Girl boss is Girl Power! More women are entering into the entrepreneurship space than ever before, either as full time girl bosses or via their side hustles. We love it and we want to see more women own their position as girl bosses. Our Girl Boss feature has two aims, the first, highlight the amazing women pushing forward Nigeria’s economy and secondly, to create opportunities for other women to learn just what it takes to be a girl boss.
Meet Our Girl Boss
Our Girl Boss this week is Oyekemi Bawa-Allah a qualified beauty therapist and founder of S.P.A.H (Spa Pampering at Home). Kemi started her business from scratch using her early memories of Spa visits with her mother. Today, she offers women everywhere a personalised, professional home experience while creating a sustainable business. Visit S.P.A.H to learn more about their services and promotions here
Starting at the beginning
Seed capital was from my savings, my husband and I think I remember I sold an old car I got from my parents- Oyekemi Bawa-Allah
IBG: Tell us a bit about your business
KB: It is called Spa Pampering At Home (S.P.A.H); a mobile spa service, that offers professional treatments to clients in the comfort of their home , offices or hotels. We also host pamper parties, massage workshops and wellness events for both individual and corporate organisations.
IBG: How did you decide on your product/sector/service, especially on the price point?
KB:I am a big fan of wellness and beauty, I can never forget the weekly visits with my mum to “The Ivory Health Club” in Ikeja for her facials, massage and manicure, that was just the way it was, and if she missed it on Saturday she got the service at home mid-week. So I kept this tradition for myself, unfortunately the standards got worse, the old hands were gone, the ones that where available where not affordable to the middle class. So I decided to get formal training as a beauty therapist, once that was done the next step was to create treatments that would be delivered to standards even outside the traditional settings of a spa. So we defined the elements of ambiance, portable tables, portable equipment’s any treatment that needed special equipment’s that where not available as a portable device we did not offer. That was what informed the decision, Massages, Facial, Manicure, Pedicure and Body Treatments.
On price, we did a lot of research, we understood that we did not want to compete with brick and mortar spa’s so we pegged our prices so we were either offering the same price or a little lower. We did not price for “home service”, our strategy was to book customers on a regular basis, rather that a one time splurge.
IBG: How do you build a successful customer base?
KB: We started by servicing Family and Friends, then referrals and organizing pamper parties. If a customer was happy with our service, they were always quick to refer us to a friend and we in return offered them huge discounts for the referral.
IBG: What was your first major challenge and how did you overcome it?
KB: First major challenge was MARKETTING! We are overcoming it, just to convince someone to buy a service as suppose to a product, that was hard. We tried to be innovative with overcoming this challenge, and it is still a process.
IBG: How did you get the seed capital for your business? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
KB: Seed capital was from my savings, my husband and I think I remember I sold an old car I got from my parents. So initial investment was my Tuition in beauty school, my massage tables, some other sundries and the cost of not earning an income for 14 months.
The business of entrepreneurship
“I am always working on my pitch, and I try to understand people”- Oyekemi Bawa-Allah
IBG: How do you stay competitive?
KB: You have to know your market and stay learning and continue to think about what your customer wants, stay relevant.
IBG: How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
KB: So I am always working on my pitch, and I try to understand people, people will buy your products or services for different reasons, so create as many reasons for them to buy. The most successful has been actually talking about your service, people will see and hear the passion you have for your craft and then referrals so we are always working on ways to get others to talk about our services.
IBG: What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
KB: I would say a culture of professionalism, can-do attitude and gratitude. I just did not believe that there was any other way to do it, so I simply stuck to the high-road and when people realise that this is your game the join in. We establish this by talking through it with everyone on the team over and over again.
IBG: As you started to scale up your business what major challenges have you faced and how have you solved them?
KB: Accountability-so now we ensure to issue invoices and receipts, record every expense and just keep my personal and work expenses separate. Also Good Hands- building a team and just hiring has been a major challenge,
Motivation and inspiration
“I get a lot of satisfying moment in my business, the way my clients say thank you”- Oyekemi Bawa-Allah
IBG: Who has been your greatest inspiration?
KB: The people around me, it is amazing there is something to learn from everything and everyone. You are inspired about what not to do and what to do.
IBG: What book has inspired you the most?
KB: The Power of Focus –Jack Canfield.
IBG: Innovation is key to business success what was the last innovative idea you had and how did it transform your business
KB: We recently started creating instructional videos, and we held a mini online course via what’s app. It has not transformed the business because we are still testing it, but it has allowed us to reach a new customer base and we are very excited to grow and learn this part of the business.
IBG: What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
KB: I get a lot of satisfying moment in my business, the way my clients say thank you. I had a client say “Kemi you don’t know what you have done for me”. That was very rewarding. To a lot of my clients I have become an adopted daughter and the feeling is mutual.
Girl boss life style
” I work 7 days a week, the only time I am not working is when I am praying and sleeping.”- Oyekemi Bawa-Allah
IBG: What is your favourite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
KB: The outcomes, when you plan something and you see it pan out, that is the best part of this journey.
IBG: In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
KB: W.I.P: Work in Progress
IBG: What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
KB: Time: I work 7 days a week, the only time I am not working is when I am praying and sleeping. I don’t have the pleasure of public holidays or Sundays. For someone that enjoyed the stability of a 9-5, it is a huge sacrifice.
IBG: What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
KB: Doing it alone, in the beginning I should have pulled my network into the vision.
IBG: Share with us your daily morning ritual
KB: I am a morning person, so wake up pray, then exercise. Then I am at my desk to plan the days task, send out emails and responses. I generally stop online interactions every morning at about 9a.m and commit to offline interactions until early afternoon
Close out
“Be original with your pursuit”- Oyekemi Bawa-Allah
IBG: If you could start your business over, what would you do differently?
KB: I would forge a partnership.
IBG: What is your greatest fear and how do you manage fear?
KB: The fear of disappointment, I don’t hype or have great expectations (this is also my weakness) of things or people. I also put everything into writing and ask lots of questions.
IBG: Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
KB:There is nothing wrong with failing, be original with your pursuit, that is the only way to overcome the struggle.
Leave a Reply