Edikan, 29, founder, Oleander House

Udiong watched her sister and friends search far and wide for a particular weight loss supplement. Their search came to a dead end. The supplier of that product was no longer in business. She saw an opportunity. In 2012, Oleander House was born. She took advantage of social media advertising to promote the business. “Once […]

Udiong watched her sister and friends search far and wide for a particular weight loss supplement. Their search came to a dead end. The supplier of that product was no longer in business. She saw an opportunity.

In 2012, Oleander House was born. She took advantage of social media advertising to promote the business.

“Once the adverts began to run, I was swamped with orders and soon paid off my debts. I left the bank, which had already offered me a full time job, to face my business fully,” she says.

Her budding success did not impress her father. He insisted she quit the business and get a job as an electrical engineer. She didn’t listen. Two years in, the business started to fail.

“A lot of people started to source the products and before I knew it the country was flooded with them. As is the trademark of the industry, new products began to emerge. My sales dropped drastically, and customers began to request for those new products from me.”

In a bid to be competitive, she created her own products, Flat Tummy Teatox. It helped save the company. Oleander House has grown from selling that one product, to owning an online health shop and its own brand of products. It employs five people and turns over thousands of dollars.

Source:www.forbes.com