Why I chose fashion over accounting —Kaduna business owner

Yamai Patrick, a fashion designer, is Kaduna State University trained Accountant but refused to practice Accounting in a white collar sense of the word. In this interview, he tells RUTH OLUROUNBI why he chose to go into fashion business instead of practising accounting.

 

AS a trained accountant turned fashion designer, what was the motivation?

I love clothes. There’s that joy in seeing someone well dressed and being able to do that for people makes me happy.

 

What kind of clothes do you make – bespoke suits, traditional wears, etc?

I specialized in men casuals, traditional wears and urba wears (like jackets sweatshirt and joggers) I also make custom t-shirts and hats and brand merchandise.

 

Where are you located?

In Kaduna.

 

Suppose I want to reach you, how do I do that?

You can reach me both on social media on phone or via mail

On social media, you can reach me through @YKPclothing or @YamaiPatrick on all social media platform (that is Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) or through an email: ykpclothing@gmail.com.

 

For how long have you been a fashion designer?

I have been doing it on the low since 2012 while I was in school but I started full as a registered business a bit over a year now. That’s after my NYSC.

 

Your social media posts make you out as happy guy. Are you happy with leaving accounting for fashion industry?

Yes, I am. Accounting was what I wanted to study in school I did that mission accomplished. Fashion is what I love to do for a living I’m doing that now and I’m happy with that.

 

What are your goals for this business?

I want to build a brand that will live even after I’m gone. I want to influence how people dress not just in Africa but across the globe.

Have you considered partnering up with others fashion to hold a fashion show in your city?

Actually yes. I’m in talks with a friend who is also in the fashion business to see how we can come up with something.

 

Do you think a business owner should hire people smarter than them?

I’m in between on this. It is good to hire someone with enough experience in your chosen line of business as a startup it helps to build public confidence in your business at the early stages, but also you as a business owner should have enough experience too and never stop learning and advancing yourself. On the other hand  just like it happened to the initial founders of McDonald, if you hire someone smarter than you in your business and you fail to advance yourself once that person might kick you out of your business or leave one day and take all your customers from you.

 

Tell me a story of how you started this business?

When I started university, I couldn’t afford fancy clothes and all that so the ones I could lay my hands on I tried to customise them to my taste and people liked them. People who could afford all those fancy clothes were now the ones asking me how and were the can buy my type of clothes and as they say information is power.

At that time, I didn’t know how to make clothes but I did was that I would go to a tailor friend (who I used to make my clothes) with cash from the students and whatever design they wanted to make clothes for them. I’d bargain a lesser price and make my own profit. As time went on and after the normal tailor disappointments, I decided to learn how to make to make the clothes myself. That was how it started.