Olayinka Thomas-Ogboja the serial entrepreneur

Though the jury is still out on using multitasking as a necessary skill to get to the top, a few have advanced wielding it expertly. Olayinka Thomas-Ogboja, CEO of D’Acero Limited, Drape Kings Event Company and more recently, Thomas O Women Network, TOWN, can be said to be one of those few.

She is a brand consultant with over ten years’ industry experience. Her career history started in Zenith Bank in 2006 as an executive officer where she impressively achieved milestones before travelling to the United Kingdom in 2007 to pursue a master’s degree in Project Management. She later worked as an assistant project manager in a renowned security solutions company in the UK; Group 4 Securities, UK, where she coordinated major events and team projects. She returned to Nigeria in 2008 and resumed shortly at IBTC Bank as a relationship manager, but later resigned to start her own photo studio, Kikis Photography, situated in Abuja.

D’Acero Limited is a Below-The-Line (BTL) agency, which specialises essentially in concept generation, offset and large format printing, procurement of bespoke promotional and marketing collaterals.

Drape Kings is an events décor and rental company which seeks to treat its clients to unique, professional, and unforgettable experiences; the firm prides itself on its team of creative, coordinated, and committed professionals who utilise state-of-the-art décor and styling equipment to ensure they constantly exceed clients’ expectations.

T.O.W.N is a not-for-profit organisation aimed at connecting, empowering and promoting Nigerian women on different platforms. It functions with three main objectives and are: to celebrate Nigerian women who are impacting the society through selfless service; to provide for the less privileged women in the society through financial and non-financial donations; and the third to empower and connect Nigerian women above the age of 18, through its various articles, seminars, programmes and related events.

According to Thomas-Ogboja, while D’Acero and Drape Kings were birthed as a result of her creative prowess, TOWN was birthed when she was trying to select Nigerian women achievers she could interview for an assignment during her doctorate programme. “Then I realised,” she recollects, that “there were a lot of women, especially unfamiliar faces, who were engaged in commendable community service but with little or no recognition. I then thought it would be nice to profile such women and that was the skeletal framework until I fleshed it up.”

For Thomas-Ogboja, her greatest asset as an entrepreneur is her creative mind and can-do spirit. “As an entrepreneur, it starts from the mind; once I can control my mind, and how I accept, digest, and process situations around me, half of the work is done.

“By this I mean, even with the not-so-favourable prevailing conditions, I spend less time complaining. Rather, I seek proactive ways of sustaining my businesses. I try to be resilient, leverage on existing networks and relationships, observe trends, and remaining flexible in my processes,” she says.

According to her, the journey of an entrepreneur is unending; it could be turbulent, yet rewarding; but only the individual who is in business for the right reasons will survive.

“More importantly, everyone is not cut out to be an entrepreneur; you can be successful and fulfilled being a career woman, a teacher, or an entertainer. Whichever one it is, what is most important is to discover your passion and go for it.

Lastly, regardless of this so-called “unfavourable conditions” she says, “people are still excelling and impacting lives; so really, what is my excuse? Life is what I make of it; it is a choice I must make,” she quipped.

Sharing her experience as an entrepreneur, she says it has indeed been a journey, because being a business owner requires much more hard work, diligence, and commitment than being an employee. She said while it could be daunting, she would not have it any other way.

According to her, one tip that has worked for her over the years is never to compete with anyone. Hear her: “Believe me, when I say I am not in competition with anyone; hence, I am never under undue pressure to prove a point.

“Sometimes, I meet people who are willing to support me and at other times I meet nasty people. There are also times that I walk away from some jobs. Because I grew organically, there has not been any job I could not decline if the terms were unfavourable, that is, I never bite more than I can chew.

“It could also be rewarding on so many levels; flexibility, finance, and the ability to schedule my timing, raising smart and diligent workforce amongst others. Even though Nigeria is a male dominated environment, women still have room to do their bit because diligence and hard work pays; if not in the short run, definitely in the long run.”

Olayinka’s CV is so impressive and colourful such that one cannot but wonder how she made the transitions between the different fields she has delved into; geography, project management, photography, branding and events amongst others. She laughs as this question is posed to her, saying that for a majority of people, their JAMB scores determined the courses they were admitted for.

“I would naturally not have chosen Geography as I can barely read maps; even now. But that was what I was admitted to study. After my NYSC, I was admitted back into University of Ibadan for my masters in Geographical Information Systems (GIS), this was the minimum qualification we could obtain in my family before you were free to do whatever else.

“My second masters in Project Management was because I knew I was eventually going to set up my outfit and therefore need to equip myself with the necessary skills set to run my businesses and manage my projects. The photography, branding, and events are part of my journey towards self-actualisation and I bless God for every stage and lessons learnt.

“Like I said earlier, it is better late than never to discover our passion and follow it knowing that everything we learn is stored somewhere and recalled when the need arises.”

Thomas-Ogboja graduated from the University of Ibadan with a Bsc in Geography and MSc in Geography Information Systems, GIS. She later proceeded to the UK where she obtained another MSc in Project Management from Queen Mary University of London. In 2010, she attended the London School of Photography and Photofusion to study the art of photography.

With all these going for her, how did she start her first business? “Hmm…during my NYSC in Port Harcourt, my flat mate would wake up early, make sandwiches and pancakes, sell to me at N80 and I would sell in my office at N120. Some generous colleagues would even dash me their change because most of them gave me N200.

“After saving up some money, I realised that there were a lot of mothers in my company with toddlers and infants, so I started travelling to Balogun Market in Lagos to buy cheap and colourful baby clothes. By the end of NYSC, I had saved enough to buy a car so I relocated back to Lagos, bought a Primera, and started selling London wax fabrics.

I would buy it at N750 from Balogun Market, sell at N1, 500 and some people would still be wondering if I was making profit,” she said laughingly. “Thereafter, I sold jewelries, clothes and some other stuff; so like I earlier mentioned, I grew organically.”

It is one thing to have a business idea and another thing entirely translating it into a viable and profitable venture. So what are those key factors needed to actualise such business idea? She says every aspiring entrepreneur will have to ask him or herself the following questions and consider the tips as well:

“What level of risk can I afford to take at this stage of my life? For instance, it is not advisable for a newly wedded man with a heavily pregnant wife to resign his job without some serious consideration or guaranteed alternatives. Am I passionate about this idea or did I steal someone else’s idea? Am I debt-free and if not, do I have guaranteed repayment plans?

“If I do not make any money in the next 6 months prior to commencement of this business, do I have sufficient funds to sustain my dependants and I? What is my alternate plan if this idea fails? Have I received any form of business training, either formal or informal?

“Do I have the personality to match this business or can I acquire it? Consult your mentors but be sure that one or two of them run their own businesses, even if not similar to yours because the language of entrepreneurs is quite different from others.”

Olayinka advises that intending entrepreneurs try to understudy and ask questions from people in similar businesses. They should be self-motivated, embracing their failures by learning from them. “Time is money, cherish it. Constantly develop yourself and empower your team, even if it is just one person, and learn to delegate,” she adds.

Accessing Bank loans and funds can be a daunting task, to this, Olayinka says it is important to dedicate time and effort to growing the business and generating revenue first, advocating opening and operating a structured bank account with an SME focused bank.

According to her, “be patient to build your cash flow; be credible as an individual. Try asking family and friends for loans as a test run. Be realistic about your funding request and always endeavour to pay back all loans because of next time.

She willingly gives pointers on how she was able to build her thriving business ventures. She explains: “I empower my employees, that way I can do more. I learn from other people’s experiences without necessarily having to go through same. I embrace personal development, seek information and knowledge. I cherish and build relationships because they are better than achievements.

“I listen, and then take action. I seek and take advantage of opportunities, embrace failures and learn my lessons; I do not severe relationships except on extreme cases which I cannot even recall. I do not entertain vengeful thoughts against people who refuse to help, it is only a reminder that they are not part of that dream; they may feature in another one.”

Olayinka is not a member of the school of thought that says “your background, experience and education must align with the business you are creating because it is a part of you.”

She explains her stance saying, “Not necessarily because clarity of vision regarding ‘purpose’ comes at different stages for different people; some can be lucky to identify it straight away, some will try a few things before discovering it, and unfortunately, some never do. Nevertheless, throughout the course of life, everything we learn, or skills and experiences we acquire, however irrelevant they may seem, will be applied one way or the other, consciously or unconsciously.”

Her principle in business, personal and family life, is simple: “No condition is permanent. It is a phase, and it shall pass; so I do not nurse regrets or wallow in self pity. I delegate in order to have time for myself and family. I require everyone around me, even domestic staff to think and act responsibly and so I lead by example.

“I cherish my time and do not use it carelessly. I choose my friends and close network. I don’t try to act infallible so I ask for help when I need it. And most of all I believe that God’s grace is sufficient for all,” she says.

Ever seeking to improve and add to her skills, Olayinka is currently undergoing a doctoral study at Walden University, Minnesota, USA, where she is specialising in entrepreneurship.

Mabel Dimma