…insights from entrepreneurs in the food industry in Nigeria

Episode 56 – Podcast with the Founder of Ivie’s Kitchen and Food Acceleration Hub  

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@ivieskitchen @foodbusinessaccelerationhub

Olabimpe trains and provides aspiring and existing entrepreneurs in the food and hospitality industry with information, market intelligence, networking platforms and opportunities to meet, interact, learn and collaborate with global food industry leaders and key players.

She helps you identify factors that affect your profit margin and how to increase your margin as a food vendor without having to necessarily increase the price of your products.
Podcast Show Note

My name is Olabimpe Ajibola. I’m popularly known As Chef Ivie. I am the owner of Ivie’s kitchen and the founder of Food Business Acceleration Hub. Ivie’s kitchen is a food and nutrition company and the food business acceleration hub is an initiative where we train food business owners on how to run their food business and be profitable through training, workshops and seminars. It’s also a way of sharing knowledge involving the industry.

I was a Medical student at the university of Ibadan and I wanted to be a Pediatric Surgeon. I realized that I  wasn’t fully committed to the studies of  being a Dr.  I eventually followed my passion which was cooking.

Tell us about starting days of your cooking career and Funding?

I created a personal business website and I started the business with my personal fund; I bought equipment and started with family and friends. Unfortunately I didn’t have the proper information on how to run a business  so, I shutdown in less than a year in 2016. I restarted all over again in 2017. I literally had to go and learn how to be hands-on from  people that have been in the business for over 20 years.

 How has your learning from others played out in your today’s business?
  • Firstly experience like they said is the best teacher
  • I learnt but it wasn’t plug and play; I remodeled my learning to fit into the generation I’m into
  • Most people want to make money but they don’t keep record of what they are doing
  • I realized that in every plate of food you sell, you have to factor all expenses made including rent.

What was your biggest take away?
  • You have to answer correctly ‘the why’ you are doing what you are doing
  • Don’t let money be your drive for starting a business; begin by trying to make impact, solving problems and bringing value to the table
  • Identify the problems you want to solve
  • Interacting with people with experience helped me understand my value chain which is very important
  • Value chain is not built overnight but it takes years

(Listen to the podcast to know more)

What advice would you give someone starting up?
  • Know the cheapest market by investing in relationship and know your value chain to the top of the chain so to make something good out of your business.
  • When you reduce your cost, your profit will increase and you’ll be able to grow.
  • You cannot give up on what you are doing and you have to stay consistent even when it looks like it’s not going to pay off; it takes time.
  • You have to work from hard to working smart.


     Some Key Take Away –
  • Connect on a deeper level with your customers as well as your vendors
  • Experience is the best teacher
  • You can’t monitor business, if you are not recording all your numbers.
  • In every plate of food you sell, you have to factor all expenses including rent.
  • Don’t let money be your driving force for starting a business; begin by making an impact, solving problems and bringing value to the table
  • Identify the problems you want to solve
  • Interacting with experienced entrepreneurs helped me understand my value chain
  • When you reduce your cost, your profit increases and  growth becomes easier

 

 

Emeka is passionate about the Evolving Business Environment and the challenges bedevilling it. He is ardent and cognizant with the Restaurant Industry having worked in various outfits as a manager and consultant. He is presently working for BusinessFeverNg as the B.D.M and content editor.
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Emeka is passionate about the Evolving Business Environment and the challenges bedevilling it. He is ardent and cognizant with the Restaurant Industry having worked in various outfits as a manager and consultant. He is presently working for BusinessFeverNg as the B.D.M and content editor.
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Emeka is passionate about the Evolving Business Environment and the challenges bedevilling it. He is ardent and cognizant with the Restaurant Industry having worked in various outfits as a manager and consultant. He is presently working for BusinessFeverNg as the B.D.M and content editor.

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