality. The more your shoes are as good as the foreign brands, the more leverage you create for your brand. So, pricing and quality tools to deal with the challenge.

What is your target market?

My products are for people between ages 14 and 55 of both genders. There’s an emerging middle class in Nigeria — those young professionals who can’t afford to wear expensive foreign brands but are fashionable and pay attention to details and quality. We target these people.

Are you open to the idea of a franchise deal?

Well, franchise deals are in two directions; either you want to take a deal or you want to give a deal. Taking a deal is out of the question but it would be wonderful for this business to get to a level that people come to us to get deals. I would be glad to be involved in people’s success stories.

Could you share one or two important lessons you have learnt as an entrepreneur?

Learning and improvement; no matter how good you think you are at something, it is important to know that there is always room for improvement. Being open to learning certainly facilitates that improvement. Perseverance and consistency are also key to achieving.

Do you believe in ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’ or should an aspiring mogul focus strictly on his business?

While you’re working hard and aspiring, it is important to also unwind a little; it doesn’t stop you from being focused and achieving.

Have you had any significant achievements?

I’m able to fend for my family (laughs). That’s an achievement. Really, there’s none yet. We’re working towards our first trunk show in October 2014, and we’ll move forward from there.

Where do you see your business in the next 10 years?

I see a world brand, God willing. I see flagship stores in major cities promoting the dreams of young Africans, telling a story that hard work pays.

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