By Ngozi Nwoke
Mojisola Ogunsanya’s Lagos food hub, Belefull Variety, is everyone’s favourite. She has been in operation for five years now and is still striving: in addition to the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses have collapsed because of the failing economy and hard times.
In this interview with Daily Sun during their anniversary recently, Ogunsanya stated that inflation is the bane of Nigerian businesses. She said, sometimes, she gets frustrated like many other Nigerians, due to the difficult business climate.
And for the young entrepreneur, coming this far is worth celebrating, considering all the challenges she has overcome.
How would you describe Nigeria’s economic climate, with regard to your business, since you debuted?
It has been very tough. A lot of restaurants are not making profit now. It is really bad. Our cost of production has gone so high, but customers do not understand what we are going through.
In that case, how have you been surviving?
It is essentially by God’s grace. This morning, I woke up and said to myself, these five years has been a lot of struggle, hard work and perseverance, because, if you don’t have passion for what you do, you will give up. It is not easy. A lot of people believe that restaurants make 100 per cent profit margin, which is false. Restaurants make a low profit margin. Turnover is what works for us. Running a business in Nigeria is very draining. The government does not support us in any way and also does not acknowledge the fact that SMEs create about 60 per cent of the jobs in Nigeria.
I have about 25 members of staff. I said to myself, even if I have not achieved much, the fact that I know that I have created jobs in the last five years is enough fulfillment for me. Our staff depend on us. Their families depend on us, and knowing this keeps us going.
Have you explored other options?
Yes, we also do outdoor catering.
During the lockdown last year as a result of the pandemic, did your restaurant function in any capacity at all?
Yes, we went into bulk orders, food trays and soup bowls. It was strictly home deliveries, until the restrictions were lifted. Most importantly, we will continue to work hard to remain consistent and relevant.
How do you define success in this business?
In the food industry, consistency and relevance are the major factors that can propel you to success. In life generally, success for me is knowing that I have people who depend on me for their daily bread and God gives me the grace not to fail them.
A lot of people believe that this business is lucrative, so they rush into it and customers complain about their quality after a while. Do you think the food business is something that can pull people out of poverty in Nigeria?
I don’t think it should be food business. I feel it should be in business that you do passionately.
What would you say of the failures and challenges of the past five years, and how have you been able to deal with them?
In business, I don’t think you can get to a point where you would say that you have got it right. You learn every day because, sometimes, some things just happen and you feel like you thought you had known it, so it’s a continuous learning process. We fail, we pick up ourselves and learn from our mistakes. The beauty of it is that we even get better from that failure.
Challenges abound in every facet of life’s endeavour. In this business, getting the right people and managing them is the major task. Again, it is difficult to get people that can buy into your vision and align with you. Most importantly, inflation is the bane of Nigerian businesses.
What would you tag the important milestone in this business?
Having operated for five years in Nigeria is a big deal for us.
How do you intend to gain authority in this industry as an entrepreneur?
I think it is basically staying true to what we believe in, staying true to our goals and vision for the business. We move out of our comfort zone, explore new ideas and take risks, knowing that we would either fail or succeed. We gain with both because failure is a learning curve.
What should your customers expect as you mark your fifth anniversary?
We have a lot of goodies for our customers. We have a raffle draw where the winner goes home with a first prize of a gas cooker. The second prize, a bedside refrigerator, and third prize, a microwave. This is our own little way of expressing our appreciation to our customers.
Are you engaged in any CSR?
We have the Belefull Foundation. We give food to 100 less privileged and indigent people every month. We believe that everybody deserves a good meal, even if it is just once a week. Besides, food is man’s necessity.
What do you do when you are not working?
This job is very engaging. So, most of the time, I am working, because restaurant business is a full-time job. Apart from the practical aspect of cooking, packaging and all the other challenges, the administrative part of the business is also huge. I try to relax sometimes by watching movies because I know the essence of rest and relaxation. I deliberately try to create some time for myself. It can be devastating when the body needs rest and it doesn’t get it. I understand that very well.
Do you have any favourite customer experience?
There was a time a customer called me when he was in company with his friends in Abuja and another who came in from Lagos and they wished he had told them of his trip to Abuja. Of course, they would have ordered food from my restaurant. For me, such commendation from customers was a big deal.
And what would you consider as the least?
I don’t have one right away but there are many. I can’t say but I know that we have had unpleasant experiences. We have different customers. Naturally, some customers are patient, while others are not so patient but at the end of the day, we are here to satisfy everyone.
In five years, has there been a point when you felt like giving up?
No, not for this particular business. For other businesses, I don’t run them anymore, which again is why you have to be passionate about what you do. The only thing that keeps me going is that it is something I am convinced that I want to do for a long time and, hopefully, would like to pass on to my children. There has never been a time I ever thought of giving up on it. Sometimes, I just get frustrated with the whole system, like every other Nigerian.