Why I’m passionate about guiding girls to uphold values despite societal pressures —Oluwakemi Omoetan, founder, Simiseleso
Oluwakemi Omoetan is an entrepreneur and the founder of Simiseleso. Having dedicated herself to working with teenagers for many years, even from a young age, she now balances her role as a mompreneur, nurturing her own daughters and empowering young girls to venture into entrepreneurship. In this interview by ADERONKE ADESANYA, she speaks on her work.
Tell us about yourself and what you do.
I am a devoted wife and a mother of two wonderful girls. A woman of deep faith and impact, who is particularly passionate about guiding teens, especially girls, to uphold their values and cherish their minds and bodies despite societal pressures.
I have trained teenagers for many years, even from a young age. Now, I balance my role as a mompreneur with nurturing my daughters and empowering other young girls to venture into entrepreneurship.
Aside from being a mom and a wife, I am also an entrepreneur. I have a Jewellery brand named ‘Simiseleso’.
What inspired you to start your business?
God almighty inspired me. I did not wake up one day and say I wanted to start a business. It took communication from God, friends, and family.
What is the idea behind the creation of elegance Simiseleso?
I will say my husband is the brain behind my brand’s name. I chose Simi’s Jewelry, my middle name is Simi, but then he advised me to use something unique, and we came up with the name. Simiseleso is now fully registered with the government.
How long have you been running the business and how has the journey been?
I started the business in 2010 as a retailer hawking my wares across offices in the city of Ibadan. However, the Simiseleso jewellery hub officially opened in 2019.
Let me tell a little back story. After I finished school, I was looking for a job, but you know the situation in Nigeria. I decided to go to a confectionery school where I learnt to make cakes and small chops. I called my snacks business Simi’s Chops. I was still on the job hunt. I would get calls for events as I did this. I decided to add jewellery because I observed people and saw the accessories they wore — earrings, necklaces, bangles, bracelets, wedding rings, fashion rings, kids’ jewellery, watches, and much more. When I meet them, I pitch my small business to them. I used to carry it around and was always ready to showcase my goods.
Over the years, I have honed my skills in the jewellery business, while building a name synonymous with quality and durability. It gladdens my heart to state that my brand has retained a large number of patrons who knew me from the days of my humble beginnings.
Over the past couple of years, I have been able to build an arm of the business that sources jewellery items that undergraduates and young women can drop ship on or resell.
Has it been tricky balancing work and home life?
Not at all. Once I leave my shop and get home to my husband and daughters, I automatically get into mummy mode. Sometimes, when I’m with my daughters they would say Mummy put your phone down, and I do so immediately and attend to them. So, I will say work and home are well balanced.
What are the major challenges you face in your business?
The economic disaster happening in this country is appalling. The dollar fluctuations, especially. I have older customers who don’t instantly agree with new prices. I would have to explain to them so they can understand how inflation affects businesses. But, thank God for new customers too.
What are your hopes for the future?
Someday, I hope to have my own building for my shop ─ I mean to build a standard shop to my taste, and also grow this brand into a global brand and household name that meets the jewellery needs of every member of a household.
Do you feel it was a good decision that you decided to be an entrepreneur?
I must say it was a very good decision, looking back at where I started. I give Almighty God the all glory for how far I have come.
You previously said you dedicated yourself to working with teenagers. Can you tell us about that journey?
Yes, I did. The journey, I must say, has been wonderful. As I said earlier, I am a woman who is particularly passionate about guiding teens, especially girls, to uphold their values and cherish their minds and bodies despite societal pressures.
I started as a teenage teacher in my church, where I teach them the word of God and train them on the right path. This, I also teach my girls too. Teenagers will always be teenagers but they need someone who they trust to mentor them. Most of my teenagers are now married and we still have good communication.
What is one secret you would like to share that can make other mompreneurs’ journey easier?
Planning. It’s just about planning — planning little things like your day. For instance, I plan the days I want to shoot content. Women have different roles and the major thing to do is planning. There are some things that you do not carry over from your workplace to your home so that you can pay attention to your family.
You should have things or a checklist where you will be able to know where you stopped for the day and where to pick up the next day. So, planning is very important and will help to achieve the work faster.
What changes have you made to your business strategy over the past few years?
To be honest, you have to keep learning because you can’t know everything — especially, if you’re an entrepreneur who deals online and offline. The internet keeps evolving, and you have to stay in the loop. You know the younger generation knows a lot more than us. So, I try to learn as much as possible from them. I have younger sisters that I learn from and have been able to implement a lot of business strategies.
The keynote here is that you have to be open to new ideas because the world is evolving. As a business person, your customer service has to be impeccable and top-notch. Without your customers, you are nobody and that is why your customer service has to be impeccable. You have to understand that everybody has a different personality and the way they approach business and money matters. So, generally, I have learnt to be patient with people.
What makes your business unique?
For one, the motto is ‘where classy meets affordability’. I try to make my prices very affordable while delivering classy pieces. My prices are very competitive.
What are your typical responsibilities as a business owner?
This is a very interesting question. Let me start from the perspective of being a sole proprietor. Of course, I have cleaners and assistants that help me when I have a lot of workload but you wear different caps as a sole business owner. You are your own marketer, strategist, communications manager, customer relations manager, and more. It’s a lot of work at the moment but we look forward to a time when all those roles will be filled with people. But right now. I wear a lot of caps as a business owner.
Like I said earlier, if you want to start being an entrepreneur, you should know your target audience. You should also sell quality because that is what can give you word-of-mouth, new customers, and referrals, and keep you in business.
You should also be open to new ideas, you can’t be rigid when doing business because people are different. You should also have a policy you go by and don’t change it. You should not spend your capital and profit anyhow. You need to be flexible with some things and rigid with others.
What do you do when you are feeling uninspired?
To be honest, when I feel uninspired, I go off and just stop doing whatever I’m doing. I try to relax and watch a movie. I don’t get to watch a lot of movies, so that is usually the time I do that. Sometimes, I pray. If I need to pamper myself and go on a shopping spree, I do what makes me happy and relaxed and then go back to work.
What is your advice for young girls who want to venture into entrepreneurship?
It is not a game. You have to know in your mind that that is what you desire to do before you start and that you want to make it work. Starting a business is very hard and you have to be ready and prepared to start a business. Whatever it is you want to do, you have to have a vision for it and must be willing to excel at it. Once you keep at it and you see your customer base and your finances growing, you will be satisfied and fulfilled and it will trump your challenges.
You have to be committed. Don’t spend money frivolously. Be hardworking and have a lot of patience. Slowly, the trickle will turn into a big ocean. Like the bible says, “Do not despise the days of little beginning.” Those little days are the days of building, and with hard work and patience, it will become a big enterprise.
