I sold cakes to sponsor my tailoring school – Accountant

What was your dream as a student back in school?I had passion for fashion design since I was a little child but still I wanted to be an accountant just to get the knowledge and experience to enhance my sewing business, which I nurse a very strong passion for. Sewing is my hobby and I […]

What was your dream as a student back in school?
I had passion for fashion design since I was a little child but still I wanted to be an accountant just to get the knowledge and experience to enhance my sewing business, which I nurse a very strong passion for. Sewing is my hobby and I just love everything that has to do with sewing and cutting and that gives me the name of my sewing outfit called ‘Zara cuts and stitches’. Zara is my name, I cut and I stitch.
Did you have it at the back of your mind while in school that you will not work with your accountancy certificate?
Yes, my target was to work in a corporate organisation for about five years just to get the practical experience and then retire back to my sewing because that is what I love to do. I believe that my knowledge of accounting and the experience if gotten will help me run my business more efficiently.
How did you learn sewing?
Actually, I am a very curious person and as a child of about eight years then, I used papers, my head-ties to cut anything and sew. As a child then, I normally sneak to the garage to use my mother’s sewing machine to sew whatever fabric or paper I cut for my baby doll. On one fateful day, my mum bought a bed sheet and two of my cousins came on a visit to spend their holiday with us. Out of my zeal for sewing, I cut part of the bed sheet to sew skirt for myself and my two cousins. When my mum saw what I did to her bed sheet, she flogged me and warned me never to go to the garage again. I cried and cried until a friend of hers who came to tell her she will be travelling to China asked me why I was crying, so I explained to her. When she travelled to China, she bought me a sewing machine and because the machine used battery, I kept disturbing my mum for battery until after my secondary education when she gave me her own machine to use in mending clothes. I continued like that gradually and later my aunty gave me her sewing machine and later again my uncle gave me a brand new sewing machine which he bought from UK. All these machines helped me. Gradually, I started browsing to see different styles online and later enrolled into a sewing school, School of Home Economics. The school fees was a bit expensive and as someone who loves being independent, I didn’t want to bother my parents, so I decided to start baking cupcakes and birthday cakes among others for sale and from the profit, I paid off my sewing school fees, which was about N15,000 for a period of one year. My mother was a baker, so I learnt to bake cakes and other snacks from her. The sewing I am into now, I am trying to save some money to go to a fashion school that offers professional services, bridal gowns and suits among others. I want to learn the whole package so that I will not be restricted to sewing our traditional wears only but also our western wears.
What is your dream in life?
My dream is to sew and make people happy both in Nigeria and all over the world. Sewing is a passion, I wouldn’t mind if I don’t get a kobo out of it, I just love doing it.
What kind of people do you sew clothes for now?
Presently, I sew for families and friends and I have a blog, I also have a profile on instagram, so if I post pictures, people call me to sew clothes for them.
How much on the average do you sew clothes?
Well, I don’t really price tag my clothes because I love sewing and I don’t want the person to go away with his/her clothes because of the price, so what I do is to charge a little just to cover the expenses for buying materials I will use in sewing depending on the style.
How much has your sewing business helped you or what have you achieved through sewing?
I have achieved a quarter of my dream. I want to be a chartered accountant and right now I am a member of the institute. I sat for the last year November diet of the examination, but I failed and I am not giving up because I know I will make it someday when I try again. I have also applied for my M.Sc in Accounting at NDA but in spite of all these efforts, I am going to end up sewing, the accounting is just to get experience to know how to manage my business and handle my finance.
Do you still bake?
I stopped baking for sale since I graduated from the sewing school. I only went into baking to source money to pay my fees at the sewing school because I didn’t want to bother my parents and the moment I was able to achieve that, I stopped baking. When I was selling the cup cake, I sell it N200 per cup because of the frosting but the ones without frosting goes for N50 and N100 depending on the sizes. So now I only bake for family and friends.
What do you love about sewing?
I just love everything that has to do with sewing including the cutting and the actual sewing. The way people crave for their best food is the way I crave for sewing.
Since you had a strong passion for sewing right from your childhood, why didn’t you go to study fashion design in school?
If I concentrate on fashion design, that will just be it, but if I open a fashion industry with my accounting experience, I will know how to manage my finances, I don’t have to employ an accountant and even if I do, I will not be a novice but be able to supervise and guide him/her on what to do. I don’t really like concentrating on one thing.
What kind of clothes do you sew now?
I sew gowns, skirt and blouse, wrapper and blouse, other style of dresses, throw pillows, play mats for kids. I have not started running a full fledged fashion outfit because I have not acquired the bridal gown and suit experience, so I have a feeling that I have not gotten the full package because I have a dream to sew clothes for people worldwide.
Are you planning to open a shop or you will continue to sew at home?
Yes I am planning to open a shop but not now. I want to get my full package; I mean learn more of the western clothes in addition to the traditional clothes I sew now, so that my dream of reaching the world with my sewing can be achieved. If it were for my parents, I would have achieved all I wanted but I don’t want to bother them because I feel they have done a lot for me and it is time I do things for myself.
What is your advice to unemployed youths out there and how do you think the problem of unemployment can be addressed in Nigeria?

My advice to unemployed youths is that they should endeavour to acquire skills so that they can be self-reliant. There are no white collar jobs out there and the few that are available are meant for the children of the big shots in the society, if you are not a son or daughter of somebody, there is no place for you, though this is a big problem, but then, what do we do? The only way out is being independent by learning a handwork. There is nothing wrong with being a carpenter, saloonist, welder or tailor. I was discouraged by my friends when I told them I was going to enrol in a tailoring school but I refused to be discouraged because it is not a big deal to be a tailor, welder or carpenter and so on. The problem with people or youths is that they are so conscious about what people think or say about them. If I want to do something, I don’t care about what people think or say as long as it does not affect my religion and my reputation. People look down on tailors but it doesn’t bother me.