Ayo Alonge, [email protected]

Angie Thomas is the Chief Executive Officer of JT Angies Emporium Limited, a startup with tentacles in Real Estate & Facility Management, Interior Design, Event Management, Jt Angies Academy and Travels & Logistics.

The serial entrepreneur attributes her success in business to her industrious pedigree and the tenets of hard work, passion and discipline. For Thomas, government at all levels can help encourage the growth of small businesses in a number of ways. She also spoke on competition, patronage and attendant challenges.

Background

The memories I had, growing up, were happy times mixed with great discipline from my mum, especially.  My mum, Margaret Thomas, a trained Australian teacher, now retired, was very strict and a no-nonsense mum too. My late dad, Francis Thomas, was an accountant and entrepreneur while he was alive. I am truly and ever so grateful for their strict directions which somewhat help guard me as a young lady. So with emphasis, my sojourn in entrepreneurship, I must say, was a beautiful balance between both parents and my uncle, Dr Olubajo, of blessed memory. He was an academic and a disciplinarian at same time. These foundations truly helped set my path. I studied Law and then Philosophy at the university and alongside ran a couple of courses in Interior Designs, Event Planning and Management in the UK. I lived in the UK with my family for a while and came back home, almost 14 years ago.  Creativity has been a part of me since I was a little girl. It became more pronounced in my needle work and art class, during extra curriculum activities. For this, I am forever grateful as my parents never discouraged me. I was allowed to express myself through my works of art in different forms. This passion of mine extended into my teens.

It was just unstoppable. Everywhere I went to, all I wanted to do was redesign their homes, throw pillows and finally I had some foreign neighbours who,  for the first time, decided to reward me by paying me for being extra creative and that was the day I knew that I really would want to take my hobby to the next level. That was where my dream of owning an empire began. And then, my second ever paid job came from an expatriate from the pharmaceutical company called SmithKlin Beacham where my second ever client ordered a complete set of bedsheet and duvet. I was just so excited and desired more of the challenge and adventure that came with having to create more designs.

I remember purchasing an interior design magazine and also buying a book that ushered me into the true world of interiors.

Raising capital

Just like I have always said in many interviews, I made my first money at age 14. As a teenager, my friends nicknamed me “JT” which I was popularly called by friends and even family members. This became my dream business name. Officially, Jt Angies Emporium Ltd was registered in May 2006 with five departments namely Real Estate & Facility Management, Interior Design, Event Management, Jt Angies Academy & Travels & Logistics.  I remember over 20 years ago, I did my Youth Service under my then boss, Mr Sanusi, in VI, who had four different departments and each department functioned perfectly. This caused me to believe I could do same and even better, with passion, expertise, structure and the right team. Reaching the peak was sure. Thereafter, I traveled back to the UK and joined my family. I came back, registered my business and yet I had no single client, I had to do what I knew best – work hard for change in order to create awareness for myself and my brand. Fortunately, my passion made a way for me. My unforgettable startup capital came from my first set of clients, the secretariat of Association of Gallery Owners in Nigeria (AGAN).

The president at the said time, was Chief Okonta of Nkem Gallery who encouraged and appreciated my work. While I was on the job, I met quite a number of people who came to peep on my job and said,” the female designer who is constantly on the ladder designing walls”. It was such a huge honour for me to have met all the people I met at the time, as they were just so appreciative of all my works. This, in turn, gave me the confidence that I was on the right track as referrals multiplied.  There was a club I also designed and furnished at Mende, called The Street Corner.

There was also Parle Royal Hotel in VI, where I worked as a consultant, and a host of others. It was indeed a humble beginning .

Challenges

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Just like any other business, we do have our share of challenges. At the initial stage, we had issues on site with clients who refused to pay us our balances even after delivery. But thank God for the Ministry of Justice with whom all these nightmare became a thing of the past. We have some clients who feel we do not have the right to make profit. Can you beat that? The last time we checked, we are a profit-making organisation. We face constant lack of power supply. This is just to mention few of the challenges we face. Even with all the challenges every entrepreneur faces, we are somewhat glad that there have been positive sides to most of our challenges.

Ways out

As an entrepreneur, all one thinks about is to be on top of ones game and to be successful, in spite of all odds. We are grateful at Jt Angies Emporium Ltd that even with the harsh economy, we are still surviving. I must confess that God, plus passion, plus creativity, equals success, and this has been our little secret.

Competition

As an entrepreneur, its important to note that there are many other business owners who are doing the same thing, hence the spices and flavours I add  to my business keeps me on top, no matter the competition. Our major secret has been: great team work, constantly educating ourselves at each level, customer service, referal,  aggressive marketing strategies, and so on. This, I must add, is a must have and without the online presence, one’s business would be at the bottom of the graph. The online presence is a necessary tool to every modern business, right now. I would say competition in any business keeps you on your toes and this, however, helps the business to grow. So, for me personally, healthy competition is good for us and helps us to keep awake and of course, creativity sets in at its highest, at this stage.

Support 

We now have a huge number of successful entrepreneurs and its high time government stepped in to support and encourage SMEs and entrepreneurs like myself. This support can come in different forms and on different platforms like areas of loans without collaterals, patronage, provision of farmlands for intended farmers, provision of vehicles for transporters, free trainings, etc.

Loan acquisition

Every business gets to that next level where expansion is paramount and of course, Jt Angies Emporium is experiencing that as we speak and with that comes the financial demand to be able to achieve this. Often times, especially in Nigeria, entrepreneurs do everything legitimately possible but I have come to the realisation that it’s okay to do a loan if the need arises strictly for the sole purpose of expansion, provided it’s within a realistic limit for repayment, considering other overall.

Comparison with best practices

Having to compare the way business is run here with developed world, I would say we are meeting up and closing up on the wide gap with great customer service, educating ourselves more in our chosen business, and I must commend our marketing strategies, both online and other means in Nigeria. We are definitely improving tremendously. Our major challenge, on which I must emphasize that indeed we still have a long way to go is power. This has been every entrepreneur’s nightmare and has also caused a lot of companies to fold up. Yet, this isn’t the case in the developed world.