‘I have grown this business from N9,000 to N1.5m in 23 months’

Crystal Omotosimi, founder and CEO of HC Vestimenta Enterprise, is a fashion designer. In this interview with JOSEPHINE OKOJIE, the young entrepreneur speaks on the challenges he faces, and what inspired him to start his fashion business.

When did you start your business?

I officially started my business in June 2014 and now it’s a year and 11 months.

Tell me a little about yourself, educational qualification and work experience?

I am Crystal Omotosimi, a final year student of Project Management at the Federal University of Technology Akure and chief executive officer of HC Vestimenta Enterprise. I am also the chapter president of Gemstone Leaders Connect in my school and graduate of the Idea Incubation Programme at the School of Empowerment and Enterprise Development (SEED). I was a national finalist at the EO Global Student Entrepreneur Awards 2015, and later became the 1st runner-up at the same award in 2016.

What inspired you to move into the business?

I have always loved to wear my own designs. I would sketch them, fetch my fabrics and find a tailor to sew them for me. At a point I began to get a lot of attention from friends and acquaintances on social media platforms when I display my designs. People wanted me to start designing for them and the demand was quite high. I saw it as an opportunity to start my own fashion business, even when I could not operate a sewing machine then. I started collecting fabrics from friends, would sketch the design and give them out to tailors to sew them. The demand gradually began to increase and I followed the same business model until one particular day in August 2014 when my tailor disappointed me, which in turn made me disappoint my client.
My sadness that day pushed me into making a critical decision that changed everything. I decided I was going to learn how to sew even if it was just to understand the psychology of tailoring. I was determined to ensure that my customers would not continue to have ugly experiences in the hands of tailors. So I got a sewing machine and started learning and, with determination to learn, I started sewing for my clients within a short time.

What was your initial start-up capital and who are your target clients?

I started my business with N9000 in June 2014. I spent the money in procuring my machines and a mini studio for photo sessions of designs. At the early stage of my business, I was only producing four designs. I target individuals, corporate bodies, schools and everybody who wanted my services.

What challenges have you faced since the start of your business?

Low patronage of made-in-Nigeria goods is one. People like my designs but want to purchase foreign clothes because they see made-in-Nigeria products as inferior. Acceptability of the made-in-Nigeria products was a key challenge which we are still facing. Another big challenge to me is combining school with work. It takes a lot of energy and requires a lot to combine schooling and working, although all that will soon be over since am starting my final exams soon.  Exchange rate is also a major problem. We need dollars to buy some of the fabrics we import into the country. It makes our production cost higher. Poor power supply is also a problem. We produce most of our fabrics using generators. This has also increased our production cost.

Have you received any financial support from any organisation?

Since starting my business, I have not received any financial support from any individual or organisation.

How would you say the business has grown since starting?

Basically, HC Vestimenta Enterprise has grown gradually from N9000 to over N1.5 million. In Vestimenta Enterprise we run on 80 percent profit plough back formula (after salary and tax) in order to aid growth.

Do you have employees?

Currently I have 11 staff.  Six are permanent staff members, while five are part-time staff.

What is your advice to other entrepreneurs, especially younger ones that want to venture into your kind of business?

The market for fashion products in Nigeria is wide. It is an opportunity for creative ones and those who can usher a new fashion culture. I’ll advise the younger ones to answer the question of passion and purpose, create value and exchange them for an income. It’s sweet making money, sweeter when you are working for yourself and you enjoy what you do.

JOSEPHINE OKOJIE