| It’s a curse
for any woman to be fulltime housewife now
By PETER ANOSIKE
Monday, January 8, 2007
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• Isilebo
Photo: The Sun News Publishing |
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Many believe that selling industrial chemicals is a preserve
of men, but Mrs Uche Isilebo has proved them wrong.She did
not only venture into the business, she has made a success
of it.
Apart from being an importer of chemicals, Lady Isilebo also
produces and sells sachet water.
A strong believer in the financial independence of women,
Mrs Isilebo said that with the present economic environment,
it would not be proper for a woman to fold her arms awaiting
when her husband would bring home food.
According to her," God said that the woman is a helper
to the man but that does not mean in the kitchen alone because
the food must get to the house before it gets into the kitchen.
With the situation of things in the country today, I don’t
think that it is advisable for the woman to stay in the house
and leave the man to cater for the family.My own position
is that all hands should be on decks.".
In this interview, Isilebo spoke on the challenges facing
women in business, and how she combined her home with business.
My name is Lady Uche Isilebo.I am the Managing Director and
Chief Executive Officer, Oslyn Nigeria Limited.We are into
the importation of industrial chemicals and other allied products.I
also sell Senegalese, bou bou and cafetan materials.
I attended Federal Polytechnic Oko, Anambra State where I
obtained my National Certificate of Education.Later, I went
to Lagos State University and I got a degree in Guidance and
Counselling.At present, I am doing my Masters in Guidance
and Counselling in the same school.
Going into business
I went into business after my marriage.I started with sachet
water.I am the producer of Oslyn sachet water.From there I
went into textile materials but when the Federal Government
placed a ban on the importation of textile materials, I had
to change to a business that has not been banned.That was
how I got into the importation of chemicals which is used
for the production of clothing materials.
What really inspired me into that line of business is my elder
brother who studied Fine and Applied Arts in the higher institution
and after his graduation, he was dyeing and painting on Senegalese,bou-bou
and cafetan. So I went into the importation of chemicals so
that I will still be in textile business which I have got
used to over the years.
Challenges
The major challenge was how to understand chemicals. So, I
had to go to where they sell chemicals to understudy them.They
taught me the nitty gritty of the business and after that,
I went to the internet and got the address of companies that
produce chemicals in China and I began import them into the
country.
Another challenge in the business is that because of the poverty
level in the country,people don’t go for genuine chemicals.
They prefer the cheap but inferior ones.The fact is that the
inferior chemicals don’t pass through the proper channel
They bring them in through the back door. Our borders and
seaports are very porous so when they smuggled them into the
country, they will flood the market with it and begin to sell
at give away prices to the detriment of those of us who import
the real stuff.That is also another big challenge.
How to differentiate the fake chemical from the real
It is a very technical thing. As a lay man, one cannot differentiate
between genuine and fake chemical unless when it is used on
a clothing material.However, we who are in the business know
that fake chemical are usually lighter in colour and watery.Original
chemical is usually dark in colour and thick but at times
the importers of the fake one try to adultrate their own so
rthat it would be dark and thick.Another way you can identify
fake chemical is that if you use it on a textile material,once
you soak the material in water the whole chemical will come
out but if it is the original,it will stick on the clothing
material.
Combining home and office
I have four children and fortunately, all of them are in the
boarding school.That gives me a little respite. Actually,
it is not easy but with good planing, focus and attention,
one can always get the best out of any business one is doing.That
one have children in the house is not enough reason to be
a liability to ones husband.Women are supposed to be a blessing
to their husbands and not curse.
Every woman can be a blessing to her husband if she manages
her time very well, that is why I said that the whole thing
borders on planning and good time management. Also, my training
as a guidance and counsellor has helped me in planing my programmes.I
go to my business when my children are in the school and when
they come back,I will be free to stay with them.I give 50-50
attention to my business and my home.This is because both
are very vital to the running of the family.
Managing my business
I have distributors who help in distributing the product.They
are spread across Lagos state. But I have my office at Durbar
Road,Crystal Estate, Amuwo Odofin where they come to carry
the product.In the office I have four permanent staff who
run the office.What I normally do is to supervise what they
are doing and travel abroad to import the chemical.
Marketing style
I have a showroom where I display the clothes that I used
the chemical on.The clothes usually look elegant and when
people come, they ask why is this Senegalese or bou-bou looking
like this and I will tell them that I used chemical on them,that
is the reason they are looking so elegant.Also most of the
artistes and painters in the state come to buy chemical from
me.We employ direct maeketing.
Vision
My vision is that sooner than later, we will begin to produce
the chemical here in Nigeria.I believe that since we have
the chemical in the far East and in the middle East ,the raw
material will certainly be in Nigeria.I know that very soon
people will begin to search for the raw material.My ultimate
goal is to go into the production of the product once the
raw material is found.
Joint Account
It depends on the type of husband the woman has.You know that
we have different kinds of men with different characters.For
me I am very fortunate that I have a very understanding husband.He
is a gentle man to the core.We have a joint account and both
of us are signetries to the account.The bible says that one
plus one equals to one. A woman should not because she has
a flourshing business refuse to have a joint account with
the husband.Like I said earlier, I have a joint account with
my husband and we have beeen operating it for a long time
without problems.
Advice to women
The advice I have for women is that they should try to get
busy with something. It is a curse for a woman to answer house
wife at this point in time. No matter how rich your husband
is, you are supposed to be doing something.This is because
with the situation of things in the country, there is no way
what he brings into the house will be enough. Afterall, the
late Stella Obasanjo was working until she died. She had many
NGO and many other businesses before she died.Being the wife
of a president did not make her to sit and fold her hands.
She did not say because her husband is sitting on top of the
country’s economy, she would not work.If you are not
exposed to work, you will not appreciate the effort that your
husband is making. It has been proven that most women who
are not working are extravagant because they don’t know
that things are hard to get. So, most times they use their
husband’s money without consideration because they don’t
know how to make money.If a woman is making money in her business,
she will know how to appreciate her husband’s effort
and will know how to manage it.
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