Being self-employed is the ultimate —Odetunde

Adijat Oluwaseun Odetunde,a graduate of Accounting from Babcock University, Ilisan- Remo, Ogun State, is a make-up artist and caterer. The Chief Executive Officer ( CEO) of Confectionery Unique et Beaute, Lagos, in this interview with TAYO GESINDE, speaks about her foray into business and life as an entrepreneur.

You are a caterer, make-up artist, wife and mother. How do you combine all these together?

First and foremost, I am passionate about everything that I do and that has been the driving force. Combining all these has been by God’s grace and with the help of my students; we have always been able to pull through. Sometimes, we get orders for cake alone and at other times, we have clients who come to us for make-up. God has really been our source of strength.

What are the challenges you have been facing as an entrepreneur?

Challenges are sure to happen in every business. As an entrepreneur, the challenges we all face include; electricity, getting good staff, pricing and equipments. Most times we spend a lot of money to fuel our standby generator in order to produce our cakes and this usually eats into our profits.

  How have you been coping with the competition?

The experience has been awesome and fun. I also have the conviction that I can excel in this world of creativity despite the fact that it is a competitive field. To the best of my knowledge, I think if what you do is extra-ordinaire, excellent and your packaging is good, you will excel in the business regardless of the competition. We have my own clients and they stick to us. Competitors are not a headache for us; the sky is wide enough to accommodate everyone. I must say Confectionery Unique et Beaute has been recording success for eight years.

Out of catering and make-up, which do you enjoy the most?

If  I am going to be sincere with you, I enjoy baking a lot, the process of sourcing for ingredients and baking  them in the right oven temperature, kneading, rolling fondant  and using the right mould and creating a master piece gives me nothing but joy. I love to make people up too but if am to give it a percentage it is going to be 100% for baking and 80% for make-up.

Can you share tips with us on how to create your perfect look with make-up?

First and foremost when talking about make-up the first thing you need to consider is the skin. The skin being the largest visible organ of the body must be properly taken care of in order to look beautiful. One major thing that determines the kind of skin care products one should use is the type of skin one has. There are basically four different skin type which are normal skin, dry skin, oily or combination skin and sensitive skin. People with oily skin should use product with oil control. Always make sure you buy quality make-up products and always remove your make-up at night before going to bed.

What advice do you have for the youth?

My advice for the youth is that they should engage themselves in any business of choice irrespective of the capital they have. They can start small and grow big because being self employed is the ultimate. I graduated eight years ago and since then, I have been my own boss. I have so much enjoyed the experience over the years.