Why I turned my passion into business
Rebecca Garba is the brain behind Ladybird Creation. She resigned her job to go into fashion design fulltime and has no regrets. The graduate of Industrial Design from Abubakar Tafawa University Bauchi says the fashion industry is a money spinner for those who put their creativity and skills to work. What were you doing before you started this business?
I was working but I resigned a year ago. I worked for the company for five years and I resigned and went full-time into fashion designing.
I have a Bachelors degree in Industrial Design from Abubakar Tafawa University, Bauchi. The name of my label is Ladybird Creation.
How long have you been doing this?
I have been into fashion design business for five years now. But I had my first runway show recently all thanks to The Fashion Academy (TFA). But coming to TFA, I got to know how to put collections together. How to sew excellently. So I am absolutely glad I came to the fashion academy.
Why did you go into designing?
I just discovered that I love clothes and then I started making them for myself and my colleagues. Then, I was working in a formal office setting. People liked what I wore and then started asking me to make for them too. And I got to like the money I was making from it, so I decided to turn my passion into business. But I knew I needed to add more skill, so I came to The Fashion Academy, brushed up my skills and here I am today. fashion
So, how lucrative is the business?
It is actually lucrative and I am glad that Nigeria and Africa as a whole are embracing their own which my collection actually showcases - ankara. We showcase African prints in different materials - satin and African prints in our normal cotton. My collection is basically to celebrate the African wear/ identity and to show the world that we are confident wearing it.
Who has been supporting you in this?
When I started, I was using the money from my earnings but now that I am doing the business full time, it’s a business that is funding itself. I have never taken loan and I have never gotten grants. I am so passionate about this that any money I make from the business, I plough it back in. I deprive myself of the things I love just to get the business going.
Where do you see the business in the next few years?
I resigned from a formal job last year and I am already doing a fashion show and I’m beginning to sell my ready-towear. In the next five years, it will be awesome and it will be large because the passion keeps burning within me.
So, you are not going back to a paid job anymore?
No way. I am glad I served somebody and worked for them; now that I am doing it for myself, I will willfully help other people to work with me and build their dreams.
Any advice for young entrepreneurs?
Just follow the trail. Be passionate about what you do. There will be challenges but never stop.
Also, mentorship matters much. The Fashion Academy mentored me and took me through the entire process. Seek someone who is already in the industry, wherever your area of specialization is to help groom you to who you want to be. Just keep at what you are doing. Never stop. Never, never, never stop. No matter the challenges, just keep at it.
The knowledge I got from the founder of The Fashion Academy, Mrs Nina Yusuf Kwande, has been a great help. The guidance has helped me a great deal.