- Owner, OLAIDE OYEDELE Opens Up To City People
Olaide Oyedele is a Chartered Accountant and a banker before she ventured into the Beauty business in 2012 after having first undergone training and further studies. This pretty lady started doing make-up via home services and also using her home, before she started the business on a bigger scale in January 2017, with the consent of her husband who stands as her pillar of support. He encouraged her to quit banking for a business he believes his wife is passionate about. And so in Jan 2017, Beauty Arcade studio was opened and began as a makeup, beautifying and costuming business specializing in engagement and bridal makeup, headgear tying, eyelash fixing, unisex salon, kid’s salon, Spa, photo-shoot makeup and runway fashion makeup that made her a sought after studio for the celebrities like Bukky Wright, Kikelomo Adeyemi, Esther Audu, Priscillia Okpara, Marian Anazodo and many others, and the one stop beauty place situated along Lekki Epe Expressway Ajah Lagos.
Olaide Oyedele, who is also a beautician, Esthetician, Makeup artist, is a mother of 2 who enjoys cooking and watching movies. And in the mood of her 5th year anniversary of starting her journey into the beauty world, City People’s SUNDAY ADIGUN spoke to her about how she started a business and her passion for beauty, right from her tender age.
You were once a banker, please tell us more about yourself?
I am Olaide Oyedele, owner and Chief Executive Officer of Beauty Arcade. I am a Chartered Accountant and former banker. I also have an MBA in Marketing. I ventured into beauty business in 2012 by first undergoing training and subsequently underwent further studies by way of self-paced learning. I started doing make-up on a small scale mostly doing home services and also using my home in some cases. I eventually started the business on a bigger scale in January 2017.
What was your motivation/inspiration to start this business?
I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur and I love looking good. After I got married and had my first child I wanted to have more control over my time in order to balance my career with raising my family. I discussed my plan to start my own business with my husband and he was quite supportive and in fact encouraged me to resign from my banking job so I can start. Once I had the much needed support it wasn’t difficult to identify my passion and so, the rest as they say, is history.
How have you been able to cope with or manage competition?
My philosophy is that competition is good for business and for the society as long as everyone plays fairly and acts with professionalism. Although there are hundreds if not thousands of makeup artistes all over the country, I believe there is enough space for everyone to play and create a niche for themselves.
My strategy was to identify areas where there are gaps in the industry especially in terms of customer service and quality of service. I travel regularly and so I could tell from my exposure and experience where we need to improve in the industry here in Nigeria. I made a deliberate effort to build a world-class makeup studio with state of the art equipment. I complemented this with a unisex saloon, kid’s salon and Spa. We also have a Gym within the premises. It is technically a one-stop shop for all your beauty and fitness needs.
How long have you been in this business and how have you been able to cope with pressure from clients?
I have been in the beauty business for about 5 years but just over a year as a well-established business.
I think there will always be pressure from clients regardless of the type of business you do. First it is critical to listen to your clients and preferences. People are different so there is no one size fits all. Beyond the technical skill to do a good job you also need people management and relationship skills. Given the size of my business, I also have about 15 employees who are well trained to serve our clients with distinction. These measures help reduce the pressure to a manageable level.
What is the future of makeover industry in Nigeria?
The beauty industry is still at its infancy but with a lot of potentials for growth and innovation. In the near future I expect to see more local brands of beauty products and more innovation especially in the area of technology. Perhaps one day we will have a self-tying “Gele” (smiles).
Away from makeover, what was your growing up like?
My growing up was quite interesting but very challenging. I grew up in a Christian home and my parents were disciplinarians especially my mum. In fact they considered make-up inappropriate especially for me as a young girl. Both my parents worked as civil servants so we had financial challenges with paying our school fees. I have 4 siblings and I am the last born. I had to support my mum in doing some buying and selling to raise extra money for our education. Incidentally this was where I got my interest for entrepreneurship from as well as my love for saving and investments.
Are you into any other business, if no, if you have the opportunity what other business would you delve into?
I am not into any other business. I love what I do so I can only think of how to grow the business and build a brand within the industry. Perhaps I would like to expand into new areas within the beauty industry such as training, product development, and consultancy.
What makes beauty arcade unique among it’s other contemporaries especially in your neighborhood?
Our unique value proposition is excellent customer service, conducive environment and being a one-stop shop for all our clients’ beauty and fitness needs. We believe that every woman is beautiful so what we do is bring out the inner beauty and help them express their beauty in a special way.
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