Genesis - Part One

It was March 2010. I had searched two months for a space in which to launch a new business without success. My budget was sorely limited and there were still other items to invest in to get the business rolling.

I had a 4-month-old baby - my second child - and frankly, the business was intended just to fill in the gap until she was old enough for me to 'go out and get stuff doing'. My husband didn't mind bankrolling it - up to a point of course.

Starting a laundry business was not my original idea. In fact, less then a month after I gave birth in 2009, a friend, Amara had visited my house to felicitate with my family. She had been in the laundry business for three years. As we talked over a plate of chin-chin, I asked how her business was doing. Very well, she replied. Then, jokingly, I remarked, "You must be making so much money. Perhaps I should come and join you to make money also."

We both laughed. Then, in characteristic calmness, she said, "Why not? It's a good business. Start up capital is low. You should give it a try."

Seriously? I was amazed. She insisted.

There and then, I brought out my writing materials and took down notes from her. Amara made it look so simple. Just a few tens of thousands of naira. Just an employee or two. Just wash and iron. Just a little here. Just a little there. Years after, I found out in a practical way that things were significantly more complex and harder than encouraged.

I was much younger, inexperienced in formal entrepreneurship but possessed such a can-do attitude that would probably best be described as naivete hooked on dreamy imagination. That same evening, I pitched the idea to my husband who, infected by my enthusiasm, agreed easily. Nobody was getting hurt. It was a go.

Weeks after, we were scouting Jabi and environs for a suitable but cheap shop to rent.

To be continued...