AN INSPIRATIONAL MASTER PIECE:I started my sewing business inside my room –Mrs Amadi, CEO, Fit Beautifully Concept

Mrs Toyin Amadi always had love for the fashion industry. She is a
trained clothier. But never ponded on the potentials of making clothes
for a living. Hence, after bagging a diploma in Accountan­cy, she
waltzed off to kickstart life as a career woman. She got a job in a
bank. Starting out as a banker, the smart dress sense of bank workers
made many in her neighbourhood to envy Mrs Amadi. Whenever she leaves
her house for the of­fice, many in the figment of their imagi­nation
believed that she is having it rosy working in a bank, where money
rolls endlessly into her bag. But inside the heart of this woman lies
deepseated dis­satisfaction. The job is not making her happy because
she yearns to spend qual­ity time with her family. But her job is
denying her that. She kept making plans to leave the job, yet kept
procrastinating on when she would do that.
However, the tragic loss of one of her children made her say 'enough
is enough'. "I worked for about three years in a mer­chant bank before
I now decided to be on my own and start up. I decided to go into
business because of the too much stress and poor pay package of bank
work. Again, I wasn't having enough time for my children. Along the
line, while I was still planning to quite banking, I lost my second
child via a domestic accident. I blamed myself for that incident
rather than the housegirl I left my children with, because I know that
if I was there that day it wouldn't have happened. That made me to
dump paid employment to start my business because I knew it was
through running my own venture that I can afford to enjoy more time
with my family and manage my time betters," she said.
So she went back and dusted the tailoring skill she had dumped for a
banking job. By that singular move she realised where her passion
really lies and plunged head-on into fashion business. She further
discovered her fascination for making uniforms and seeing
professionals and school children appear in well-fit uniformed wears.
Thus Mrs Amadi went on to set up her company- Fit Beau­tifully
Concept, a thriving uniform making venture.
For eight years she has been producing uniforms for corporate and
academic insti­tutions. Therefore, she would gleefully an­nounce to
any that cares to listen that this line of venture is very lucrative.
"It is a profitable business. At least I earn enough to pay my workers
and cater for my family. I started small, doing the business inside of
the room in my house but I now, I have ex­panded to a bigger location.
Also, I started with just one worker now I have eight regu­lar
workers, and the pressure of work gets much we go contract more hands
to assist." So what makes this venture thick?
Almost all businesses and schools have prescribed uniforms. This shows
how big the market is for production of uniform wears. A business
consultant, Emma Njoku highlights the viability of this business, "If
you don't have the entrepreneurial guts to go into the importation of
wears; then you can set up a small scale textile firm that will
specialise in sewing uniforms. The demand for uniforms is on the
increase in Nigeria; from the crèche to the labour market, uni­forms
are highly in demand. Every parent will one way or the other pay for
school uni­forms. Many of these schools will not allow their students
to make their uniforms from an external source. All the uniform needs
of the students must pass through the school. Again, since school
children grow fast, this is an opportunity for you to increase your
business every time a new session starts. Hence, there is so much
money exchanging hands in this school uniform business that I believe
a smart business person should take advantage of"
The key to excel in this line of enterprise is striving to make your
mark in this industry. Hinting on how to make it in this business,
another consultant, Lanre Adesola disclosed that planning is key when
floating any brand. "First and foremost, when you start planning to
have your own uniform store, you should be clear right at the
beginning whether you intend to design or only supply uniforms.
Depending on your decision, you can now determine your start-up cost,
personnel to hire and marketing activities."
He adds that it would be wise for a begin­ner to choose which segment
of the market they want to focus on between uniforms and school
uniforms store.
Going into work uniform production will cater to a wide range of
industries – overalls for janitorial, heavy industrial, mechanical,
automotive and engineering jobs, labora­tory coats for medical
professionals, service uniforms for security personnels, fast food
crew and retail vendors, suits for corporate employees to name some.
"You can also of­fer embroidery services to attach company logos,
company tagline, nametags, or other important information that the
customer wants to put in the uniform," says Mr. Ad­esola.
Another advantage stating this venture is that its initial startup
cost minimal. Also, one could start and operate from home without much
hassle. Mrs Amadi intimates further: "You can run your work uniform
store by selling and delivering uniforms directly to company offices
or over the Internet. Many companies are giving the job orders for
their uniforms to a specific supplier. Once you get an account, you
can create loyalty from that company as long as you satisfy their
stan­dards and delivery dates. I still have clients that have remained
loyal to our company since eight years we started up.
Also, you will need to search for uniform distributors or "hire your
own sewing staff to fulfill the orders that you will acquire. You
should also pray to God to bring you dedicated and hard working staff.
Always try to get best from your workers by trying to be their friend.
That is way, they would appreciate working for you", Mrs. Amadi adds.
Mrs. Amadi, who claims to be having a ball sawing uniforms, vowed that
no tempt­ing job offer would ever make her to dump the brand. She
argues that depending on the government to provide jobs is like
build­ing castles in the air. "I have always told youths especially
girls that Nigeria has got to a stage where nobody should look up to
government to create employment. I tell the girls never to depend on
their husbands for their upkeep. They must strive to be in­dependent
because when both parties are doing well, the family is happier. So,
it is good to have your business so that life can be better.
She adds: "I prefer doing business to be­ing in paid employment
because it gives me more time, opportunity to put my passion into
practice. And I have come to realise that pay jobs cannot put all the
food you want on your table. But when you have your own business, you
get more determined and put in every effort and then get to the top,"
she trumpets.
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