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Gaya

I’ve always had a keen interest in business. My Home Economics teacher was the first to spot it when I was in JSS3. That same year, I recall her telling my parents that I was her best student in my set, not just because of my grades, but because she saw great potential in me to generate wealth through business.

At the time, even though we were not allowed to buy and sell in school, I had snuck in birthday cards to sell to my friends. During the lengthy holiday between JSS3 and SS1, my parents decided to invest further in what my teacher had told them by allowing me to go and learn handwork. So, I started learning tailoring in 2018 and eventually finished in 2022, after I graduated from secondary school.

Looking back, I appreciate my parents for not merely giving me capital to trade but investing in a skill. Because the money I made from sewing one dress was always more than the profit I made from selling 20 birthday cards... before I eventually stopped that business and decided to focus on my handwork.

After secondary school, while I was waiting for admission, I didn’t just complete my fashion design training. My parents also got me a sewing machine, and I decided to start a brand. I have never lacked vision, and that just felt like the next step.

At the time, I was even praying ASUU would not call off the strike so that I could properly establish my business. I already knew that I wouldn’t have spare time to market and produce in university, considering the demanding nature of my degree (I’m a law graduate now, by the way). Anyway, my prayers weren’t answered, I had to resume school, and my business automatically shut down for six good years.

My primary goal after law school was to get back into business. By this time, my tailoring skills had evidently improved because I was making all my clothes throughout school. So, I actually didn’t abandon tailoring in its entirety, but I just never collected anyone else’s clothes. Not even my friends' and family's.

In hindsight, I just felt guilty for dabbling and stopping. I felt guilty about my inconsistency. My friends suggested that I utilise my holidays, but they didn’t understand that I am a stickler for progress and growth…all the things my inconsistency couldn’t give me.

My opps are surely out there laughing at me now because, after all my strategising, I eventually had to close down this same <a href="https://aura.ng/fashion/abeg-how-much-does-the-lagos-baddie-lifestyle-really-cost-">fashion business</a> barely 12 months later. Don’t worry, I am no longer ashamed of myself. I have learned the most painful lessons that were surprisingly worth all the money I lost in the process, and now I am even willing to share.

At the time I was starting, I was doing all the manufacturing myself. But in anticipation of expansion, I was too quick to hire extra hands. And in the long run, when sales became inconsistent, and after all my friends and family had finished shopping my debut collection, I began to pay my staff from my personal money. I mean, money that I was either saving or earning from my law internship salary.

Also, I was so crazy about aesthetics. So, I pumped a large chunk of my capital into branding. Now, branding is good... don’t get me wrong. But it should be done in proportion to your business size. Start right where you are, and stop trying to copy the labels, packaging, and even advertisements of a five-year-old brand. Unfortunately, most of my nylons and labels are still lying around somewhere... in my house.

Content creation is not enough to sustain your brand. I started running campaigns and adverts quite early for my brand, but in hindsight, I’d have converted that money into improving the quality of my products. As embarrassing as it sounds, I must confess that I almost became too complacent with mediocrity. So, even when my family members complained about the neatness and finishing of our dresses, I always trivialised it. Also, the fact that I was struggling to pay my workers didn’t allow me to address their shortcomings from a CEO’s stance. Moreover, I was new in the <a href="https://aura.ng/the-streets/so-you-have-a-degree-and-zero-job-offers-welcome-to-nigeria">job market</a> and still trying to find my bearings. So, I was moving from one law firm to another... too busy to pay enough attention to my staff.

It’s good to market, and especially in this digital age, by all means, leverage social media. But just ensure that your goods are worth it. Because clients won’t come again or refer you if it wasn’t worth their money. And don’t let anyone deceive you; recommendations travel farther than your Meta ads ever could.

I was too undecided for my own good. So, I never got to niche down. I was making every design and even attempted catering to both genders because I didn’t want to look underskilled. I was looking for validation from absolutely anyone who asked me, "What styles do you make?" So, I’d proudly say, "Any and every style." Not knowing that it actually repelled them because I sounded like a jack of all trades and a master of none.

Perhaps if I had niched down to a certain category and aimed to keep increasing my collections with time, I’d have found my target audience earlier. I’d have also known my competitors. Which brings me to my last point.

It is very important to know your market, especially in terms of their preferences and financial capabilities. Then, after you have spotted your competitors, you can now harness all your energy into a unique advantage, a selling point, that will attract your target audience. Don’t overprice or underprice. Both have the potential to harm your business.

These are the lessons that one year of trial and error cost me. They say it takes five years to build a business, but I just had to quit and restart after one. So I hope you learn from my experience... and you don’t run yourself into an irrecoverable <a href="https://aura.ng/the-streets/dear-broke-young-nigerian-i-see-you-i-am-you-">loss</a>.

I started a fashion business full of hope, but one year later, I made the difficult decision to close it. Here’s the honest story behind my small business failure in Nigeria and what it taught me.


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