Another Saturday, Another Rising Star!
One thing I have learned from the Uplevel Book (fantastic book I must add) is restlessness is not always a bad thing, it is usually a sign that you should take that extra step, make a change or do something differently.
This is exactly what I experienced today. I was ready to post on our Rising star for today but I felt a stirring in me. I decided to hold off on publishing the post. I continued reading up stuff online while still very restless in my spirit till i stumbled upon this very long but interesting and educative article. I am enthralled by this because I can relate with the transition from paid employment to running a business and i can assure you that this will further encourage someone out there who thinks his/her passion cannot become a profitable business.
For me, my passion was helping people get things done, personal and official. Your phone is acting up? I will be there to fix it. You need a document typed/proofread?, I was a super girl to the rescue. You need information on anything/anyone?, I was a walking encyclopedia. I remember confiding in a friend 8 years ago,telling him about my dream of becoming a Personal Assistant, he thought I was crazy but here I am today, a Virtual Personal and Executive Assistant. It took me a while to get here and I am glad I took the step. Others have done it, you can do better. There will be difficulty along the way but in my opinion ,no success story is valid without challenges and bad breaks.
"Working from your comfort zone produces good results, working outside of your comfort zone produces great results"-Anon
Do read with an open mind and learn a lesson or two 💕💕
HOW I STARTED MY CATERING BUSINESS – OGHOR PROMISE
My name is Promise Oghor, I’m from Delta state. I studied Mathematics/ Economics at the University of Benin and graduated in 2001. By the grace of God, I’m the CEO/Chef at Boundless PICK Ltd. We offer professional catering services for all outdoor/indoor events and occasions of all sizes and shapes.
STARTING A CATERING BUSINESS…
After my graduation, I got a job with a bank and was posted to Awka, in 2005. I worked till November 2010 when I resigned as a cash officer. I resigned because my wife and I worked in the same bank. One of us had to resign so I chose to leave because I’m the more skilled person, I like to work with my hands. It would be easier for me to start up something…
WHY WAS IT A PROBLEM WORKING IN THE SAME BANK WITH YOUR WIFE?
It is the bank policy that a couple cannot be in the same bank to mitigate fraud, though we were in different departments. For malicious people, it would be very easy, and even tempting, to rob/defraud the bank. So you understand how that could be a problem. I left the banking job in 2010 and opened my catering business.
WHY CATERING? WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO GO INTO THE CATERING BUSINESS?
I love cooking. I just love it. It is one passion I have. That was why it was easy for me to decide on becoming a caterer. Cooking is something I do for fun. Even when I was with the bank or in school, I used to invite my friends over to my house and I would cook for them. That was even how I wooed some girls back then (laughs). It’s a part of me. I cooked my own food while I was in school because it was cheaper, richer and more delicious. I would tell my mom sometimes to leave the kitchen and I would cook for the house. It’s a passion.
HOW I STARTED MY CATERING BUSINESS
When I left the bank, like every Nigerian, I had so many things in my mind I wanted to do. One of the first options I had at the time was MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) but it was not sustainable. Let’s tell ourselves the truth a lot of things are not sustainable in Nigeria, and I talked to myself and said I cannot be helping somebody else make money. A lot of people would say it’s a plan B but that was not a plan B for me because over time, you get jaded – you get fed up when the money is not coming. When your down-liners don’t perform, what do you do?
Again, I love fashion. There were so many things I would love to do if I knew how to sew. I went to a lot of fashion designers here and told them I wanted to learn. They were like: you? Learn? I said, ”yes, I want to learn. Forget about my appearance and style and everything, I want to learn how to sew” You know the problem with most Nigerians is we are too proud to do a lot of things. My salary at the bank then was good but I was willing to set aside everything and learn. That was my mindset at the time. Problem was, none of them wanted to teach me.
There had to be something I could do without spending an insane amount of money and that was why I started a catering business. My passion for cooking just made it easier and more fun. Catering funds itself. You want me to cook for you, you give me money and I cook. I didn’t need millions to start. My wife was shy at first (laughs) because she felt I should start big. However, I believe in little beginnings. She has been very supportive since she saw the prospect in food business.
HOW DIFFICULT WAS IT AT FIRST AND WHAT WERE SOME CHALLENGES YOU FACED?
The first job I got was from a friend of mine. He was skeptical at first but I said, “Give me a try…try me.” So he gave me the job and I executed it perfectly. I cooked rice. He gave ukwa (bread fruit) and bitterleaf soup to someone else because he was afraid I couldn’t do it. Funny enough, when people ate the rice and asked who cooked it, he said I was the one who did everything (laughs) because it was amazing. I started telling people gradually, child dedication, birthdays, and that was how my business kicked off.
I lost a lot of jobs because of experience and uncertain market factors. I experimented a lot. For instance, I did a job once and the bag of rice I bought didn’t turn out nice. So I lost that job. There were lots of challenges but I was never daunted. I kept moving.
THERE ARE LOTS OF CATERING BUSINESSES AROUND. WHAT SETS YOUR APART FROM THE REST?
One of the things I work on, which we don’t do often in Nigeria is this: everybody cooks, some people cook better than I do, frankly. What a lot of caterers lack is timeliness and service. Those are the key areas I work on seriously.
Timeliness in the sense that my clients don’t get to the venue before me. It never happens. I don’t like it when people call me on the phone to know where I am. If you tell me 12, I want to be there 11. I never disappoint my clients because of time.
Service in the sense that we don’t rush. We don’t serve people food with dirty or oily plates and say people are rushing. We don’t rush. We must take our time and clean the plates. Even if heaven is falling on top of earth, we serve people with dignity. We dignify service. You are not serving dogs. But in Nigeria, most people don’t care. They eat anything and say it doesn’t matter. It matters a lot to me. When I get to a venue, I dictate the pace of my service. I tell my clients these things. I take time to explain to them and they are happier after the events.
SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE THE WOMAN SHOULD BE THE COOK. DO YOU AGREE? AND HOW DO YOU BALANCE YOUR ROLES AS A HUSBAND, FATHER AND CATERER?
The idea that a woman’s place is in the kitchen is just the mentality of our fathers, the world has evolved very much. If you watch food channels, most of the cooks are men. If you go to big restaurants, men are chefs. You’ll only see a few women. Even before I traveled, I used to cook to for my wife. Why can’t I cook for my wife? Till tomorrow, sometimes I make lunch, package it and send to my wife in her office. It spices up our marriage like nothing I’ve ever seen. We are too rigid as a people in Nigeria. A lot of people hold on to some outdated tradition and that is why we find it difficult to move forward. Till today, my mom still asks me: I hope you cook for your wife? She knows I do it willingly. Those things make marriage very interesting. I’m very proud of what I do and I do it with so much zest. I don’t care who is looking at me.
On balancing the home front, my jobs gives me enough time to spend with my family. Sometimes I have hectic weekends but other times, I have enough time. So it’s not a problem. I enjoy it. I have an understanding with my wife and she’s beginning to appreciate it. She assists when she has the time to do so and we have a great time together. It has been wonderful having a supportive wife and I appreciate her for it. We understand each other. I don’t see cooking for her as anything. Even while we were still dating, I used to cook for her. It’s just fun.
LOOKING BACK FROM WHERE YOU STARTED, HOW MUCH HAVE YOU GROWN?
My growth has been steady. I’m not rushing a lot of things. I went for a culinary course in South Africa and returned last year. I’m yet to decide which aspect of catering I want to settle on – the food part or the pastry part. I love pastry. In school, I had beautiful times in my pastry classes. I like the smell of baked food coming out of the oven. But one of the problems I have is that baking equipment are very expensive. My idea of a kitchen is way beyond what we are used to in Nigeria. It’s difficult introducing the concept I would like in Nigeria. But my growth so far has been steady and God has been faithful.
WHAT ARE THE HABITS YOU HAVE THAT PROPEL YOU TO SUCCESS?
I see myself as someone who does not know anything. I love to learn more. Nobody knows it all. You can only try but someone knows better than you do. I like to learn from people. I’m very teachable when it comes to things like that.
I’m very passionate about cooking. Without passion, you can’t succeed at anything. A lot of eateries have closed down because there was no passion. People think of catering as very lucrative so everyone runs into catering – mechanic, battery charger, everybody. In the end they close down. Catering is very lucrative, but you need passion to sustain your drive. It’s not about the money, it’s about the passion. It’s not that Nigerians don’t start businesses. It’s that most of them have no passion and want to make millions the next day. It doesn’t work like that. There’s a process.
WHAT ATTITUDE OR MENTALITY SHOULD ANYONE WHO WISHES TO START A SUCCESSFUL CATERING BUSINESS HAVE?
The person must have a can-do spirit
The person must have passion. Money will come but passion is first. Food markets itself. The primary, most important thing is passion.
Fear God. You need to trust God that he can make you succeed. I have the God factor in everything I do.
Don’t be too proud. Humility is very important
Always be willing to learn new things. I’m always on the internet looking for new recipes that I can tweak to suit Nigeria taste and style of cooking.
Don’t be afraid to try new things. The beginning might be scary but continue to give it your best shot.
CONSIDERING THE ECONOMIC CLIMATE OF THE COUNTRY, IS THIS A GOOD TIME TO START A BUSINESS IN NIGERIA?
There is no better time to start a business in Nigeria than now. Nigeria will be better but everyone has to be at their best. Most countries that are doing well are based on skilled labor and SMEs (small and medium enterprises). White collar jobs alone don’t make a country rich. When majority of the populace is gainfully empowered to do their own business, the country prospers.
Nobody wants to start small and be patient. We all want to ”arrive” at the same time. If you traveled oversea you will see a lot of Nigerians doing menial jobs they would never do back at home even if they are paid more than what they earn overseas, because of pride. Nigerians need to be up and doing. Shun pride and get yourself busy. Lagos is taking shape now because you see new business sprouting up at every nooks and crannies and that is the way for our country to go.
There are so many businesses to do. People must feed, people must wear clothes, people must live in houses, people must drink water, people must wash their cars, etc. Learn a particular skill and get yourself engaged. The economic situation right now is favorable for people with skills and not white-collar jobs.
There are opportunities lying everywhere in Nigeria. That is why you see foreigners come and invest here because business opportunities are plenty. When you use the power of numbers, you’ll be amazed at how much you’ll make. Instead of owning a place which would need a lot of capital to start and making 2k from one person, own a small restaurant and make 200 from 10 people. Your chances increase geometrically.
FINALLY, PLEASE TELL US HOW TO START A LUCRATIVE CATERING BUSINESS IN NIGERIA AND SOME TIPS THAT INCREASE CHANCES OF SUCCESS
You must have passion. Don’t go into it because you think it’s the easiest way out.
Get materials. Get on the internet and read. Some people might not teach you because of the attitude of Nigerians. Some people might come to learn from you and after learning they just zoom off when they are supposed to work with you for a while and offer value. You see the same person replicating your recipe and you can’t sue them.
Buy cooking utensils you can afford and rent those you cannot. Put back your profit from every job you do into your business till you must have gotten all the equipment you need to execute your jobs.
Start small, look for family and friends and start with them. Don’t accept a job for 300 people when you haven’t catered for 20 people unless you want to contract it out to another caterer.
Always try to create more value. Look for things you can add, extras. It creates value for people and you’ll get more businesses from there.
There is one thing that works for me. Appreciate people. Pay your workers well. If you want the best out of people, treat them well. In Nigeria we use people and we don’t appreciate them. Learn to appreciate people, both your customers and people who work for you. I pay people based on what they do for me. I look forward to the time I start paying per hour. It would make people work hard and earn their pay. Also, keep a cheerful disposition. Smile. Be cheerful.
Always keep your word and don’t settle for less. If a customer orders 50 plates of food, I don’t make 49 because only 49 people showed up. I make 50 because that is what the customer paid me for. Don’t cut corners just to make more profits. We do a lot of things here because we think customers don’t have their rights. Customers have rights.
Accept only what you can handle. If I have a job and another job comes, I tell the second person: I have a job. I don’t accept two jobs at the same time and in the end, disappoint the 2 of them. Let your word be your bond. You’ll go much farther. If you can handle only 5, don’t start with 10. Food business is largely marketed by referrals.
Always be time conscious.
Allow yourself to grow. While you bring in workers, don’t relax like a boss. If you are not a part of your business, your business will collapse. Till today, I still cook my foods. Even if I have a large number of workers, I will still get very much involved with the cooking process to make sure things are done the right way.
Promise Oghor
Promise can be contacted via email
promoforlife@gmail.com.
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