Talk of an industrious lady who knows her onions and is making great progress as a fashionista and Funmi Akintunde comes to mind. Funmi, who had long nursed the dream of becoming self-reliant in her early teens knew the battle ahead was not going to come easy. Quite early, she was involved in many ventures but the one that seems to have taken hold is fashion Today, after about six years, she can look back at her success and be glad she took this path.
Explaining the link between her passion for beauty and the business that comes with making people beautiful, she said, “I did not start in a day. I nursed the dream for long, before it took off. I made sure I saved from the meager pay I was getting as a youth corper.
“My early years of learning and practice took off in my parents’ home. I may not be able to give actual figures, but I guess most of what I spent was basically on tools and materials. The idea of setting up a fashion concern got incubated while I was in my undergraduate years. I saw fashion as a way to express what I love to do. I appreciate good appearance whenever I see and this is easily seen even in my outlook.
“Druthers Clothing came to being in 2009, and since then I have not looked back. Druthers Clothing is a fashion line dedicated to female wear of all types, dinner wear, bridals and the likes.
“I started with my mum’s machine and with little or no capital and I was my own model and my body did the talking. I would say my driving force is my passion for intricate designs.
“I was born into fashion because my mum is a fashion designer, and my love for fashion was not borne out of joblessness, but out of passion to separate myself from the norm. I started officially in 2009, and it was not easy. I decided while I was in the university that I was going to go into fashion immediately.
“I started clothing my friends, and from then on, I began to combine colours to show the unique things about what I do.
“My experience so far has been splendid. As an entrepreneur, at the start-up stage, you tend to do all at that same time, such as being the customer care agent, the manager, accountant, delivery guy, the marketer, everything you could think of to survive and keep your business running. It is fun doing what you know is your passion, not something you are forced to do.
“One of the challenges I had initially is the issue of keeping to detail, but over time, I have overcome such challenges after many years of learning.”
For Funmi, there is room for expansion and growth in business. With the right support, through partnerships or loans, she sees the fashion line taking root and spreading out.
“I see it expanding beyond my expectation. I see this organisation partnering with government in future, because I really want to be involved in using this enterprise to create jobs for the youth. I think this is one key area the government needs to pay adequate attention to. I see Druthers becoming a household name come 2018,” she said.
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