‘Customers’ satisfaction drives business’

Funmilola Akininde: I am from Ogun State, from a family of seven out of which am the only lady, I was born and breed in the north, I grew up in some part of Sokoto and Niger States. I schooled in Ilorin, Kwara Polytechnic where I studied marketing. WM: Why did you go into the […]

Funmilola Akininde: I am from Ogun State, from a family of seven out of which am the only lady, I was born and breed in the north, I grew up in some part of Sokoto and Niger States. I schooled in Ilorin, Kwara Polytechnic where I studied marketing.

WM: Why did you go into the beauty profession?

Funmmi: I have strong passion for both beauty and fashion, after my marketing course in Kwara polytechnic I proceeded to UK to acquire some knowledge in beauty packages, am also into selling of different kinds of beauty products that I can offer people the kind of beauty category.

WM: Was there any special training you had to go for fashion while studied marketing in school?

Funmi: I actually did one or two training in UK after my graduation on facials. There is no way you can excel and give the best in this field if you do not have some formal training, training is the basics for an excellent job output.  Very soon I will be bringing in the skin testing machines because so many people have come here that they don’t know the kind of cream to use, it is oily, dried so it is vital and necessary that we carry out all tests so that we can advice properly and accordingly and training also falls in this category because if you do not have the knowledge of how to use the machines how do you now operate it and tell your customers what is good for their skin.

WM: What kind of make-up do you specialize in?

Funmmi: We do celebrity make-ups, bridal make-up and normal make-up, even for the ordinary person on the streets; if you want to be made up we are always at your service.

WM: Who are the prominent people you have made-up for in the past?

Funmmi: We have had many celebrities we have made up, we have some actors and actress who have are still patronizing us because we have never disappointed them.

WM: What was your capital base when you started the business?

Funmmi: There are different capitals in this profession, it all depends on the type of business you want to make of it. This business is very expensive; it is not just about opening a saloon but being able to give your customers the satisfaction they need when they come to your saloon or for make-up, the difference should be seen immediately one is done with a customer. If you want to have high standard in this business it’s very expensive, I will not mention a particular figure, but all I know is that it is on a very high side, if you sincerely want the best in your business. When you go round you will see that there are saloons and there are saloooooons. (General laughter).

WM: Do you derive pleasure do you derive from what you do?

Funmmi: Business has always been what I derive pleasure in doing. Making people beautiful has always been fun and to be sincere I really love what I am doing.

WM: This business entails you meeting lot of people, how has it been?

Funmmi: It has been cool because one of my hobbies is meeting people and this business is actually a good opportunity for that. People I have met have always encouraged me to do more. It has been interesting, though there are times some people are willing and uncomfortable with you, but in this kind of trade the customer is always right and it is your duty to make sure they get the maximum satisfaction that they need even if they are wrong you accept it that way that it was your fault.

WM: What are the major challenges you have faced in this business?    

Funmmi: There are so many challenges, because it is not easy to run a business especially in this country because you need to have a lot to put in the overhead, like we are on generator almost on a daily basis as there is no electricity. We have to keep generator running, maintaining it is a big challenge. There is also the issue of water all these are challenges that we have to overcome but the main thing is electricity because most of our work is dependent on the machines, which makes us to run on generator almost throughout the day, running on generator means fueling which is also a major challenge when there is fuel scarcity. But what is really there is for you to be focused.

WM: So far, how has your customers responded to your services?

Funmmi: It has not been bad, we started in March 2008, we have been having lots of patronage here because we have good hands, we have professional hands,  we are not in an open area, we are in a quite environment, and people still patronize us, we get new customers almost every week.

WM: Do you go for training from time to time to meet your customers’ needs?

Funmmi: Yes, what I did here is that I got professional hands and trained people. What is in vogue now is the lace wig, the avarian hair and the Brazilian hair. A lot of people can’t handle it, but we do it perfectly here. From time to time, we bring in people to train our staff. We upgrade on a daily basis.

WM: What are the things you specialize in?

Funmmi:  We do everything in the beauty world, this is a beauty and spa salon this is a unisex place we have good and sterilized equipment, pedicure, We take care of the nails and we do body machines, facials, tattoo, body piercing, we cover every aspect. We do home services too.

 WM: What informed your kind of location?

Funmmi: The quiet nature of the place is intentional, there are lot of people who would not want to go to a noisy area for their hair or facials, you get to some places you can’t even get a packing place. But here you drive in gently to do your beauty package. We want to give people the comfort of satisfying their needs.