The Working Girl Diaries is a new series where we unlock the doors to the diverse and dynamic worlds of women navigating careers and finances. See this as your personal backstage pass to the lives of modern-day women from different walks of life.
Just like Single Girl Diaries, this series aims to provide unfiltered and authentic insights into the lives of working women everywhere. The aim is to dismantle gatekeeping, putting all women in a place where they are informed and prepared for the career journeys they desire to embark on. It is also to help break the stigma and taboo that surrounds money talk.
My Working Life
My name is Rukayat. I am 35 years old. I am from Ogun State but I am based in Lagos. I own a food business, where I sell a variety of food provisions and frozen food as well. My food business is called HOY stores, and it is located at 1, Igbajo Street, Irawo, Lagos. I also have a fabric business located at the same place. We have an online presence on Tiktok, Zeefabrics4. I sell a a variety of fabric, including ankara, lace to vintage, floral, jacquard and so many other types of fabric.
Although I studied English Education at Olabisi Onabanjo University, I had always known that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. Growing up, I loved buying and selling. So, by starting a business, I followed my dreams and did something I was interested in. More importantly, I just wanted to be my own boss.
But before I started my businesses, I worked on the Island as a waitress in a hotel to gather my capital for my frozen foods business, which was the business I started first. Eventually, I wanted to do something else that I had an interest in and could still manage alongside my main business, and I specifically wanted to do this business for my daughter, Zeenah. Fabric trade was an easy choice because while I was still in school , I learnt fashion designing and became a fashion designer. That experience gave me an interest in fabrics. I don’t sew anymore though, there’s no time for that. Also, apart from my background in fashion, I noticed that most people around me did not sell fabric. So it made sense for me to explore that gap in the market. I started my fabric business ‘Zee Fabrics’, named after my daughter. And, to the glory of God, it is thriving. All the revenue I make from my fabric sales goes towards a special account for her, and maybe one day if she is interested, she will take over the business.
A Typical Day In My Life
My typical day in my life depends on whether it’s a weekend or weekday. Saturdays and Sundays are mostly my busy days.
On weekends, I wake up around six because I am married with one child. I have to take care of my family first, prepare breakfast for them and take care of my daughter before coming to my shop. When I come to the shop, I sell. If I have a little time on my hands, I set up my phone, post fabrics online and do little content here and there. Although lately I have been lazy when it comes to posting content, I try to push. At around seven or eight, I prepare dinner for the family. Some days, I cook the dinner in my shop, then I go home and sleep.
My weekdays usually involve taking care of my family first, then going to my shop or sometimes going to the market. For example, every Monday, I go to Oshodi to source fabrics. Sometimes, I have pending customers’ orders, so those fabrics don’t even make it to the stock in my shop.
My Money Life
Fabric business is seasonal. During non-seasonal months, I make around ₦50,000 monthly. However, during festive periods, things pick up and I make between ₦150,000 and ₦200,000 per month. The frozen food business is my major business, and the money keeps coming and going because I have to keep restocking every week. I earn between ₦800,000 and ₦1,000,000 a month from my frozen food business.
To the best of my knowledge, I am really good with saving. In fact, if I were to rate myself as a saver from one to ten, I would give myself a six. At the moment, I have saved around ₦1.8 million from my fabric business.
What I Spend Money On
I usually spend money on my rent, transportation, feeding and taking care of me and my daughter.
My house is not very far from the shop, so sometimes I walk to and fro. Other times, when I don’t feel up to it, I use public transport. So, I spend around ₦5,000 on transportation per month. As I mentioned earlier, I have a daughter, and if you know children, they are always requesting things. Thankfully, her dad is there to support, so I don’t have to spend from my business income on her that much. I spend about ₦20,000 in a month to take care of me and her. I also pay my shop rent yearly. My shop rent used to be ₦60,000 but it has now increased by 100 percent to ₦120,000.
And yes, I treat myself too. Whenever I feel like eating, maybe shawarma, or chicken and chips, I buy and eat, because I love food. Usually, at the end of the month, I take myself out and treat myself from the money I make from the business.
The Reality of Running Two Businesses
Running two businesses comes with very different challenges. For my fabric business, one of the biggest challenges is that fabrics move with time. You buy this set of fabrics today, and maybe in the next two weeks they’ll be out of fashion. So, imagine having plenty of old stock that is now out of fashion, while new designs are entering the market every week.
For the frozen food business, electricity is a major problem. One moment I have stable electricity and the next moment, there’s no light for at least a week. That is mentally draining on its own. One of my biggest business investments in that regard is purchasing a generator that powers my three freezers. But then, fueling it has been a nightmare. My dream is to move beyond relying on generators and getting a solar freezer.
Another huge challenge I have is inflation. It has affected my businesses a whole lot. For example, in my frozen food business, there was a product, Orobo chicken, that I bought for around ₦53,000 and sold for ₦58,000. The next time I went to the market, the same product I had sold for ₦58,000 was now ₦59,000. So, basically, whatever I sold last week, there’s no profit. I now even have to add my own money on top to buy the product.
Sadly, inflation affects my fabrics sales. There was a time I was buying Ankara for around ₦2,500. At some point, the price went up to ₦2,700. When I came back to my customers with a new price, they were reluctant to buy because they were already used to the old price. About three months later, I went back to the market and the same Ankara that I bought for ₦2,700 went down to ₦2,400. And I still had the products I bought for ₦2,700. This is a difficult situation, because another seller may have bought the newer stock at the lower price and is therefore selling cheaper. Customers will now conclude that one is expensive.
The Customer Who Made Me Question Everything—And The One Who Gave Me Hope
Of course, being in business means dealing with customers of all kinds. One memorable customer in my fabric business was a man who came to buy fabric for his wife. He wanted this, he wanted that, and I ended up bringing out almost the whole shop for him. At the end of the day, he didn’t make a purchase. He said he didn’t know which colour his wife would want and that he would bring her back. Take a wild guess: he never came back. I was now left to rearrange my shop after scattering it for him.
But there have also been customers who have made my journey as an entrepreneur worthwhile. My first fabric customer is one I will never forget. The first time I came back from the market after sourcing fabrics, I was unsure how the business would go. I was wondering who I would advertise to and whether people would actually patronise me. Then she walked into my shop. She had come to buy salt, but she saw me with fabrics. She said she loved the fabrics and bought four. That sale gave me perfect joy that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. She is no longer just a customer. She is like a sister now. She has continued to patronise my business and refer people to me.
My Technique For Attracting Customers
One thing I have learnt in business is that customer relationships matter. For first-time customers especially, I believe in eye contact. If you’re a business owner, you need to build a certain level of trust with your customers, and this can be done through eye contact. When a customer is talking to you and you are looking at the ground, it can make you look like you are hiding something. But eye contact gives them confidence that they can trust you and that you know what you are doing.
I also believe in sparking conversations and offering advice. If someone wants to buy a fabric, I ask questions: Is it for a man or a woman? Is it for a younger person or an older person? If it is for an older person, I can recommend colours that I think would work better. If it is for a man, I can advise based on what I think would suit him. The same thing applies to attracting customers to patronize my frozen food business. If someone wants to buy chicken but isn’t sure what to buy, I ask what they want to cook. If they are making small jollof rice, I might suggest a different type of chicken. If they want to make a small sauce, I might suggest kote fish instead of something with too many bones.
For me, selling is not just about giving someone a product. It is also about helping them make a decision.
My Role Model
There is someone I look up to in the frozen food business. She may not be too popular, but she owns a cold room. There are times I go to her cold room and I’m like, “hmm, someday I’ll get here.”
My Advice To Women Who Want To Start A Business
My number one piece of advice is simple: You need to be consistent. Consistency is the key to any successful business. You cannot be a business owner, be available today, then disappear for the next two days. Imagine having a customer who comes to your shop, likes your approach and buys from you. If she comes back the next day and you are no longer there, and the third day you are still unavailable, eventually she will stop coming and buy elsewhere.
Good customer service is also important. If you’re consistent and you don’t have good customer relationships, people won’t come to your shop. People will tell others, “That lady is rude, don’t go there.”
And learning to appreciate people matters too. As a growing business owner, learning to say thank you makes people feel appreciated.
My Motivation To Keep Going
I know that every business has its ups and downs. If you have good days, you’ll definitely have bad days. Once you have that it cannot always be rosy at the back of your mind, you don’t have a reason to give up. For my frozen food business, I would definitely have to sell something because people eat every day. That keeps me going.
Where I See Myself In The Next 5 Years
God, please oh, spare our lives oh. In three to five years, by God’s grace, I want my fabric business to grow, become established and be well-known. For the frozen food business, I pray to have my own cold room and sell on a larger scale. I want to be able to import more frozen foods. And hopefully, that big solar freezer will come too.
For now, I am taking it one day at a time — running my businesses, taking care of my family, saving when I can and remaining consistent.
