Latest / thefashionroundtable / What It Really Takes to Build a Shoe Brand | Ft. Funmi Abodenyi S1 E8

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What It Really Takes to Build a Shoe Brand | Ft. Funmi Abodenyi S1 E8 · thefashionroundtable

0:13
SPEAKER_02: This episode is brought to you by Credit Direct.
0:16
SPEAKER_02: Welcome to the Fashion Roundtable.
0:17
SPEAKER_02: My name is Bimi Olatero Lagbeggy, and this is a show where we go beyond the aesthetics.
0:22
SPEAKER_02: We go into the real nitty-gritty, how a business is run, especially in Nigeria, the risk, the resilience, and the decisions that actually build brands.
0:33
SPEAKER_02: My guest today is someone that was actually one of the first people on the list that I wrote as I was thinking of guests for the show.
0:40
SPEAKER_02: This is because she also owns a footwear brand, a women's footwear brand, just like me.
0:47
SPEAKER_02: I have been running Bimisuke Shoes for about 11 years now, and I think she's my senior in the business.
0:54
SPEAKER_02: She is the brains behind the shoe collector.
0:56
SPEAKER_02: Her name is Fumi Abodei.
0:58
SPEAKER_02: Please put your hands together for her.
1:00
SPEAKER_02: I'm super excited to talk to you because there's nothing like speaking to someone who understands where the shoe is pinching, no pun intended.
1:09
SPEAKER_02: Welcome.
1:10
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
1:11
SPEAKER_02: Listen, tell us about the shoe collector, how you started, where you started, give us all the details.
1:18
SPEAKER_01: I'm really excited to be here.
1:20
SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
1:21
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for having me.
1:23
SPEAKER_01: So, how did I start?
1:24
SPEAKER_01: How did the shoe collector start?
1:26
SPEAKER_01: I would say I never intended to start the footwear brand because I just wanted to be a banker.
1:33
SPEAKER_01: I used to work in a bank.
1:35
SPEAKER_01: I just wanted to wear my fine clothes, wear my fine shoes, and attend to my customers.
1:41
SPEAKER_01: That was what I wanted to do.
1:44
SPEAKER_01: But along the line, I got into a role that needed me to walk around.
1:48
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
1:49
SPEAKER_01: I was supervising a lot of people.
1:51
SPEAKER_01: I would go from upstairs, downstairs, and most of my shoes were not comfortable.
1:57
SPEAKER_01: First, I love shoes.
2:00
SPEAKER_01: I can be online searching for the best shoes, the highest shoes, the classic shoes.
2:06
SPEAKER_01: So I love shoes, right?
2:09
SPEAKER_01: And most of my shoes, with all the shoes I had, I would see that I would come into the office, dressed well, and by 12, my shoes were off because they were not comfortable.
2:20
SPEAKER_01: I just thought myself, why am I doing this?
2:23
SPEAKER_01: Why can't I just find a solution for me?
2:26
SPEAKER_01: That's how the brand started.
2:27
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
2:28
SPEAKER_01: So I told my husband, I was like, all the shoes I have.
2:32
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes you buy what a shoe, a pair of shoes, and after a while you cannot wear it again because of the pain, the experience you had.
2:39
SPEAKER_01: And then we went in search of what could produce for me.
2:43
SPEAKER_01: That was what I wanted to do.
2:45
SPEAKER_01: I just wanted to produce the shoes I could wear around the office and all and attend to my customers.
2:50
SPEAKER_01: And when we got the shoes, the shoes were comfortable.
2:53
SPEAKER_01: I was like, ah.
2:55
SPEAKER_01: Funny enough, when I started, I didn't know anything about shoes.
2:57
SPEAKER_01: I just told the guy that was going to produce, please put enough padding for this shoe.
3:02
SPEAKER_01: I want something comfortable.
3:03
SPEAKER_01: And I think he got the what I told him to do, and he padded it, what the shoes were comfortable.
3:10
SPEAKER_01: And then I stopped removing my shoes in the office.
3:13
SPEAKER_02: Nice.
3:14
SPEAKER_01: Then my colleagues asked me, ah, for me, what's up?
3:18
SPEAKER_01: This one that you don't remove your shoe before.
3:19
SPEAKER_01: Before by 12, I'm already wearing flip-flops.
3:22
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes it will just make your outfit look.
3:25
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
3:26
SPEAKER_02: All the effort you put in.
3:27
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
3:28
SPEAKER_01: And then my colleague said, make some for us now.
3:32
SPEAKER_01: And I made for them.
3:34
SPEAKER_01: And that was it.
3:35
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
3:36
SPEAKER_01: I just made shoe for them and we moved on with our life.
3:38
SPEAKER_01: I still wanted to build my banker.
3:40
SPEAKER_01: You know, I was working on my career growth and all.
3:43
SPEAKER_01: Two years down the line, my colleagues asked, Babe, this shoe, you just produce this one.
3:48
SPEAKER_01: No, you're not even saying anything about it again.
3:50
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, okay.
3:51
SPEAKER_01: At this point, I was doing another business because my husband wanted me to do business.
3:56
SPEAKER_01: My husband is a core businessman.
3:59
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
4:00
SPEAKER_01: He just wanted me to do something.
4:01
SPEAKER_01: So he said, I should try selling children's clothes.
4:04
SPEAKER_01: So that was what I was doing at that time.
4:05
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
4:05
SPEAKER_01: That two years had passed.
4:07
SPEAKER_01: When I told him about it, I was like, ah, I just spent how many millions on children's clothes.
4:12
SPEAKER_01: Why do you want to try this shoe?
4:14
SPEAKER_01: I said, let me just give it a try.
4:16
SPEAKER_01: He said, No.
4:17
SPEAKER_01: I still continue my work.
4:20
SPEAKER_01: Then one of those days, three of my colleagues came to work, wearing those shoes that this guy produced for me.
4:26
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
4:27
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, this is two years and some months down the line.
4:30
SPEAKER_01: This shoe is still good.
4:32
SPEAKER_01: They are still saying they like the shoe.
4:33
SPEAKER_01: They still wanted more.
4:34
SPEAKER_01: I told them to stand.
4:36
SPEAKER_01: Stand and I took their pictures.
4:39
SPEAKER_01: I went on Instagram, opened a page, gave it a name, and that was how the business started.
4:44
SPEAKER_01: So I when I got home, I told my husband, exactly at home.
4:47
SPEAKER_01: I told my husband, babe, I don't start business.
4:50
SPEAKER_01: That was how literally how it started.
4:53
SPEAKER_02: What year was this?
4:55
SPEAKER_01: Uh this was uh 2019.
5:00
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
5:01
SPEAKER_01: So at this point, I did mind you, I didn't have any shoes.
5:05
SPEAKER_01: I just had the shoes that my colleagues had worn.
5:08
SPEAKER_01: The shoes I had I had at home, and then I posted, and then I started talking about the shoes.
5:14
SPEAKER_01: So I reached out to the guy.
5:15
SPEAKER_01: I said, okay, I need to produce a little bit more shoes.
5:19
SPEAKER_01: And I also went out to buy other shoes so that when customers start asking for I won't say I don't have shoes.
5:26
SPEAKER_01: Right.
5:27
SPEAKER_01: And that was how it started.
5:28
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
5:28
SPEAKER_01: I started posting online, talking about how the brand started, comfort was the key and all, and the rest is history.
5:38
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
5:39
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
5:40
SPEAKER_02: And that I was gonna ask, like at what point you decided, come on, this is actually this going though.
5:45
SPEAKER_02: It's going though, this thing can actually become a viable business idea.
5:50
SPEAKER_01: So when I like I said I was never a business person, even the children's clothes that I started, I didn't take it seriously.
5:57
SPEAKER_01: But when the shoe came, because it was something I loved, yes, I would see myself waking up, taking pictures of shoes, hosting, and every morning when I go to work, I'll tell somebody to take my picture.
6:08
SPEAKER_01: You know, when I and as at that time, it was just fun.
6:12
SPEAKER_01: I was just enjoying the proceed.
6:14
SPEAKER_01: That when the money comes, instead of me to invest, I would just spend it.
6:18
SPEAKER_01: That was how I was literally doing.
6:21
SPEAKER_01: But it got serious when I checked, I think uh 22 years after I'd kind of built a brand of um followers, a call of followers that love to see what I wear to work every morning.
6:38
SPEAKER_01: And then I said, let me sell.
6:41
SPEAKER_01: It was on my birthday.
6:42
SPEAKER_01: I said, let me do my birthday sales and we put it out there.
6:47
SPEAKER_01: And for the first time in two days, we sold about 600 pairs of shoes.
6:52
SPEAKER_02: What?
6:53
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
6:54
SPEAKER_01: That was when I knew that in two days, yes, it was my birthday 22nd.
6:58
SPEAKER_01: So I started on 21st and 22nd.
7:02
SPEAKER_01: That was when I knew that this was a business.
7:04
SPEAKER_01: I before then I was just having fun.
7:08
SPEAKER_01: So when I saw the numbers, I'm like, I told my husband, I'm like, this is not this is not what I thought it was anymore.
7:19
SPEAKER_01: And I started preparing to resign.
7:21
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
7:22
SPEAKER_01: At this point, I'd spent 10 years in banking.
7:25
SPEAKER_01: I was going to be the HOP head of operation, and I knew that it was going to take my time.
7:31
SPEAKER_01: I won't be able to run my business.
7:32
SPEAKER_01: In fact, we're already having conflict at work because people were already taking my pictures and telling my the management that the only thing I come to do is take pictures in the morning and wear fine shoes and wear fine clothes and all that.
7:44
SPEAKER_01: So I knew that I needed to leave.
7:46
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
7:46
SPEAKER_01: So 2010, I started preparing for my exit.
7:50
SPEAKER_01: 20 no, 20, 20, 2020.
7:55
SPEAKER_01: Sorry.
7:55
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
7:56
SPEAKER_01: 2020.
7:58
SPEAKER_01: 2021 I put up my letter that I was going to leave.
8:03
SPEAKER_01: And immediately I left.
8:05
SPEAKER_01: I knew I had to put it, put everything I had into the business.
8:09
SPEAKER_01: And so I would say that the business actually started at 2021 because that was when I knew that okay, this is business and I need to take it very seriously.
8:21
SPEAKER_02: How did the pandemic affect your business?
8:24
SPEAKER_01: Uh you know, then I didn't see that I was doing a business.
8:29
SPEAKER_01: So when sales stopped, I just continued with my bank work.
8:33
SPEAKER_01: It was after the pandemic, I think that was actually made what made customers buy so much.
8:38
SPEAKER_01: Immediately after the pandemic, yeah, it was when I did my birthday sales and I saw the numbers, and I'm like, 600 pairs of shoes in two days.
8:48
SPEAKER_01: I was shocked.
8:49
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
8:50
SPEAKER_01: That is that that was that was the beginning of the business.
8:56
SPEAKER_01: What city?
8:57
SPEAKER_02: Okay, go ahead.
8:57
SPEAKER_01: Prior to this, prior to this, I was actually using my personal account to do everything I was doing.
9:03
SPEAKER_01: But when that when I saw that, I was like, no, no, this is serious.
9:07
SPEAKER_01: Then I went ahead to open a corporate account, open a business, bank account, register.
9:13
SPEAKER_01: Register this and then I now planned for my exit.
9:18
SPEAKER_02: What city were you living in at this point?
9:20
SPEAKER_01: Uyu.
9:21
SPEAKER_02: See, it's important that people hear this because a lot of people feel like you're not doing anything if you don't move to Lagos.
9:28
SPEAKER_02: All this was in Uyu.
9:30
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
9:31
SPEAKER_01: I was I I grew up in Lagos, but work took me back to Uyu.
9:36
SPEAKER_01: And I've been in Uyu all my life for the past 10 years before I came to Lagos.
9:43
SPEAKER_01: I I knew I wanted to sell online.
9:46
SPEAKER_01: My market was not in my location.
9:48
SPEAKER_01: I knew that my market was not in my location.
9:50
SPEAKER_01: And most of the people that buy my shoe then were in Lagos.
9:54
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
9:55
SPEAKER_01: But I couldn't just up and move because my family were in Wii U.
10:00
SPEAKER_01: We had other businesses in Wuyo that we could we cannot just that was doing very well, and we can't just go, you know.
10:07
SPEAKER_01: So when I started, I said, okay, let me just keep posting online.
10:11
SPEAKER_01: I knew what Lagos people wanted.
10:13
SPEAKER_01: You know, like I said, when my when I started my business, I went online to see what people were doing.
10:18
SPEAKER_01: And I saw your page.
10:19
SPEAKER_01: I was like, okay, this is something I want to do.
10:22
SPEAKER_01: Other people were selling what everybody was doing.
10:24
SPEAKER_01: I was like, no, I don't want to do what everybody is doing.
10:26
SPEAKER_01: I want to produce unique shoes, comfortable shoes.
10:29
SPEAKER_01: That when people see, they're like, okay, this is different.
10:32
SPEAKER_01: This is from this person.
10:34
SPEAKER_01: And that was how the business started.
10:36
SPEAKER_01: But because I knew my customers were not in wheel, every of my marketing messages was not for my immediate environment.
10:44
SPEAKER_01: It was the people, it was for the people I wanted to sell to.
10:47
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
10:48
SPEAKER_01: So I always say that location doesn't matter as long as you make sure that your message reaches those that intended to reach, basically.
10:58
SPEAKER_02: Did you start with um a store?
11:01
SPEAKER_02: Or you started basically, you know, online and then everything was online.
11:06
SPEAKER_01: We I had a space in my house that I converted to like a mini store.
11:11
SPEAKER_01: So when you see the when you see online, you think it's a store.
11:14
SPEAKER_01: But it was actually a pallor in another flat that we had that I just converted to a store.
11:20
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
11:20
SPEAKER_01: Everything was online, would deliver to customers in Lagos, Abuja, and other cities in Nigeria.
11:27
SPEAKER_02: What challenges did you um encounter?
11:30
SPEAKER_02: I as I already know, but I would like you to speak, to speak about it.
11:34
SPEAKER_02: Did you have issues with sizing and all of that?
11:38
SPEAKER_01: When I when we first started, I didn't know how sizing worked.
11:42
SPEAKER_01: You know, as at that time, I didn't know that every every shoe, um, every business had their own sizing.
11:53
SPEAKER_01: And a lot of customers also don't know their size.
11:56
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
11:57
SPEAKER_01: You know how it is where you are tilted.
12:01
SPEAKER_01: You hey, you are tilted.
12:04
SPEAKER_01: Please go ahead.
12:05
SPEAKER_01: You you when you were young, you used to be a size 39, and you got married, you gave birth, you've increased in size, but you still expect that your shoe size remained the same.
12:20
SPEAKER_01: So you would hear, I've been wearing 10 all my life.
12:23
SPEAKER_01: Meanwhile, you've added in size, you've given birth, your feet has expanded, it has not gone back to the way it was.
12:31
SPEAKER_01: So it's expected that you should change your size.
12:33
SPEAKER_01: So we when I started, I had a lot of returns.
12:36
SPEAKER_01: But it I didn't, I think those two years was a year for learning.
12:40
SPEAKER_01: And because I had I was earning quite good, I was using the money I was collecting from the bank to augment for the loss.
12:50
SPEAKER_01: So I didn't really feel it then.
12:52
SPEAKER_01: It was when I resigned, and everything I needed to do was from this same business that I started to feel all the challenges.
13:02
SPEAKER_01: When I started, I was able to pay a couple of influencers, you know, a lot of marketing.
13:07
SPEAKER_01: I did a lot of marketing within those two years because I knew it was, like I said, I knew my market was in Lagos and I needed the Lagos eyes on me.
13:15
SPEAKER_01: So I had to pay some influencers, I had to work with some influencers, you know, to do all that.
13:21
SPEAKER_01: It was when I now resigned and money was not coming from anywhere.
13:25
SPEAKER_01: That was when I now started to see the challenges.
13:29
SPEAKER_01: As at this time, I'd learned how return works.
13:31
SPEAKER_01: I already designed our own sizing.
13:34
SPEAKER_01: So I would tell you, let's see your feeds, let's measure your fits.
13:38
SPEAKER_01: So before I sent out a shoe, because I was not in Lagos and I knew that return was going to be difficult.
13:44
SPEAKER_01: So before you, in fact, once you come into our GM, the first thing we're asking is, can we see your fits?
13:49
SPEAKER_01: Can you take a picture?
13:51
SPEAKER_01: So when you send me your feet, I'm like, no, you can't be a 39.
13:54
SPEAKER_01: This looks 42.
13:55
SPEAKER_01: Can we be arguing?
13:57
SPEAKER_01: Can we go ahead to measure?
13:58
SPEAKER_01: So when they measure, they send it to us and we're like, okay, this is what your size should be.
14:02
SPEAKER_01: Are you sure?
14:03
SPEAKER_01: Okay, yeah, the expert here, let me trust you.
14:06
SPEAKER_01: And oftentimes they will come back and say, Ah, thank you.
14:08
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
14:09
SPEAKER_01: So my no longer I this um, this is now my size.
14:12
SPEAKER_01: I think that was what worked for us because we were able to now talk to customers.
14:16
SPEAKER_01: We're not interested in selling and then having returns.
14:19
SPEAKER_01: We're interested in getting them to know their exact size before we proceed.
14:24
SPEAKER_02: What was the size run when you first started?
14:26
SPEAKER_02: Were you doing from size 31 to what?
14:30
SPEAKER_01: I was doing from at first when the first time I started, you know, I said I had someone that was producing.
14:36
SPEAKER_01: We're doing from size 38 to 42.
14:41
SPEAKER_01: But over the years, because of what the brand was about, it was about comfort.
14:46
SPEAKER_01: A lot of big feed customers still coming our way and like, ah, you're only producing for small feed customers.
14:53
SPEAKER_01: Include us.
14:54
SPEAKER_01: When we included them, that was another headache on its own because we had to do from size 42 to 45.
15:01
SPEAKER_01: Tears my okay.
15:05
SPEAKER_01: We had to now start learning how the sizing for the wider feet work.
15:10
SPEAKER_01: We had a couple of returns, we had back and forth, but over time we now had a structure of how the sizing works and how we we still have returns, though.
15:23
SPEAKER_01: We still have the issues.
15:24
SPEAKER_02: You would have people in denial we've been able to reduce it.
15:27
SPEAKER_02: What's your shoe size?
15:29
SPEAKER_02: 42.
15:30
SPEAKER_02: Do you have white feet?
15:31
SPEAKER_02: No.
15:32
SPEAKER_02: So we send you regular 42, and then your feet look like bread in the shoe.
15:36
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
15:37
SPEAKER_02: And then we're like, but we asked you if you have white feet.
15:39
SPEAKER_02: Did you not like some don't even know?
15:42
SPEAKER_02: I remember sometime we had a pop-up, and a lady came and said she didn't know her size.
15:48
SPEAKER_02: So again, she had just given birth, so she didn't know her size anymore.
15:51
SPEAKER_02: Her feet did not.
15:53
SPEAKER_02: For a lot of women, your feet might change size.
15:56
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
15:56
SPEAKER_02: So she tried on some shoes and she was a size 44.
16:00
SPEAKER_02: And she refused to buy size 44 because she said that her husband was a size 43.
16:05
SPEAKER_02: And God forbid she wears a bigger size than her husband, who wears size 40, uh, size 43.
16:11
SPEAKER_02: So therefore, she refused and even took size 42.
16:14
SPEAKER_02: Because that was that was what she used to wear before.
16:16
SPEAKER_02: And then she now called, and it was a you know, it was a sale, so it was final sale, and then she knows now begging in the DMs the next day to say, please, I'm so sorry.
16:25
SPEAKER_02: My feet are hurting.
16:27
SPEAKER_02: I tried it on again at home, and we're like, but we told you.
16:31
SPEAKER_02: We so how do you balance I'm over here because I totally understand everything you are saying.
16:41
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
16:41
SPEAKER_02: How do you balance creativity and practicality in your designs?
16:46
SPEAKER_02: Because you also get a demand from customers who say, I want six-inch heels, but not everybody can walk in six-inch heels.
16:52
SPEAKER_02: Oh, I want wedges, or I want some even say I don't want any heel at all, but make half an inch.
16:57
SPEAKER_02: So they're asking for like kitten heels, that sort of thing.
17:01
SPEAKER_02: How do you balance that?
17:03
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so what when when we started, we had we were producing shoes for customers, and we also had custom-made orders.
17:11
SPEAKER_01: So if you want your shoe, you can tell us, I want my shoe in two inches, I want it in three inches, and we would produce and give you a number of days.
17:20
SPEAKER_01: You would say in the next three weeks, it'll be ready.
17:23
SPEAKER_01: Some didn't mind waiting because they wanted uh the exact uh um hue height, and some didn't we didn't have their sizes.
17:32
SPEAKER_01: So I think that was how I was able to balance it.
17:34
SPEAKER_01: So if you want off the shoe off the shelf, you buy.
17:37
SPEAKER_01: If you want us to produce shoes for you, we could also do that.
17:41
SPEAKER_01: But we also had designs that we could produce.
17:44
SPEAKER_01: You if you say you want this type of hues, we tell you we don't have that at the moment.
17:48
SPEAKER_01: This is what we have.
17:49
SPEAKER_01: Can you work with that?
17:50
SPEAKER_01: And if you can work with that, we'll produce.
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18:32
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
18:33
SPEAKER_02: Another thing I was gonna ask is were you able to find people within Nigeria to produce these shoes?
18:40
SPEAKER_02: Or you had to look beyond Nigeria?
18:42
SPEAKER_01: When we started, I was saying it has to be Nigeria, but after so many headaches, you had to go out of Nigeria.
18:50
SPEAKER_02: I can argue.
18:53
SPEAKER_02: You know, we all we all start out wanting to proudly Nigerian, but I tried it, I tried it for so long, but it wasn't working.
19:03
SPEAKER_01: Have had cases where I did to refund for customers because the people that were producing our shoes couldn't deliver, and after doing um refunding millions, I had to now go back to my room and crap it.
19:17
SPEAKER_02: Premium shaggy.
19:19
SPEAKER_02: Premium shaggy.
19:21
SPEAKER_01: So after that, I told myself, no, no.
19:26
SPEAKER_02: So during the pandemic, Bemisoke shoes took a break from I believe October.
19:30
SPEAKER_02: I was also pregnant at the time, and it was just a lot.
19:34
SPEAKER_02: My um my assistant was also jackbine.
19:37
SPEAKER_02: There was a lot happening, and I was like, okay, you know what?
19:40
SPEAKER_02: Let me try and figure myself out.
19:42
SPEAKER_02: So I shut it down.
19:43
SPEAKER_02: We took a break.
19:44
SPEAKER_02: And when we came back in 2021, I found a factory that could make shoes here.
19:50
SPEAKER_02: And I was super excited because I started out, you know, not here.
19:54
SPEAKER_02: And I was excited, they were actually good.
19:57
SPEAKER_02: You know, a few tweaks here and there, um, and people started to order, you know, especially people who had special locations.
20:03
SPEAKER_02: Oh, I'm getting married, I want sequined shoes, I want this, I want that.
20:07
SPEAKER_02: And the wait time went from one week to two weeks to eight weeks.
20:13
SPEAKER_02: Embarrassing.
20:14
SPEAKER_02: You have told someone, oh, it's gonna take two weeks to get your shoes.
20:18
SPEAKER_02: Even that the person making it has said it will take one week, but I added extra one week just so there's no story.
20:24
SPEAKER_02: And then two months later, I'm still telling the customer, we're so sorry.
20:28
SPEAKER_02: Oh, we're so sorry, because they couldn't keep up.
20:31
SPEAKER_02: Or the quality will be nonsense, or it won't be neatly done.
20:36
SPEAKER_02: Or so, as much as one would like to work with Nigerian factories, they will fall your hands in some cases.
20:45
SPEAKER_02: But also, while then looking beyond Nigeria to make your shoes, did you also have issues with quality and finding a suitable you know, factory that would outside Nigeria?
20:57
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
20:58
SPEAKER_01: Before we went out of Nigeria, we had gotten a lot of samples from different factories.
21:04
SPEAKER_01: So we had we there was a lot of back and forth.
21:07
SPEAKER_01: I had I have had shoes that they that came in.
21:09
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, no, I'm not selling this to my customers, and in I never talked about it.
21:14
SPEAKER_01: It was just the my loss we moved on.
21:16
SPEAKER_01: So we had a lot of quality issues before I eventually found the people I could work with, and it took a long time.
21:24
SPEAKER_02: I feel so sane.
21:26
SPEAKER_01: You don't understand.
21:27
SPEAKER_01: I'm holding back.
21:28
SPEAKER_01: It took long.
21:31
SPEAKER_01: I always tell people that if you run a female shoe business and it's successful, you can actually do any other business and be successful.
21:41
SPEAKER_02: Because it's tough.
21:42
SPEAKER_02: It's tough.
21:42
SPEAKER_02: I spoke to someone who makes shoes for men, and he said he actually tried, somebody convinced him to make for women.
21:50
SPEAKER_02: His friend is a designer, and she said, I want my models to wear your shoes.
21:54
SPEAKER_02: She makes women's clothes.
21:55
SPEAKER_02: And he said, Those the models worked barefoot.
21:58
SPEAKER_02: He threw away the shoes.
22:00
SPEAKER_02: Because women's shoes are a bit complex.
22:02
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
22:03
SPEAKER_02: You know, and if they don't get it right, they don't get it right, you know.
22:06
SPEAKER_02: So, oh my goodness.
22:08
SPEAKER_02: Ah, this feels like therapy.
22:12
SPEAKER_02: Because you know when you feel like, oh, it's not just honestly.
22:18
SPEAKER_01: A lot of people don't know this.
22:21
SPEAKER_01: When you give them your prize, especially for custom orders, they're like, ah, why is it that expensive?
22:27
SPEAKER_01: But they don't know that even when you take that order, it's possible that you have to discard two, three design to get the exact thing they want.
22:37
SPEAKER_01: And they're like, no, it does not make sense.
22:39
SPEAKER_01: I can't pay this much.
22:40
SPEAKER_01: But they will go and then still come back because we have said we want to give them quality, we want to give them comfort.
22:47
SPEAKER_01: And if it's not that, it's not going out.
22:49
SPEAKER_02: Can you please also speak about um the factories abroad in some cases being reluctant to make bigger shoes or charging you more or increasing your MOQ because you are asking them to create size beyond the size 42?
23:06
SPEAKER_02: By the way, I don't know where in the world or why who made this rule that most uh footwear factories in the world will stop at 41 or 42.
23:15
SPEAKER_02: What then happens to people like me who wear size 43?
23:18
SPEAKER_02: I don't know what size you wear.
23:19
SPEAKER_02: I wear below that.
23:22
SPEAKER_02: That the reason why I started was because I wear size 43 and because it was difficult to find my shoe size, not just within Nigeria, but even outside.
23:29
SPEAKER_02: If you go to a Zara, for example, if you see size 43, you probably see, oh, and maybe that's the only pair they have.
23:35
SPEAKER_02: Like it's so so it was a struggle, especially for um factories outside Nigeria to go beyond size 42.
23:44
SPEAKER_02: I remember them telling me one time when I was first starting out that the minimum they were going to make for a particular style was 2,000 pairs.
23:52
SPEAKER_02: And I was like, Who am I?
23:54
SPEAKER_02: Who am I?
23:55
SPEAKER_02: 2,000 pairs.
23:56
SPEAKER_02: Where will I put 2,000 pairs?
23:58
SPEAKER_02: You know, so did you have that issue?
24:01
SPEAKER_01: So you asked about the issue I had the reluctance to make bigger sizes.
24:06
SPEAKER_01: Before we go there, you asked about the issue I had one time and I came online to talk about.
24:11
SPEAKER_02: Oh, we're gonna get there.
24:12
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna get there, don't worry.
24:13
SPEAKER_01: That was what cost it because I needed to produce for bigger sizes, and I had this MOQ I needed to meet.
24:19
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so I produced the shoe, I was still in Uyu.
24:22
SPEAKER_01: Produced the shoe, I had so many shoes, and I didn't have working customers to buy them.
24:29
SPEAKER_01: Okay, and the shoes started to spoil on the shelf.
24:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because of our weather, yes, because I wanted to meet that same MOQ that we are talking about, because they said for them to produce size 43 to 45, sometimes you even produce up to 46, but you have to meet the MOQ.
24:48
SPEAKER_02: And on minimum quantity for those who are wondering, yeah.
24:51
SPEAKER_01: Meeting that MOQ because I wanted to also produce for bigger sizes, yes, these customers that kept asking me for the shoes.
25:00
SPEAKER_01: We actually took that risk of producing the MOQ.
25:03
SPEAKER_02: Now it was time to sell, people were not working in, and there was I think also the the economy was changing.
25:13
SPEAKER_02: It's certainly let's not get political here, but we know that the economy has gotten worse and worse in the past few years.
25:21
SPEAKER_02: So you are competing with food, you're competing with other things before people will think of shoes.
25:27
SPEAKER_02: And there were many times that I thought, does it even make any sense to continue this business?
25:33
SPEAKER_02: So, for those who don't understand what so one day I got online and then it was even for my um, what's it called?
25:42
SPEAKER_02: My um, you know what for you page or whatever they call it, you know, where it's kind of, and I saw your face and then I clicked on it.
25:49
SPEAKER_02: It was in the morning I woke up.
25:50
SPEAKER_02: I had just ranted to my husband about how this business is stressing me, and I think I should quit, but at the same time, I don't want to.
25:58
SPEAKER_02: And then the next day I wake up, see your video, and you were very distraught and you were very upset because, yeah, like you said, you said sales were not moving.
26:08
SPEAKER_02: And I said, Ha.
26:10
SPEAKER_02: If the person I'm admiring is crying and saying sales are not moving, it's a sign.
26:17
SPEAKER_02: As it's all over.
26:18
SPEAKER_02: It's all over.
26:19
SPEAKER_02: Let me just pack up and be going.
26:21
SPEAKER_02: And my husband was like, So I hope you see that it's not just you who is dealing with it.
26:25
SPEAKER_02: So, for those who don't understand, so you've invested money in, you know, for those of us who have footwear brands, you've told the factory, this is a style I want to create.
26:35
SPEAKER_02: This, you've gone back and forth with samples, um, trying it on, making sure everything is correct, everything is neat.
26:42
SPEAKER_02: Your anxiety of shipping your stuff in is one customs officer going to blow one customs officer, and then they'll now tell you that the ports are closed because they are, you know, they are uh protesting or something.
26:53
SPEAKER_02: There's been all sorts of drama in this country.
26:55
SPEAKER_02: And then the shoes finally get here.
26:58
SPEAKER_02: By the way, they've increased the shipping fee again.
27:00
SPEAKER_02: It was higher than what it was.
27:02
SPEAKER_02: And then, so you've put a price, and you're even like, I don't want it to be too expensive.
27:06
SPEAKER_02: I want, do you understand?
27:08
SPEAKER_02: You put it and you're looking at your page, you're looking at your website.
27:12
SPEAKER_02: How many sales today?
27:14
SPEAKER_02: Very low.
27:15
SPEAKER_02: What's going to happen?
27:16
SPEAKER_02: And you're freaking out because what about my money that I've put into this thing?
27:20
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you understand?
27:22
SPEAKER_02: And it's it's disheartening.
27:23
SPEAKER_02: And I'm over here, like, what are we gonna do?
27:28
SPEAKER_02: I'm so so, I feel so vindicated that you are here because honestly, it's not easy.
27:35
SPEAKER_02: It's not like so a person can buy a pair of shoes and wear that pair of shoes almost every day.
27:42
SPEAKER_02: Yes, as opposed to clothes, where you know, people buy a lot.
27:47
SPEAKER_02: They can buy three, four, five, or shirts, or whatever it is.
27:50
SPEAKER_02: Shoes are different for some reason.
27:52
SPEAKER_02: So, and if you're not a shoe enthusiast like I am, I my father used to call me Imel Damakos.
27:58
SPEAKER_02: Imeldamacos was this first lady, or I can't remember her name, but from the Philippines who had lots of shoes.
28:03
SPEAKER_02: She got into the Guinness Book of Records because she had the most pair of shoes, pairs of shoes in the world.
28:09
SPEAKER_02: My dad used to, as a as growing up, because I would buy shoes before I buy clothes.
28:14
SPEAKER_02: That's always been me.
28:16
SPEAKER_02: I don't bags, I can carry the same bag every year, every day for a year.
28:20
SPEAKER_02: But you see, shoes, I love shoes.
28:22
SPEAKER_02: And again, because I didn't find my size, so once I find my size, even if it's the weirdest color, I would buy.
28:28
SPEAKER_02: You understand?
28:29
SPEAKER_02: So it's such a tough business.
28:32
SPEAKER_02: Why do we continue?
28:37
SPEAKER_01: I would say for me is my love for shoes.
28:42
SPEAKER_02: Same.
28:43
SPEAKER_01: That's because the what happened to me that was last year when I came online.
28:49
SPEAKER_01: If it was a normal human being that didn't was not interested in the business, I would have closed the business.
28:56
SPEAKER_01: Because as at this time, I had so many shoes and it wasn't moving, customers were not working in.
29:00
SPEAKER_01: In fact, that was when I decided that okay, I think I need to come and meet my people in Lagos.
29:06
SPEAKER_01: Because before then I was doing online, people were buying.
29:11
SPEAKER_01: Then the cost of shipping increased unexpectedly, and people would start asking, Oh, I want to buy this shoe, your shoes, I love them, but am I going to pay this amount for shipping also?
29:24
SPEAKER_01: And then sales reduced drastically.
29:27
SPEAKER_01: And because customers were not coming in to actually see the shoes, you would have to do a lot of cost, a lot of talking, a lot of convincing.
29:35
SPEAKER_01: So at this point, I'm like, do I want to continue with this?
29:39
SPEAKER_01: But like I said, because of the love for shoes, this is basically what I do.
29:44
SPEAKER_01: Apart from nothing else interests me.
29:47
SPEAKER_01: I've started every other business and stopped because I was never a business person.
29:53
SPEAKER_01: But the love for shoes keep pushing me to try more, to not give up.
29:58
SPEAKER_01: And then the feedback I get for the for my customers, absolutely.
30:02
SPEAKER_01: You you hear them say, I I never wore heels until I met you, your shoes are comfortable.
30:08
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
30:09
SPEAKER_01: You would so those feedback, I'm like, okay, am I going to turn my my back on these customers?
30:14
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
30:14
SPEAKER_01: Am I just going to up and leave the issues?
30:18
SPEAKER_02: A woman who wears size 45, and maybe all her life she's gotten away with it by wearing sneakers.
30:26
SPEAKER_02: Maybe she works from home or whatever it is, or men's shoes or palm slippers.
30:30
SPEAKER_02: And then now she's getting married.
30:31
SPEAKER_02: Is she going to wear palm slippers to get married?
30:33
SPEAKER_02: Is she going to wear palm slippers?
30:35
SPEAKER_02: Or there's a special occasion in her life.
30:38
SPEAKER_02: And for the first time in her life, she's able to find pretty shoes in her size.
30:43
SPEAKER_02: Do you know how many people have prayed for me?
30:46
SPEAKER_02: I've never, there were there were brides who would literally write emails and say, because of you, I was able to feel like a woman.
30:54
SPEAKER_02: I was able to wear heels, like, you know, because I was able to find shoes in my size.
30:59
SPEAKER_02: And then one thing for me was I always wanted the shoes to be reasonably priced.
31:04
SPEAKER_02: Most of the people in this country are poor.
31:07
SPEAKER_02: Let's be honest.
31:08
SPEAKER_02: I'm not sitting here trying to be pretentious and say, oh, I want my shoes to be luxury.
31:14
SPEAKER_02: How many people can afford it?
31:16
SPEAKER_02: You know, and I'm like, okay, let's be realistic.
31:19
SPEAKER_02: Let me find a way.
31:20
SPEAKER_02: But with the way the economy was changing, I remember my first set of shoes were under 10k.
31:26
SPEAKER_02: And I was like, wow, if things could remain like this, I want it to be, you understand?
31:30
SPEAKER_02: And then one day I woke up, I went to change money to send to my supplier, and the Bureau dechange guy said, ah, dollar has gone up.
31:37
SPEAKER_02: Oh, it has so when I started, it was 100 and something.
31:41
SPEAKER_02: And then in a few months, the dollar went to 300 and something per naira.
31:44
SPEAKER_02: And I I that day I went to my into my car and I sat and I cried for a long time because I was like, what am I going to do now?
31:51
SPEAKER_02: How do I change the prices without people thinking, oh, this one is a thief?
31:55
SPEAKER_02: You know, I struggled.
31:57
SPEAKER_02: Pricing was a struggle for me.
31:58
SPEAKER_02: How did you decide on pricing?
32:00
SPEAKER_02: And were you ever accused of being too expensive?
32:04
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
32:05
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
32:06
SPEAKER_01: So for me, I I think what worked for me was I had to do a lot of educational posts.
32:14
SPEAKER_01: People needed to see why they are buying what they were buying.
32:18
SPEAKER_01: I had to show them, I had to compare, I had to tell them.
32:21
SPEAKER_01: And then I'd built a community of people who just believed that this is this is it at your shoes or nothing.
32:30
SPEAKER_01: And up till now, I still say most of the orders I get are from customers that have been with me for since I started.
32:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
32:39
SPEAKER_01: Because they see that okay, the quality remains the same, the comfort remains the same.
32:44
SPEAKER_01: And they saw how the pricing was going.
32:47
SPEAKER_01: It started worse when I started, we're selling I think 15,000, 17,000.
32:52
SPEAKER_01: And then the economy changed and we had to increase the price.
32:55
SPEAKER_01: In fact, at some point, I I told myself that if I continue with this pricing, I won't be able to build.
33:01
SPEAKER_01: Because, like I said, you would collect the money you have you think you've made money, but by the time you want to go back to the markets, the market is something else.
33:11
SPEAKER_01: And you're like, you have to now go and get money from somewhere else.
33:15
SPEAKER_01: So I told myself, if I want to build this business, if I want to build this brand, I have to increase the price and then do a lot of talking.
33:24
SPEAKER_01: That that's that's been my the way I've been able to market myself.
33:28
SPEAKER_01: So every time I'm not all about posting shoes.
33:31
SPEAKER_01: If you if you come to my page, you'll see that I do a lot of talking, I do a lot of explaining.
33:36
SPEAKER_01: Content to yes, not just posting about the shoes.
33:39
SPEAKER_01: Because I know that when people understand the reason why they are paying this much, they would eventually buy.
33:46
SPEAKER_01: But at some point, I saw that the economy was not also things were not getting better.
33:53
SPEAKER_01: So we I we still have to go back to the drawing board and look for other countries where we could produce at a more affordable price price rate and um also be able to sell to the people here in Nigeria because as much as we want to also make money, you also want the people that we are producing the shoes for to be able to buy.
34:14
SPEAKER_01: Because if you produce the shoe and you cannot afford it, everybody will be looking at you, and at the end of the day, you close the business and go back home.
34:24
SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much.
34:25
SPEAKER_02: So, how did you decide?
34:28
SPEAKER_02: I know you this you said you decided to come to Lagos.
34:31
SPEAKER_02: So you have a walking store in Lagos now.
34:33
unknown: Yes.
34:35
SPEAKER_02: A lot of times people have asked, why don't you open?
34:38
SPEAKER_02: That's to me.
34:39
SPEAKER_02: Why don't you open a walking store?
34:41
SPEAKER_02: And then I say, Are you ready for the cost of the shoes to double, to triple, and then they keep quiet?
34:48
SPEAKER_02: Because the cost of rent is one thing.
34:50
SPEAKER_02: You have to do CCTV, if not they rub you blind, you have to hire staff, train them, do so many things.
34:58
SPEAKER_02: God forbid something happens and see what happened during um the protests and how people's locked up shops were looted, burgled.
35:08
SPEAKER_02: And I remember seeing somebody's um store, not only did they steal, somebody decided to squat and do and shit in the middle of her store.
35:18
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'll never forget.
35:19
SPEAKER_02: You know, that's so that is how you I've locked up my store.
35:25
SPEAKER_02: Oh, they say they are fighting somewhere.
35:26
SPEAKER_02: Okay, I've locked up, everybody has gone, and you're thinking, okay, thank God, I've locked up.
35:30
SPEAKER_02: They broke into people's shops, stole to their heart content, and then now you squat in the middle.
35:36
SPEAKER_02: Why?
35:37
SPEAKER_02: So the move to Lagos, you also open in Abuja.
35:43
SPEAKER_02: So you have a walking store in Abuja, you have a working store in Lagos.
35:47
SPEAKER_02: How do you balance this with prices, with costs?
35:51
SPEAKER_02: Like the cost, it costs a lot of money, that's millions of naira.
35:54
SPEAKER_02: Did you at some point also maybe look to other means of um financing the business, maybe getting a loan or I don't know, investors, things like that?
36:08
SPEAKER_01: So what I did was for Abuja, I partnered with someone, so it's not my my store entirely.
36:16
SPEAKER_01: Okay, we shared the costs.
36:18
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
36:19
SPEAKER_01: So that's when the price came down because everything we do there is shared.
36:24
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
36:25
SPEAKER_01: I think the where I really spent money was here in Lagos.
36:28
SPEAKER_02: Lagos.
36:30
SPEAKER_01: And even at that, I've still had to keep everything I do, the costs, my spending to the bearest minimum.
36:42
SPEAKER_01: Now, for last year when I came to Lagos, when I knew I was coming to Lagos, I applied for Tony Elumilu grant and I got it.
36:51
SPEAKER_01: Agreed.
36:52
SPEAKER_02: So that's a five thousand dollar grant.
36:54
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
36:54
SPEAKER_01: That helped me a little because when the money came, I was now able to do the other things I needed to do when the stock was coming into Lagos.
37:04
SPEAKER_01: And um I think also I've at some point I've had to take a loan from the bank to expand the business.
37:12
SPEAKER_01: But like I said, the the price of the shoes have to increase because if it doesn't, I won't be able to continue.
37:21
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's not sustainable to make it a going concern.
37:24
SPEAKER_01: So that's when you when you look at my pricing, you see that everything is factored into the cost of production, brands, and that's that's what brings up to what what we are selling.
37:37
SPEAKER_01: So you see someone that is selling less, and they're like, Why are you selling this price when this person is selling this price?
37:44
SPEAKER_01: A lot of people don't understand what goes into costing, what's what brings up the price of whatever you sell.
37:51
SPEAKER_01: So I take all those into consideration before the pricing.
37:56
SPEAKER_02: It's one thing to produce the shoes, it's another thing to think of the packaging, it's another thing to think of um maybe the building or the rent or you know, staff salaries.
38:07
SPEAKER_02: You also have to factor in marketing.
38:10
SPEAKER_02: What form of marketing works for you?
38:12
SPEAKER_02: I've seen your ads.
38:13
SPEAKER_02: What for and I've seen that you've there's you also worked with someone, I think some lady you call sellouts with tea or something, like it's someone who would help put you through.
38:21
SPEAKER_02: So, what other forms of marketing do you use?
38:24
SPEAKER_01: So I do a lot of meta ads, a lot.
38:28
SPEAKER_01: And that's I've been doing that before I came into Lagos.
38:32
SPEAKER_01: I do a lot of before I came into before I resigned, I told I did a lot of influencer marketing.
38:41
SPEAKER_01: But after that, I knew I knew I needed to bring the cost down because that reduced.
38:45
SPEAKER_01: So I still do a lot of community.
38:49
SPEAKER_01: A lot of my sales comes from referrals, the people who have been able to build.
38:55
SPEAKER_01: Most of the people that buy from me are they come from because my customers have talked about, so I've not really spent more on other form of ad, um, other form of marketing apart from the meta-ad that I run.
39:09
SPEAKER_01: And also I'm very, very involved in whatever happens in terms of content creating, in terms of building this community.
39:18
SPEAKER_01: Because I believe that when you build a brand, it's actually easy for you to convince people.
39:24
SPEAKER_01: And that's what I did for a long time.
39:27
SPEAKER_01: I made sure that my customers, my followers were very invested in whatever I was doing.
39:34
SPEAKER_01: Now I built a cult of followers and customers, and I know it's because for every time I say I want to do this, oftentimes when I even want to run sales, I don't need to say much.
39:47
SPEAKER_01: You would see that most of my followers understand the value I bring to the table.
39:51
SPEAKER_01: And once I talk about sales, in one week, two weeks, I'm able to get the numbers that I want.
39:56
SPEAKER_01: So, what has helped me so far is because I've been able to understand that once I build a brand, every other thing would follow.
40:04
SPEAKER_01: And the money I spend now is majorly on my ads, my Facebook ads.
40:09
SPEAKER_02: Love that.
40:10
SPEAKER_02: Now, I want to bring this to a close because we have a lot of stuff to talk about.
40:14
SPEAKER_02: At the same time, I'm trying to make sure that this episode is not too long.
40:18
SPEAKER_02: Um, what advice would you give to someone who is starting out who is thinking, oh, I want to start my own footwear brand?
40:26
SPEAKER_02: What would you say?
40:29
SPEAKER_01: Like I said earlier, build a brand.
40:32
SPEAKER_01: It's very, very important.
40:35
SPEAKER_01: Build a cult of people that believe so much in you that even when you mess up at times, they would they'll be the one explaining and saying, Oh, if you're not like this, we know that this is what happened.
40:48
SPEAKER_01: Last year I had some very crazy issues, and you would see my customer coming into my gym.
40:53
SPEAKER_01: I said, show collector, we know you're not like this.
40:56
SPEAKER_01: We understand, don't worry, we'll give you time, we'll give you time to sort it out.
40:59
SPEAKER_01: I've had so what has helped me, and what I always tell the people that whatever business you want to start, build a community, build a brand, build a cult follower of people that they just believe that whatever you say, whatever you want to sell to them is actually good.
41:18
SPEAKER_01: And when you are able to do that, every other thing you do would it will look easy.
41:23
SPEAKER_01: But building that brand will take years, which took me over four years to get here.
41:28
SPEAKER_01: But that is what has helped me so far.
41:30
SPEAKER_01: A lot of times people start business and they want to start making money immediately.
41:34
SPEAKER_01: When I started, I wasn't making money.
41:36
SPEAKER_01: I told you I was I was just having fun.
41:39
SPEAKER_01: So, as at that time, I didn't even understand pricing.
41:41
SPEAKER_01: I would just put small money and I just wanted people to wear my shoes.
41:44
SPEAKER_01: I was just excited when people tell me, ah, your shoes are so comfortable.
41:48
SPEAKER_01: That was it for me.
41:49
SPEAKER_01: I didn't know then that I was building people that could now be my own paid marketers.
41:55
SPEAKER_01: And that's what I've been able to do up until I took the business seriously.
42:01
SPEAKER_01: So build a brand, focus on building a community.
42:04
SPEAKER_01: That is what is going to help you scale.
42:06
SPEAKER_02: Some people claim that you cannot have a successful business if you don't dance or twerk on social media or do crazy things.
42:16
SPEAKER_02: What do you say to that?
42:18
SPEAKER_02: Well, no, but it's true.
42:22
SPEAKER_02: I mean, you see people who are supposed to be selling something, and we're thinking, What are you what are you doing here?
42:29
SPEAKER_02: What's going on?
42:30
SPEAKER_02: Do you understand?
42:31
SPEAKER_02: I mean, we saw all sorts of stuff last year, from people twerking all of a sudden to people uh you know showing up in skimpy clothes, doing all sorts of stuff just to get attention.
42:42
SPEAKER_02: Because the algorithm let's be honest, the algorithm is a mess right now, you know.
42:46
SPEAKER_02: So, especially once they once you've run ads before, it's like they want you to continue by force and increase the money you're paying.
42:53
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
42:53
SPEAKER_02: So once you okay, so say let's say like last week now, you ran ads, you are done with whatever you want to do.
42:59
SPEAKER_02: You want to just post normally your the reach, you will think you'll be like, hello.
43:04
SPEAKER_02: No, is anybody seeing me?
43:06
SPEAKER_02: What's going on?
43:07
SPEAKER_02: Because they want to force you to spend.
43:10
SPEAKER_01: You have to.
43:11
SPEAKER_01: My ads is continuous.
43:12
SPEAKER_01: I have one a particular ad that is running for a whole year, it doesn't stop.
43:16
SPEAKER_01: I just keep putting because if you stop, the number of followers you've gotten, they will take it back from you.
43:22
SPEAKER_01: So you imagine running ads, you've gotten maybe 50 followers and you're happy.
43:26
SPEAKER_01: By the time you stop, the first two weeks of you stopping, they will collect.
43:31
SPEAKER_01: Uncle Mark will collect back the followers from you.
43:34
SPEAKER_01: So you will go back to ground zero.
43:36
SPEAKER_01: You cannot stop.
43:37
SPEAKER_01: And for those that do whatever they need to do to sell, I I am of the opinion that if you can go through the education route, take time to understand your customers, to educate them.
43:53
SPEAKER_01: It's harder, and that's why a lot of people don't want to do that.
43:56
SPEAKER_01: They'll rather just stand up and start dancing.
44:00
SPEAKER_01: Because it's easier.
44:01
SPEAKER_01: The thing is, a lot of us go for what is easy.
44:04
SPEAKER_01: Nobody would sit down to say, okay, what do I tell my customers today?
44:08
SPEAKER_01: How do I speak to my customers?
44:10
SPEAKER_01: What do I teach them about what they are buying from me?
44:12
SPEAKER_01: It's actually a lot of work.
44:14
SPEAKER_01: It takes a lot of, you have to go and do your digging, you have to read.
44:19
SPEAKER_01: Nobody wants to do that.
44:20
SPEAKER_01: So whatever works for them, if the twerking is bringing whatever is bringing for them, I would say continue.
44:26
SPEAKER_02: But last day, it was in 2024.
44:29
SPEAKER_02: I started doing more content that had me in the content, you know, transition videos, all sorts of things.
44:35
SPEAKER_02: And one of my my colleagues said, Wait, Miss Like you started dancing.
44:38
SPEAKER_02: I said, you know, I used to make fun of people who used to dance, but with this economy, you will dance.
44:44
SPEAKER_02: You you we you will do something.
44:46
SPEAKER_02: So it's to some sort of if either you're doing like creative content, exactly, you are educating people, or you will dance the dance.
44:53
SPEAKER_02: You will do something because you have to do something.
44:56
SPEAKER_01: Whatever works for you.
44:58
SPEAKER_01: If you want to go through the easy route, you dance.
45:01
SPEAKER_01: If you want to go through the harder route, you educate or you spend money creating content, creating content, which is a lot.
45:09
SPEAKER_02: It's a lot, it's a lot.
45:10
SPEAKER_02: I know someone who says that in a she's not in the fashion industry, she's in the beauty industry, who spends about 1 million or 1.5 a month.
45:19
SPEAKER_02: And if she doesn't do it, she will notice a drop in revenue.
45:24
SPEAKER_02: So she now by force has to budget at least 1 M 1.5 for sale for ads only per month consistently.
45:34
SPEAKER_02: If not, her business will suffer.
45:36
SPEAKER_02: And that's wild.
45:38
SPEAKER_01: I don't know whether at this point it's not.
45:40
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I know.
45:41
SPEAKER_02: It has become it has become the norm.
45:44
SPEAKER_02: But I'm just like, how many people like somebody who is starting out?
45:48
SPEAKER_02: Well, yeah, you will dance.
45:50
SPEAKER_02: You will be a skit maker, you will uh you will do something, sis or bro.
45:54
SPEAKER_02: You will do something because what are you what are you gonna do at this point?
45:58
SPEAKER_01: You have to do something.
45:59
SPEAKER_01: If you cannot spend money, if you don't have the money, you will have to look for what you can do.
46:04
SPEAKER_02: I became a content creator by force.
46:06
SPEAKER_02: There's nothing I even pulled my daughter, she entered, she entered the mix.
46:10
SPEAKER_02: I pulled out of my bag.
46:11
SPEAKER_02: I didn't, you know, I did all sorts.
46:13
SPEAKER_01: Your contents are creative content.
46:15
SPEAKER_01: You were not dancing.
46:17
SPEAKER_01: I don't think I've seen you.
46:18
SPEAKER_02: I cannot dance.
46:19
SPEAKER_02: You know, I please I have I'm shy.
46:22
SPEAKER_02: I can't, but I'll just like I'll do some content, I will do something, put my daughter in the mix.
46:27
SPEAKER_02: We even did mommy and me.
46:29
SPEAKER_02: I used people say, Are you paying her?
46:30
SPEAKER_02: I said, please should enter the something.
46:33
SPEAKER_02: We have to.
46:35
SPEAKER_02: I feel like being a business, um a business owner, especially in Nigeria, knowing that things can be a bit unstable, you have to know how to you have to figure out ways to continue to survive.
46:49
SPEAKER_02: So whether it is that you will seek investors and it's not easy to get investors, whether it's that you get a loan, but also be careful about that so that you don't mismanage it, whether it's that, like we said, create content, be innovative, or look for something else that you will supplement your business.
47:05
SPEAKER_02: You have to find ways to do it.
47:07
SPEAKER_02: With these few points of ours, we hope we've been able to convince you and not confuse you that we're all going through the same shaggy.
47:13
SPEAKER_02: Yes, and God will help us.
47:14
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
47:15
SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much.
47:17
SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much for coming through.
47:18
SPEAKER_02: And it's been a pleasure meeting you, talking to you.
47:21
SPEAKER_02: And now I feel like I'm vindicated, like it's not just me.
47:25
SPEAKER_01: I we are all going through this.
47:27
SPEAKER_02: We're all going through the same shake.
47:28
SPEAKER_02: I need to put that on the shirt.
47:30
SPEAKER_02: We're all going to the same premium shake.
47:32
SPEAKER_01: I also feel that we need to talk more about it.
47:34
SPEAKER_01: Yes! And I'm I'm glad you're doing it already.
47:38
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
47:39
SPEAKER_01: This would help people know that it's actually not a walk in the park.
47:42
SPEAKER_01: They see you smiling, they see you dancing, they see you creating content, and they feel that it's enough to start a business.
47:49
SPEAKER_01: But if we talk more about it, people will get to understand that it's not easy, it's it's rewarding, but you have to put in the work.
47:58
SPEAKER_02: It's a lot of work, and it's not, and you're also not stupid, you know.
48:02
SPEAKER_02: If you think, oh my, oh, you're not a failure, if you think that okay, your business is failing.
48:06
SPEAKER_02: Look, some people have gone as far as for clothing businesses going to get BBLs so that they will have fine body to sell the clothes.
48:13
SPEAKER_02: I don't, I'm not asking you to do that, but people are going through a lot just to sell their so yes now, so that when you see the clothes, you'll be mesmerized by their figure and forget that you don't have BBL figure.
48:24
SPEAKER_02: So before you know it, you have bought the dress and then you now start doing what I got for what I receive.
48:29
SPEAKER_02: Ansie, your waist and their waist is not the same thing.
48:32
SPEAKER_02: Love to shop.
48:32
SPEAKER_02: Well, I've got some good news for you.
48:35
SPEAKER_02: If you love to shop and you love to get a gift voucher to shop at a particular Nigerian fashion designer, I'm not gonna say what brand it is.
48:44
SPEAKER_02: All you have to do is download the credit direct app and follow them.
48:48
SPEAKER_02: Also, follow us at the fashion roundtable and showproof in the DMs.
48:52
SPEAKER_02: Just DM us at the fashion round table here on IG.
48:56
SPEAKER_02: But anyway, thank you again.
48:57
SPEAKER_02: I really appreciate it and good luck with everything.
49:00
SPEAKER_02: I really admire your business.
49:02
SPEAKER_02: And I thought you were my senior in the business, yeah, my senior, but honestly, I really admire your business and I wish you all the best.
49:10
SPEAKER_01: Thank you very much.
49:10
SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
49:11
SPEAKER_01: I'm glad to be here.
49:12
SPEAKER_01: Yay!
49:14
SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
49:15
SPEAKER_02: This episode was brought to you by Credit Direct.