Only lazy women are jobless —Omobolanle Adenle

Omobolanle Adenle, the CEO of Cheapest Boutique, a business with presence in two states, is passionate about empowering women and seeing them stay financially independent through her Bola Business Clinic podcast. KOLA MUHAMMED engages her on her passion for female empowerment, the peculiarities of fashion business and way forward for businesses during the pandemic. Excerpts:

 

You oversee a fashion empire with physical presence in not less than two states. Why the business of fashion?

Clothing our physical body and looking good generally has become compulsory for the human race since time immemorial. The fashion industry provides basic global needs that are beyond just want but compulsory commodities in any location. This is one major reason that I’m into the business of fashion. Providing clothing for people and making them look good also gives me joy.

 

The pandemic has affected a lot of businesses. How has your business been affected?

My two physical stores were affected because they were closed during the lockdown. We are now permitted to open stores partially with restrictions. However, because I had built digital structure for my business before the pandemic, business kept running online though I had limitations transporting many ordered goods interstate at some point. The pandemic has given me time to put more online structures in place towards selling my products and service.

 

How have you empowered people with your business?

During the lockdown, I trained over 120 people for free in a closed WhatsApp group on how to start and grow their business with little or no capital, digital marketing skills and tools to monetise this season and how to engage social media for impact, profit and positive influence. Several people gained clarity on different business opportunities available at the moment and many have been empowered with the right skill set that they are monetising now. Students, corps members, and even salary earners who needed a side hustle to start generating extra income are now business owners through Cheapest Boutique as I sell to them at the cheapest resellable rates.

 

So, capital doesn’t matter a lot when starting a business?

Well, capital means a lot but capital could either be monetary or skill-based. Most people lament about the lack of physical cash only as their limitation for not starting a business, which should not be so. Some businesses require skills to start which is what many people need to start acquiring instead of waiting for people to give them physical cash before they start a business. If you have knowledge on how to make hair, sew clothes, graphic design, copy writing etc., it will be easier to raise physical cash from your skills which is why I’m an advocate of investing in skills that can be monetised. Many women are lazy and not ready to start small with what they have at hand which is why they complain of no capital for several years as their excuse to be jobless. What stops them from investing their data to learn soft skills online for free in this digital age? They are simply lazy and only lazy women are jobless.

 

What are your plans on expansion?

I have two physical stores in Osun and Lagos States presently. But because the future of work is going in the direction of digital, I run my business in the 36 states of Nigeria online without my physical store presence in those other states. People are more interested in buying online than offline these days. So, the expansion plan at the moment is increasing online visibility in all the states, African countries and across the globe with suitable structures to get goods across to any location.

 

Would you say that being a female gives you an edge in getting customers?

Being a female does not necessarily give me an edge in getting customers, it takes the grace of God and putting in the extra work to build a credible name and brand over time. People care less about your gender if your service is trash. T hey will only buy and keep buying if you are credible enough to always deliver – which is what I always strive towards every day.

 

You appear to attract controversies on your social media pages. Is it a strategy for business or just your personality?

Traffic on social media is got through content that is controversial, educative entertaining or captivating. I balance the equation for business purposes. As a critical thinker, I often find faults with claims flying around on social media. Those of us who don’t agree are often tagged controversial.

 

Many believe that entrepreneurship is more rewarding than corporate jobs. Do you agree?

No, I don’t agree. For every labour, there is reward and both are rewarding if you follow the right way to do things. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with taking a corporate work that can engage your hands and brain to work and reward you handsomely, and there’s no superiority in choosing to be your own boss, making decisions on your own, running your own business. If a corporate organisation can pay you more to engage your brain to work then you should stick to that path till you can reason on your own and make more than triple of what they are offering you. More importantly, you must find fulfillment in whatever path you choose, not just the cash. Entrepreneurship is highly rewarding if you can engage your brain and hands to work on your own without anyone bossing you around and still produce great result, thereby being an employer of labour, employing others, solving the problem of unemployment in the society and teaching others to do the same. None is superior to the other, and if you are not diligent in either, one would be a total failure. Not everyone is cut out to work independently on their own without structures around them and produce results some people must be in a paid job with structures built around them to perform at their best. Some of us can be our own boss and still deliver efficiently based on the capacity we’ve built overtime in our lives. The most important thing is to know what rocks your boat.

 

What’s been your biggest challenge in your line of business?

Funding my business with little or no support from government or any rich family and friends was one of my biggest challenges. I had to start learning monetisable skills such as digital marketing, graphic design, logo design,video content creation, freelancing and physical skills like hair making. These were some of the skills I learnt at the initial stage of my business to raise physical capital and keep the business running. I still actively engage the soft skills presently even as a business owner and both work hand in hand. Selling online in a country like Nigeria is scam to many people because some people have bastardised online business for legitimate sellers. So, I had to put in the extra work to build a credible brand, convincing people online daily that I am not a fraud and they will definitely get whatever they pay for. It is challenging dealing with buyers, which is why I have two physical stores. Many people will never buy until they come to your physical store and it is not possible for millions of people across the globe to walk into your store daily the way it is possible online.

 

What advice do you have for female folks who are struggling to be economically independent?

The journey to financial freedom starts with hands and brain willing to work with whatever resources you have at your disposal at that moment, not waiting for what you lack before you start. If you can’t secure a good paying job at the moment, don’t sit at home all day blaming Nigerian government and your rich parents or relatives for not empowering you, because no one owes you anything in this life. Create a job for yourself even if it is something small. Strive to make almost double of what you put into it. Grow the business overtime till you can switch to something better. While you are at it, invest in learning a new skill and building your portfolio in business or career world. Skills will always give you an edge. Even without physical cash, if you have a profitable skill, you can raise millions from your skills. Even if you are on a paid job, it can remain a side hustle which may end up being the main business in the long run. Invest in (digital)skills that you can always monetize and never stop learning.