If you mention her name anywhere many will tell you Liz Anjorin is a popular actress and movie producer who has produced close to 12 movies. From being a popular movie actor/producer, Liz has stepped up her game. She is now a top fashion design/stockists. She is the MD/CEO of Lizzy Anjorin Clothings. in less than 3 years, this pretty actress has become a big fashion entrepreneur with a personal staff of about 15. She stocks trendy clothes and fabrics, Gold jewelry, expensive diamond wristwatches and many more. And she markets her products aggressively on her Instagram handle. So popular has Lizzy Anjorin become that she has a huge followership on Instagram. Many society women now depend on her for their attires. Some even give her money to travel abroad to shop for them. Though she has a beautiful shop at Ikota Shopping Complex in VGC where she pays close to N5 million as annual rent, she does the bulk of her sales on Instagram where she wears samples of those dresses and dances everyday to create awareness for her outfits. And from there, women make their orders. Why did she dabble into clothing business?
She told City People Publisher, SEYE KEHINDE the reason, last Tuesday in her shop at the Ikota Shopping Complex. It is a well stocked shop. Below are excerpts of the interview.
You’ve been abroad for over a month. Did you go on vacation or business?
Haa! Vacation kee? Noo! I went to work. You know I deal in clothes, jewelry, wristwatches, so I needed to travel to 6 countries of the world to go and stock up. I do the stocking up myself. I go to countries, where I can get exclusive attires that you can’t get anywhere else. I sell unique things. So I usually go the extra mile. The competition in my sector is keen, and I want to stand out. So I have to go out there and cater to what my customers need. I know my customers. They are top society women who know what they want. So, you can’t deceive them. They know good quality stuff. So, I give it to them. If you want your brand to stand out, you have to go the extra mile to achieve it. I have been away after my event. If I want to buy good wristwatches I go to cater. They ahve the best, like Diamond wristwatches. With many designs. As for Jewelry I go to Morocco and some of these African countries. They have some antic gold. I can’t be selling jewelry that they can find anywhere, because it won’t be profitable for me. So, I go abroad to go and source for it. And my ladies want nice materials, nice attires, nice things, so I have to go to Italy and Austria to pick up one or two things. Some countries do promo during winter. But during summer people travel out there to pick things for themselves. And things will be quite expensive.
What made you go into Clothing business?
Because anytime I step out, other women always commend me and most times they end up buying it off me. They will tell me, I want this outfit you are wearing. Sell me this one, gan, gan. So, I always end up selling it to them. That was what prompted me. I have been into business generally since I was a baby.
How do you enjoy what you do now?
Its tough. Its challenging, but of course, I have to hustle. I have to sell everything I brought back. Both my shop and home are full of quality goods for my clients. There is demand for everything I have on right now. Some of my clients saw it online and they want it. This my wristwatch is a Diamond wristwatch. Its worth millions. If you want it now I will sell everything and then go back. Its tough. But I take consolation in the fact that nothing in life is easy. You just have to do your best and you can’t even leave the rest. You have to try the rest. It has not been easy. Even acting is not easy. Selling is not also easy. You are not the only one selling. The economy is not pocket friendly. You have to try your best. I just came back and I want to sell my goods because in another few months I want to travel and restock. It has not been easy life I said its ok. At least I can feed myself and I don’t have to depend on a man for sustenance. I don’t have to wait for anybody to come and feed me.
But that is not the picture people have of you. Many believe Liz is enjoying, everything is rosy, rosy…
Hmmmm! If you follow my videos on Instagram you will see me carrying my goods on my head in Morocco, Qatar and other countries. I go through a lot. That is why I post it for people to see. I don’t want to mislead people. I suffer a lot when I go abroad to restock my shop. I trek a lot. I move from one shop to the other and when I am done I carry all my bags myself despite the fact that I am a star. When I am in Morocco, Qatar, Dubai or all these UAE countries, I am not a Nollywood star. I am a trader. I am a businesswoman. I hustle a lot, so that I don’t have to start chasing men here in Nigeria for money. I have bills to pay. I run a Diesel generator at home here in Lekki everyday. No NEPA. Here in my shop I run generator also. So weekly I spend close to N200,000 on generating power, because I do stoning of fabrics at home. So I work 24 hours, round the clock. My brother, its not easy. Many people envy Liz but I laugh. They don’t know what Liz goes through. that’s why when I show people the rosy side, in the shop, when I dance on Instagram to advertise my attires, I also show them on my page how I hustle. I am a young girl, but I hustle. I don’t depend or wait for any one. When I travel, I go through a lot. Atimes I sleep on bare floor. Atimes you can’t afford to pay for a good room, and you sleep at the back of the reception of the hotel. Atimes you eat once in a day, or you eat your left over food. The one you left over before going out to shop. When you come back in the night you eat the remaining. Atimes you will only eat bread and wash it down with water.
People don’t know. That is why I don’t judge other people. The reason is when I look at my self, I see the things I go through that other people don’t know about me. That makes me to be more focused not to talk about other people. I have learnt the lesson that when you want to do business, you sacrifice a lot. I have a lot of married women who come here to say I want to do what you are doing. Liz I want to do business like you. I always laugh. I always laugh. I always tell them you can’t mix home with prayers. They are 2 different things. Yes you can do business as a married woman for the fun of it, or, to be able to see where to go to while away time, to go out in the morning and come back in the evening.
Many don’t know that apart from the fact that I have a shop here at Ikota, atimes I just pack all the attires and jewellery I want to sell to my clients, at the back of my car and I go to meet them. I usually move out around 8pm to 4am to meet my high profile clients. These are the wives of many of these rich men you know. I do that every Monday or Tuesday. Atimes, Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. I hawk my goods overnight, despite the fact that I am a celebrity. But I need to do that to make money.
I can decide not to work and I will eat. Now, I can decide not to work. I have what it takes to bring money. But now, I prefer to work. My mother taught me to work. My mother taught me that hardwork pays. I watched my mother grow up when she did odd jobs to take care of me. We women, as we grow up, we would be losing our beauty little by little. There will be a time that you will need to apply a lot of powder. There will be times when that powder won’t be effective again, once age sets in. Even when you rub powder it won’t stay. As a woman the moment you get to 35, 36, 37 you will start to become like a baby again. That is when you will know you are getting old, as you clock 40, 45, 50. So when you are young as a lady you have to work and make money and save for the rainy day.
I think a lot. I think deep. I am philosophical. I have seen a lot about life probably because I grew up all alone. I am an only child. I know what it is to be lonely. That is why I need to work hard. It has not been eay. Let me be sincere with you. Do you know what it means for a young woman like me to be disciplined at this my young age, not to have fun, not to date anybody, to abstain from sex, not to play around. Atimes I don’t even remember I have my….until when I want to wee wee. I don’t have sex. I have totally forgotten about that. I don’t have a boy friend. I don’t have a husband. Even if you have them it won’t work, except the ones that understand you deep down. If I have all these men now, will I be able to go to 6 countries to shop for about a month? Another woman would have moved in to take over. That will make you lose your home if care is not taken.
We have 3 types of business women or ladies. There are those who do business for Instagram sake. There are those who want to do business just to enable them afford 3 meals a day and there are some people who want to do business because their lives depend on it. That is Liz Anjorin. I am working like mad, like my life depends on it, like if I don’t do business, my enemy is going to suffer. Nobody wants to help you. Nobody is ready to help. That is what so many people don’t know. If I buy a car they will say a man gave it to her. Everything, as far as they are concerned, it is men that does it. When I did my house they said its a man. If its a man that is behind my success story, the man would have come out to talk that I did this and this, especially our Yoruba men. I give it to them, they can talk. They will have voiced it out to attract more ladies to them.
I wish you knew what I go through as a young woman. I pay a lot of bills daily, weekly, monthly, yearly. I pay a lot of bills that as a young woman you are supposed not to pay. I pay for Gas, fuel, NEPA bills, paying for your car, buying foodstuff. You will work as if tomorrow won’t come. I live a life of hardwork I suffer a lot. That is why I get angry and mad when people write or say rubbish about me that it must be a man behind my success or what I do. I work for every kobo I earn. I dance on Instagram to promote my attires. It is not easy dancing and dancing by force. What I need right now is love and support from my friends, fans, customers and my colleagues in the industry, not envy, not jealousy. We should stop hate speeches. It is not compulsory I do what I am doing now. I can decide not to work. But I have decided to work. So, I don’t need condemnation what I need is love.
Show me love and appreciation not pull me down. There is so much envy and jealousy in the air. People find it difficult to say something good about the next person. As a matter of policy I say good things about people. If you check my Instagram handle I say nice things about people, I help people. I love people. Atimes when I make money I give people back half of it. I want to grow up and have people come to me to say I helped them. That is why I keep helping people. When you see any hardworking woman lets commend them. Lets commend our wives, mothers and other woman who are working hard. I say this on my page all the time. I have made some husbands to love their wives the more. I have been liberating people. So, why do you give me hate in return? What have I done wrong? If you think I am doing somethings wrong, why don’t you leave me alone? Leave me alone. I have a grown up daughter who is looking up to me as a role model. I want to leave her a good name. People should not come to my page and say thrash. That is why daughter is not on social media. She is growing. She is living her life. This Hate speeches is bad. People should stop it. The most annoying part of it is men abusing women. They should stop that on social media.
Lets talk about what you sell here?
I sell attires they can never find anywhere.
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