NECESSITY WAS LAID ON ME AT A VERY EARLY AGE TO BE INDEPENDENT AND RESPONSIBLE FOR MY SIBLINGS. I GREW UP VERY FAST.
I attended University of Science and Tech Primary School in Port Harcourt, Federal Government College, Kano, and the University of Calabar, where I studied Marketing. I am also an alumnus of the Lagos Business School.
In April 2000 I was posted to Abuja for National Youth Service and I got redeployed to Christ Embassy, Abuja. I was employed there and was transferred to Port Harcourt, where I worked for seven years in various departments.
I am the first of four children: three ladies and a male. Necessity was laid on me at a very early age to be independent and responsible for my siblings. I grew up very fast and went to secondary school in Kano, all the way from Port Harcourt, in 1989. I didn’t get any visitors during visiting days for six years, so I grew up toughing up very fast. I think my parents knew I could handle it and so allowed me to go that far.
When challenges come, we conquer them. I have had my fair share of challenges, like my staff stealing, but I have overcome them all.
My life lessons have always been backed up with the word of God. As long as I have God, I know I will come out victorious. And I know that all things will work for my good because I trust God and I am called according to his purpose.
It wasn’t a planned venture. I had worked with the church under a manager who handled publications. We went to the press together and I loved seeing our creations come to life in printed format. So after I stopped working, the only thing I knew how to do was printing. I opened a small scale printing shop in 2008. It later evolved into a publication called Celebrity Exclusive, which we ran for almost 10 years. In 2010, I opened my jewelry store named Our First Day, which I renamed Saint Tracy in 2014.
One of the rewarding parts of being an entrepreneur, for me, is the liberty I get to explore more about the industry, taking risks, and birthing things that never existed. Of course the liberty of spending time with my family is a great incentive.
I didn’t really have any particular aspiration. I remember wanting to own a tailoring shop, but after a while, I was just led by God. And I’m glad to be where I am today. Saint Tracy was born out of a need. I got engaged in 2003 and I didn’t know of any place my husband, then fiancé, was going to get an engagement ring from. At the time, his brother was in the UK and he asked him to get a ring for him. The ring was delivered and surprisingly it was my size. Time for the wedding and it was the same thing, I didn’t get to choose my wedding ring, my ring was chosen on my behalf and I wore it and it fitted. It might not have been my choice. At this point I thought that if I had this problem of wanting to choose my wedding ring, it meant there were more people who didn’t know where to get their rings from as well, in Port Harcourt at least.
In 2009 I was away for a long time when I went to have my second child and there the idea came again and I named it Our First Day. I didn’t start immediately, but by 2011 we were functioning, no business plan, we just knew there was a need and we tried to meet it. We used a room at the printing press to start and bought rings and resold with little margins. We started by going to Dubai to buy 10 rings and resold them. There was no serious social media awareness, but we kept on doing it. We invested all the money we made and used the printing press as a cash cow to literally fund the jewelry store. Fast forward to 2017, now we design and produce our own wedding and engagement rings in Nigeria. My children and husband are my most cherished gift. Every other thing, money can buy. I enjoy music from gospel music ministers from around the world, but especially Nigeria.
I wake up early at 5am or 6am; pray and study while my children are already getting ready for school. They go to school and I get ready for work. I am in the office by 8 or 9am typically and it’s emails, corresponding with the factory, getting in touch with the other three branches, attending to Instagram messages, posting and strategising. By the time you know it it’s 3pm. Sometimes I go and pick the children from school. I do the rest of my work on phone, or I stay back in the office. I leave latest 6pm to the house. It’s homework, dinner and
Not an app, my text message, checking for bank alerts, lol! Then it’s Instagram because you have a lot of messages and could miss some, and that’s money. It’s either shoes or handbags; depends on my mood. A very mini skirt or a cleavage-revealing blouse. Really I don’t have anywhere in particular, as long as am with my family in that journey am happy. Spend time with my children, watch some television series. “Excuses devalue a man.” Also: “All things work together for my good.” Pottage beans and fried plantain. Corporate causal with beautiful mid heels. I don’t have any. I love good clothes and I’m love how our Nigerian designers are raising the bar now. Not really an advice, but she guided me to the lord at an early age.
I love Monday. There’s always a lot to do at Saint Tracy and lots of ideas to start implementing. My to-do list is always very long on Mondays. I see Mondays as a chance for a fresh start, as well as a clean slate to make better decisions. I try to scrub my face at least twice a week.
My Pastor, Joy Amenkhienan: she is a go getter, nothing fazes her. She carries an unusual grace and it inspires me. And Tara Fela-Durotoye, I always think of how she will handle a situation. Mo Abudu shows me that I can do it at any age: she inspires me as well. Start saving early and start your masters immediately. You have to make your own money immediately. Start something you love doing and go for it.