My maxim is focus, determination and hard work – Fatima Shafi’i Ndayako

Entrepreneurs are agents of change; they do not only change their lives, but also the lives of their employees, by reducing the number of jobless men and women in the society. At a time like this when jobs have become scarce, forcing millions to roam the streets in search of what may never be found, it is only advisable to find the key in order to unlock the door of your passion to enable you discover yourself. You must have a passion for something that gives you satisfaction, fulfilment and assurance. Learning a skill and being your own boss is the real deal now and young graduates, especially women, must begin to think. Amazingly, young women are doing big things and making impact on our society today. Gone are the days when women sat back and waited for cheap favours; more and more young women are becoming entrepreneurs. Tozali has seen young entrepreneurs who have shunned job- hunting and are doing well for themselves.

The case of Fatima Shafi’i Ndayako is one of such inspirational stories for young women trying to find their bearing towards self-determination. A student of a university in Dubai, Ndayako operates an interior decoration business in Abuja called F&S, which is growing quietly but with great determination. The young entrepreneur has fielded questions from Tozali recently, and we serve her interview to you in this scintillating edition.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

KINDLY INTRODUCE YOURSELF.

My name is Fatima Shafi’i Ndayako. I am 21-years-old. I come from a family of three kids. I hail from Niger State. I am a final year student in IT of University of Wollongong in Dubai and I live in Abuja.

WHAT DO YOU DO?

The name of my brand is F&S. We do interior decoration for both western and royal furniture. The royal furniture are fabric furniture, they have antiques/vintage feelings to them. They are more of the luxury side/style. And western furniture have classic/cozy feeling for offices and it’s also for those who do not like style that much. We have western furniture that come in leather chairs, silk carpets and plain simple cottons, and we also have a fashion room for beautiful fabrics (both men and women). Our motto is “It’s all about taste and style”.

HOW DID THE IDEA FOR THIS BUSINESS START?

The fabrics are basically our traditional northern wear. I got the idea three years ago while I was returning from school during holiday. I thought it was wise to make proper good use of my holidays by making my own money, so from the little money I had left, I started buying and selling beautiful fabrics from Dubai for both men and women. I would buy laces, Ankara and materials for men, and would put a little bit of stone works on them to make them more beautiful. That was how the fabric thing started. And then the interior decoration started two years ago as a joke. I have always loved fashion, mixing colours and also love creating new stuffs. My first attempt was when my mum was about to furnish her house and I took interest in the furnishing. I did it; it was successful and came out very well. A lot of people saw it and wanted to know who did the decoration because it was beautiful and they liked it. That was how the whole interior decoration (business) started and now I have decorated over 15 houses.

HOW PROFITABLE IS THE BUSINESS? 

Every business is profitable if you know what you are doing. Mine is very profitable, especially the fabrics, because people make use of them every day and also buy them almost every day. For the furniture, the big sales happen once in a while; you don’t get to sell every day. The most important thing for both businesses is that I try to offer my customers the best services. For you to hit your profit plan it is very important that you give the best and nothing but the best.

HAVING BEEN AN ENTREPRENEUR FOR SOME TIME, WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE SKILLS NEEDED TO BE A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR?

Focus, determination and hard work are the skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur. When you are focused, you have a check-list that you go through. At first, I started with selling five to six pieces of lace and materials for men, but now I can come with thirty to fifty pieces of laces and materials to sell. Basically, when you want to do something, hard work is the key and, as a business person, good customer relationship will help your business go a long way.

WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR CHALLENGES SINCE YOU STARTED YOUR OWN BUSINESS AND WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM THEM?

I have learned not to trust easily. I started at a very young age and was taken for granted and betrayed not once, not twice, not thrice by some customers. I would give materials worth so much money to customers out of trust and some would lie that they paid, when they have not. This happened because I was young and just starting and I also was not organised. I have learnt to always be organised.

HOW DO YOU REACH OUT TO YOUR CLIENTS? IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT IS YOUR MODE OF MARKETING?    

I reach out to my clients through social media. For instance, I have an Instagram page for my interior decoration. And for my fabrics I usually go to offices to advertise my things, but social media is basically my mode of marketing. People see the things I post there and they get back to me asking for some of the things they have seen and like, in the process a wonderful relationship is established.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN THE NEXT 5-10 YEARS?

For now, my shop is under construction, we are trying to renovate the place. Hopefully, by the end of the year we are going to have a shop where we will have catalogues of the furniture we have in stock, colours for decorations and we are also going to have fabric section for fabrics. So in 5-10 years from now I hope to have more outlets both locally and internationally, more stock and more profiles. If you have an outlet where your customers can easily reach you, you become more professional and people will respect your business more. And also, I have an interest in baking; right now I do customized birthday cakes, cupcakes, small chops and all. I do baking for fun, but I would love to take my baking business to the next level. It’s part of my future plan.

CAN YOU CALL YOURSELF A STYLISH PERSON?

Yes, I can call myself a stylish person because you have to have a sense of style for you to be a good interior decorator. My business is all about mixing colours. I mix colours while decorating as well as making choices for fabrics. I always match colours of accessories with furniture while decorating and you have to be stylish to know what people need and what’s in vogue.

WHAT MOTIVATES YOUR SENSE OF STYLE?

I get motivated by my family and everyone in my life.

WHAT IS YOUR BEST FASHION PIECE?

I love shoes and bags and I also love laces.

WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL?

My role model is no other person but my mum because she started as a business woman but now she is a director in the Court of Appeal. She is very independent and that’s what I want to be. She is focused and very hardworking. My mum is the strongest person I know, and I want to be like her.