Akinola Blessing Olajumoke is a final year student of Business Administration in Ekiti State University. She is a fashion designer who is very passionate about fashion. Blessing draws her inspiration from singing and dancing.
She shares her “Ruby Girls” story with the team.
1. Let’s meet you. Who is Blessing?
My name is Akinola Blessing Olajumoke, a 400 level Business Administration student from Ekiti state University. I’m also a fashion designer by profession based in Ibadan. I love fashion and all the goodness it can brings.
2. What made you venture into the fashion industry?
It happened a long time ago when I gave my Christmas cloth to a tailor to sew for me but the tailor disappointed me so I had to wait till she was done with the cloth then I saw the process of how she made the cloth. I got home that day then I made up my mind never to be disappointed by any fashion designer again because I’m going to become one myself.
3. Your hobbies and also an accessory you cannot leave home without?
I like singing and dancing a lot even when sewing, I listen to music for inspiration. The accessory I cannot leave home without is my hand bag because I love bags a lot.
4. What are the challenges you faced when you started out as an entrepreneur. Do you still experience them? And also how were you able to overcome them?
Well, there are many challenges one is bound to face as an entrepreneur especially if you’re a fashion designer, as we all know some customers bring styles that are not suitable for their body shape and when they don’t like the outcome it’s something else for the designer. At times they bring fabrics that are not suitable for the design they picked but at the same time you have to make it for them and when it comes to the issue of making payments some clients don’t want to pay but they want something more than they can afford.
Yes I still experience some, I’ve overcome some. I set a standard for myself and that was how I got rid of some of these challenges.
6. Being a student, how have you been able to juggle school work with fashion?
So far so good it has been easy for me because I know where I’m already headed so I did not let being a student distract me from doing what I love the most which is sewing so even if I receive fabrics during my exams I still sew them.
7. What has the Covid-19 pandemic taught you as an individual, brand and business owner?
This pandemic period made me realize that nothing is impossible. While everyone was bored looking for one thing or the other to do, ideas on what to do and how to do them just kept popping in my head. It got to a point, I could not sleep at night because I was always up thinking of what next to be done.
8. Do you have any role model in the fashion industry? If yes, who?*
For now I am looking up to myself.
9. What are the challenges young Nigerian entrepreneurs face? How can it be mitigated?*
Inability to take risks and lack of moral support are some of the challenges young entrepreneurs face in Nigeria, some don’t even know much about the business before venturing into it.
Live and let’s live is a popular saying and I think if we should start supporting each other’s business no matter how small the business is may change people’s view about entrepreneurship, then we should learn to take risks no matter how big it is.
10. Apart from fashion designing, what other things are you involved in?
Nothing for the time being.
11. One thing you’ll like to change about yourself.*
Nothing for now.
12. Mention 3 women who inspire you and why?*
My mom,she was the one that supported my dream of becoming a fashion designer.
My elder sister, her fashion sense was what inspired me as a young designer.
My school mother (omma), her will to survive in any situation she finds herself is a whole bag of inspiration. I look up to her as a role model.
13. Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
I see myself where God wants me to be, because only him knows tomorrow regardless of man’s plan or where he think he’ll be cause Man proposes God disposes.
14. If you were given the opportunity to address a group of girls five years younger than you, what will be your advice to them?
Well my advice to them will be for them to focus on whatever good things they have in mind and no matter how difficult the road to success may look or be they should not give up until they achieve their set up goals.
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