The Journey (Series 5)

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.

The journey was indeed slow. Slower than I thought, I started appreciating all the business owners that I knew. That was when I knew that life was not all roses and one had to be prepared for the thorns as well.

I had a friend Bola (now my closest friend), who was into the same ushering business. Whenever she had a job, she will ask me to provide some hostesses, so I got to advertise her jobs on my social media platforms. 

Nobody needed to know who brought in the jobs as long as they kept coming and people continued believing in the brand. That was all that mattered at the time.

After our first job, there were about 5 other jobs in the period of a year. One of which was in Osogbo. I charged less, ran into huge debts, transported the hostesses all the way to Osogbo in my aunt's bus and back to Ibadan. ( the bus consumed so much fuel that I had silently wished we used the public transportation system instead). I was sad but happy because I was able to get another set of outfits, which also meant a new set of pictures.

In Osogbo

With six Jobs in a year! I knew I had to do something and fast! I couldn't continue like this. I decided to take on a couple of jobs for free the following year (2015) and it wasn't easy. I had to explain to my hostesses my plans and why I had to do it. Some understood while some simply made up excuses not to come on the days they were needed. 

A big shout out to our La' Heiress hostesses who stayed with us when the going was tough! Perpectua, Anastacia, Oyinkan, Busayo, Rose... My love for you girls is priceless!

Three free jobs and I now had pictures that I could show potential clients. I felt I had arrived, that the jobs will be flying in now that I had some pictures but little did I know that I was still VERY wrong! This was in 2015.

1st Free Job (January)

2nd Free Job (January)

3rd Free Job (April)

I waited and waited, continued my vigorous advertisement but all to no avail. I was frustrated, devasted, angry with myself for making yet another mistake (or so I thought). Then I got tired, I gave up and decided to venture into other things and this was when I decided to go into Personal Shopping fully. 

I had ventured into personal shopping sometimes in 2014 but it was supposed to be a side business. I had saved up some cash from my advertising job with a Media Agency (WOW! Media Concepts) and also from my youth service, so I felt ready to launch my new business. 

I got to know about a popular online store that sold anything and everything you could think of and without much enquiries, I went in blindly and started taking pictures from this online store and posting it on my social media platforms. It wasn't long before people started patronising me. Little did I know that this period was going to be one of the most difficult and challenging times in my entrepreneurial journey. 

To be continued...

La' Heiress Is 3 Today!

La' Heiress is 3 today! (27-06-2016)

Unfortunately, I have not been able to come up with anything to celebrate our 3rd year anniversary. The one thing I did do was to reflect. I reflected on the memories, the good, bad and the ugly memories. And then I thanked God for how far he has brought me.

As lost as I felt then, I just wanted to start and hoped it would count for something. I was unsure, I was afraid, I was happy and sad at the same time. 

Looking back today, I am glad that I started, it has been a challenging journey but God has been faithful. I am not yet where I want to be but I am on the right path.

I have given up. I have lost hope but most of all, I have learnt, I am stronger and I am moving forward, little by little we are getting there. 

Thank you to everyone who has ever believed in me or the brand. In some way, you all have been a source of inspiration to me. 

In the spirit of the our 3rd year anniversary, we would be offering our full wedding planning services to a special couple. 

This couple will also be eligible to receive all our complementary gifts and services which are:

- A customised guestbook

- Our Customised backdrop with the couple's pictures, a red rug and wedding props

- Our La' Heiress gift bag for the bride

- Two on site event coordinators and many more...

* You must follow our instagram account; @laheiress

* You must be getting married between January and July, 2017.

* Your Wedding must be in Lagos or Ibadan.

* Tell us why we should plan your wedding in 150 words. Please add your wedding details, location and date.

Send all details to: olamide@la-heiress.com

May the odds be in your favour! 

Happy Anniversary to La' Heiress. 

The Journey (Series 4)

The race is not given to the swift but to those who endure to the end.

We now had more than enough hostesses to start an ushering agency. We charged each potential usher N1,000 for their forms during the audition and this kind of put me under a lot of pressure to get the girls jobs.

But the jobs were no where to be found. I started wondering if I had made yet another mistake. Some of the ladies started sending me stinker messages. 

I had honestly thought that once I had gotten the hostesses, the jobs will automatically start flowing in. I was wrong, very wrong. 

I started thinking about my former bosses and how easy I thought they got jobs. Then I suddenly remembered one of my bosses statements, in which she asked us (her girls) if we thought it was easy for her to get ushering jobs. 

It had never occurred to me until that moment, that it wasn't going to be easy and I was going to have to work hard to get jobs, to gain the much needed experience that was needed for my agency to grow. My heart sank.

I was under immense pressure after demanding N1,000 from the girls, the stinker text messages were getting to me. Potential clients wanted pictures of previous jobs done and I had none to offer while some other clients wanted outfits that I did not have then. 

This went on for about 4 months, I was vigorously advertising on every platform available. Then one good day, I received a call from an old friend. He told me it was his younger brother's wedding and his contribution was to provide the hostesses for the event and he thought about me because I had been advertising relentlessly on all my social media accounts. (you are the best person to advertise your business) story for another day.

He told me their colour for the day and I told him I would get the outfits. He also mentioned that he did not have much money and that he really needed to contribute his part for the wedding. From N5,000 per girl that I charged him, he bargained to N3,000. I was desperate, I needed the job to keep the girls and also to give me some ray of hope.

I accepted.

It was after I had sealed the deal that it dawned on me that I had to get outfits, I became frantic, I wanted them to look nice but I also needed to make or buy an outfit they could reuse again. 

I also kept thinking of how much I would be able to give the ladies if I bought the outfits from the N3,000 which wasn't even near enough. 

I had to get money somehow. I bought a black and white striped peplum top at N1,500 each and I had to buy 10. I asked the girls to bring black pencil skirts. I also bought red accessories (belts and fascinators) since their colour had a touch of red in it. This cost me an extra N500 on each girl.

I paid the ladies the whole N3,000 and was left with nothing. In fact, it was a loss because I had to spend my money to buy the tops and accessories but I decided not to see it as a loss but rather considered it an investment, an investment that was to jump start La' Heiress Hospitality Services to greater heights.

To be continued...

The Journey (Series 3)

I am learning to trust the journey even when I do not understand it~ Mila Bron

I started with the planning, I still wasn't sure about it but I decided to start. I had this friend, Barrister Akatu AKA Mister Fantastic, as the name implied, he was fantastic, he was my go to person. I don't think anyone believed in me then as much as he did. He was never tired of telling me how much he believed in me and he was just the right person to be with at the time. 

From the moment I told him about my plans, he went from gear 1 to gear 5 in no time. We were able to fix a date for an audition, he went all out for me. He coined the name La' Heiress, so I owe it to God and him. He will always be the number one fan of La' Heiress. He would call me from work if an idea popped into his head, he would send pictures of outfits he thought the hostesses could wear for events. He was EVERYTHING. 

This simply goes to show that with the right person by your side, the right counsel and encouragement, you can pretty much achieve anything. 

During this period, I remember asking friends and family members to help advertise on their different social media platforms but no one was willing to, except a few and I could not force them. So I vigorously advertised on my social media platforms, I wasn't ready to give up, I had spent too much money already to give up now.

We had our first audition on the 27th of July, 2013. We had over 50 ladies which was more than I had thought we would have. It was a huge success.

To be continued...

The Journey (Series 2)

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

THE STRUGGLE 

I was all over the place, I was worried. My mother was worried. My siblings were worried but being the first of three siblings, they could not really come out to ask questions about my "all over the place" skills. 

I was sad, depressed and discouraged. It seemed like I was on the wrong path, like nothing was going to work out. I felt like a failure. I was broke and everything was hard. 

I went from one place to another, advertising what I did. I did not give up. I was shy at first but I knew I had to shake it off. I got lots of discouraging advises. I remember a particular friend that publicly used my picture on her dp and wrote, " my friend, gbogbo owo" with a laughing hysterically emoticon. Translation- my friend of all businesses.

And the men, yes the Men! You know them, the ones that won't give you anything unless they are getting something in return... I encountered a couple of them. 

Some patronized me while some told me I was too pretty to be selling Garri and some said that I didn't need to do anything, yet whenever I asked them for money, which was always very hard for me to ask, it was always one story or the other. It wasn't pleasant but my journey will be incomplete without mentioning them, because in some way, they had encouraged me without even knowing it.

I still wonder why many men are that way though. I mean, you have the means to help, help if you want to. You don't need to demand for something in return but I guess such is life.

Thinking about it now, I am glad they wanted something in return because it made me realise that I wanted more with my life and that I needed to act and fast too. I did not want to be at the mercy of others to survive. Like my sister always ask after an experience, be it bad or good, "What have you learnt from this?"

I learnt to give when I have because I have experienced what it is like to have nothing.

I also learnt to encourage people, especially new business owners because a negative comment can totally crush you and end a dream. 

Another thing I learnt is that many of your so called friends and family will not encourage your start up business. It is just the way it is. At first, you will feel hurt but after a while, you will adjust and later realise that you are the best marketer for your business. 

Even though, I was discouraged from every angle, I didn't give up because a wise man once told me to prepare my mind and be my own author, he also told me that people will discourage you at first then grow to respect your brand but only if you decide not to give in to their negativity. Thank you Eniola Oyeyode.

It was during this period that I realised that I had a passion, a passion that I had not known was there until I started ushering with different agencies. 

I saw a different me whenever I was ushering at an event. Many people saw and still see ushers/hostesses at events as trashy. But I saw us as heroes, it is not easy to coordinate a wedding or help assist people or stand in heels for more than 8 hours or try explaining to stubborn guests why they cannot sit on a seat that has been assigned to another or help with serving of food and generally making sure that the event runs smoothly. If that is trashy then I would love to be trashy over and over again.

My boss will sometimes put me in charge of some jobs whenever she had more than one event or just felt I was capable of handling the job, coupled with the fact that I was a Corper which also meant that I was older than many of the girls that were ushering at the time but I had the stature of a 15 year old. (still do) *big grin*

During this period, I saw ladies who were just as hardworking and many of them sending themselves to school and helping in their various homes financially. 

I also saw some loopholes and that was when it dawned on me that I wanted to be a leader with a difference. I wanted to help ladies and people generally. I had worked with a couple of ushering agencies, done a couple of jobs without getting paid and with no training whatsoever!

It was then I decided that I wanted to be a different kind of leader. I wanted to make an impact in my society.

To be continued...

The Journey (Series 1)

The Journey (series 1)

It's been a long and inspirational journey for me, from being absolutely broke, to depending on people for money, to starting businesses, to failing at several attempts, to starting over,  to getting discouraged, to that ray of hope, to finally getting there...

When I was 12 years old, I wanted be an accountant. At 15, I wanted to be a lawyer. At 17, I still dreamt of being a lawyer even though I was 'given' Philosophy in school and had two extra years (story for another day). At 23, I wanted to be an office girl but I had no idea of where I wanted to work, all I knew was that I wanted to work in an office from 8am to 5pm. It was my dream. 

While I was in secondary school, I ventured into a lot of things, I sold accessories, had a mobile library where I rented novels, baked queens cake and sold the cakes in other schools because I just couldn't bring myself to selling the cakes in my own school. 

In the University, I sold under wears, brought my mobile video CD rentals to school, made beaded accessories, a cake baker as well. I did a lot. Whenever we were on strike, I would go to my sister's school to sell my hand made beaded accessories. I did the things I thought I enjoyed doing but it was all basically not to be idle.

When OAU decided to finally release me, Lol. I joined in the family business of selling Garri Ijebu. Which is now branded "LMD Garri Ijebu" and also selling of smoked catfish. I started learning the art of fashion designing. I cooked food for bachelors while they were still at work (thank God for my mother, for teaching me how to cook like a proper naija girl), I also registered with some ushering agencies to make more money apart from my NYSC allowance.

With all these, I still felt lost. I had no sense of direction as to what I wanted to do with my life. I just kept doing everything I thought I loved because I hated being Idle and broke and I also hated asking people for money (I still do). I am proud like that!

To be continued....

Life The Way I See It

Life The Way I See It

Contrary to the popular belief that life begins at 40, I have always believed that life begins at 30. For me, 30 is significant. It means my early youth is over and my more mature youth is taking over. 

When I was younger, I used to lie about my age, for some reason, I just felt the need to lie about my real age. I still do not understand the reason behind this till date. I even put a fake date of birth on some of my certificates back then. I always dreaded the question, " how old are you?". It made me feel insecure in some funny way. Thinking about it now, it was probably one of the silliest things to worry about.

I will be 30 soon and many times, I have asked myself if I had utilized my 'twenties' years well. If I am an achiever, If I am where I want to be, so many "if's".  I secretly compare myself with others, measuring their successes with mine but the truth is I will never know and here is why...

Depending on what 'achievement' means to you, it could be wealth, it could be success in whatever you find yourself doing, it could be getting married and starting a family... Whatever it is, someone somewhere started earlier, someone somewhere is wealthier or more popular or more successful in whatever it is that they are doing and you will always wonder if you started early enough or if you are where you are supposed to be. 

So I decided that instead of worrying myself sick and wondering if I am where I am supposed to be, I would rather start something because I am a strong believer of "it is never too late".

It was never too late for some great achievers and It won't be late for me. The first step is to start, so I started and gradually kept moving forward.

Do I feel I could have started earlier, yes, I do. Have I made some stupid choices in my life, yes, I have. I am human, I have made very silly decisions that I wish I could take back but hey, that's life and this is MY LIFE, I am the hero of my own story. I dictate what happens in it. 

Take your story in your hands today, it is never too late to start over! Be proud of your age, it is a blessing to still be alive. People will try to discourage you but listen to yourself because in the end, only you matter.

Love,

Olamide

Welcome to my Life Changing Blog Series

Welcome To My Life Changing Revelation Blog

I am Olamide, a Wedding Planner and Lead Consultant at La’ Heiress Hospitality Services. I love to write, talk and cook.

This series was motivated by someone who tried to bring me down. Whatever ‘their’ reasons were, I have decided not to let it bother me but to make the best out of it. At every point in my life, someone or some sets of people have tried to discourage me, whether I accept it or not, a bad advice or a bad comment or remark can have negative effects on the mind. 

For a very long time, knowingly or unknowlingly, I allowed myself to be victimized, but on the 2nd of July, I had a life changing revelation in which someone tried yet again to make me feel lesser than I should and bring me down but this time, I made up my mind to say No! I will not allow anybody make me feel lesser than I should no more.

Hence this series, where I would be sharing both the good and bad moments in my life and how I have made the best out of these situations. This is going to be a part of me that you all did not know about. I will be revealing truths about myself and my life in general. It promises to be fun!

I honestly do hope that by expressing my life experiences and how I have made the best out of these situations I somehow found myself in, I will be helping others feel elevated in some kind of way. Please feel free to express yourself, your opinion does not have to be the same as mine. Your comments are welcome. Thank you.

Love,
Olamide