allure 26 May 2019

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INTERVIEW 8 / May 26, 2019
INTERVIEW Wanneka Nkumah: Empowering Prospective Entrepreneurs Words By - Yemisi Suleiman Her journey to becoming the CEO of Hair by Wanneka empire, had a humble beginning; armed with the BBM as her only marketing tool and zero naira as a reseller. A few years later, Doris Nwanneka was gifted a token of a hundred and twenty thousand naira (N120, 000) by her husband, which she invested in her first hair business. However, due to inexperience in operating a business, her efforts failed twice within 2014 and 2015. Not giving up, she refused to allow failure stop her. In 2016, the business gained weight in the market and the brand evolved to one of the most sought- after in the industry today. Seizing the moment and her interest in young people spurred her engagement in various philanthropic activities through her online platform, where she has empowered a lot of young women, looking to invest in the Beauty industry. Apparently hungry to do more with the amazing growth of her business, Wanneka, is poised to giving back to the society, as she launches a new hairline today. The new line aptly tagged the ‘Wanneka Super Pack,’ was born because of the desire to empower aspiring business entrepreneurs as distributors of the Wannwka Hair. The beautiful, young entrepreneur holds a Diploma in Law from the University of Ado-Ekiti (UNAD) and currently, a final year Mass Communication undergraduate at the Caleb University. The wife and mother to three beautiful kids, speaks on her current project, her passion for the business, life as an entrepreneur and the impact of social media on her business. How did you get into the hair business, and at what point did Hair Boss come to be? What motivated it? I have always loved feashion and anything beauty, that was the first attraction for me. In my early days, I resold weaves bought from a well-known hair seller. I would take their pictures, market it, take orders and purchase. In-terms of marketing, I would go to banks; waited till I would be able to approach the fashionable female staff to patronize me. From the banks, I moved to church gates just to speak with the beautiful sisters to tell them about my business. Getting more active on social media was a huge success for me. It was a terrain that was easy to access and quick to reach a wider audience, with more customers from outside Lagos. Gradually, I was able to gather enough money to buy a large stock of products. Unfortunately I got duped by a supplier which eventually made me to start afresh. It was a bitter sweet experience because I was hounded for taking clients order serious. I believe in true quality in whatever market I sell. But the saying goes that once bitten twice shy. I had no choice than to start afresh because it is a business I love. Though it was rough but I thank God. Social media, the Instagram especially became my office and my market. People gradually reckoned with my brand. The more I got orders, the more I got referred to by existing customers, and their experiences made me smile with joy. I used all the features that Instagram could offer. I regularly think of new ways to always improve my brand and here we are today with the Hair by Wanneka So how has the evolution been so far? This is my 7th year in the hair industry but officially my 6th year. I will say it has been an amazing growth so far. Hair by Wanneka failed three whole times. Then I had three different stores with nothing to show for it. For three years we struggled to sell one hair, in one month, but amazingly, that is no longer the story. The business has grown over time and God has remained faithful. We have actually gotten our own permanent store, so yes, it has been a roller coaster of the good, bad and ugly but we are grateful to God for how far and well he has brought the brand. You are launching a new hairline today, tell us about it? The Wanneka Super Pack is a long time desire of mine to reach out to more women all over the world who cannot reach us easily due to time, distance and means of payment. It is an opportunity for people who have always wanted to be distributors of my brand to actually do so with the Super pack in their store. What inspired this new line at this point in time? Over the years Hair by Wanneka has become a household name, and a lot of people from different places have contacted us, saying they want to be distributors. I personally was not ready then, but I have always had this idea of putting hair by Wanneka in a beautiful pack, beat down the prices to the minimum and get distributors to sell it as well. So that way, more people have jobs, they are empowered and can make money to take care of their needs, while clients get good hair at an amazingly affordable price. So, this new line is my own way of giving back to society, as well as reaching out to ladies with good hair at affordable prices. What is the distinguishing feature between this new brand and what you have in stock? This new line is completely branded with our name and logo, well packaged of course, more affordable. Also, it comes with some styles we’ve May 26, 2019 / 9
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allure 26 May 2019

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