…insights from entrepreneurs in the food industry in Nigeria

THINK ABOUT IT VERY WELL BEFORE LEAVING YOUR 9-5 JOB- TheFishlady

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@the_fishlady / 07068579340

Focus is key in Business says The Fish Lady …

Can you please introduce yourself and tell us about your background 

My name is Ma-takangnchong Ukhuebe Osaro. I’m half Nigerian half Cameroonian. I studied Medical Physiology.I love church activities, I love basketball and I love food.  The Fish Lady brand will be 2 years in March 2019.

Back in my University days, I had a shoe retail business. i have worked in a film house and also Personal Assistant to founder of Stranger. I resigned from the PA job to focus on this business.

Starting days for business including funding?

My mother has been running her Fish business in Calabar for the past 15 years. However, the idea of ‘Fish Lady’ came after a spontaneous conversation with my boss, where he picked up on a joke I made – “you know I can be grilling fish and selling here.” He encouraged me so much, even when I wasn’t so enthused about it. He was a great encouragement till the Fish Lady brand became a reality.

In the beginning, we offered Saturday services only but now we have included Friday.

A major start up challenge was raising a capital of 300, 000. All attempts to get the money from people I knew failed. I finally went to my mother who gave me the money to start. I was fortunate that my Boss made his retail space available for me as a Pop up restaurant.

When did your aha moment come that you thought ‘I can do this

There was a time we paused business activities for a while and began to receive feedback from customers . The rate of feedback we got made me realize there is a good demand for the fish and I should spend more time growing the business.

Can you describe your typical work day?

Yeah…the business started while I was still doing the PA job. I would work 9-3:00 pm with my boss, then work on the ‘Fish Lady’ from 5:00 pm until the last customer leaves. Being very hands-on, I make all the spices and usually stay in the back handling all the grilling.

Now that I am working on the business full time, I spend Mon- Thursday working on the brand and the vision of the company. Presently, we sell only on Fridays and Saturdays but we are working towards having additional days.

I see the ‘Fish-Lady’ brand as having 3 stages, our current stage being zero. Though we have not reached our desired goal, I see us achieving it in the nearest future with the quality of time I have been spending on planning the next stages.

What steps have you taken to make sure your brand remains relevant and competitive in market place?

Consistency and focus! I am very particular about everything regarding the brand and our service. There are standard ways of doing business here. If a staff makes a mistake as little as plating the fish wrongly, I would insist on it being served again just to ensure consistency in service.

The recipe and quality of the fish has remained the same. Also as a way of staying competitive, I constantly engage customers to get their feedback about our product, service and brand, and in some cases, we become  like family’.

How has your business evolved ?

We initially started with one day weekly, now we are open 2 days of the week and I am working on being open 6 days a week. Besides, we have added a few items to the dish since we started and now we also offer catering services.

Where do you see the brand in 5 yrs- 10 yrs?

I must have gotten my own place. Maybe one or more places in Lagos – say Lekki and Ikeja.

 Can you give us the most challenging experiences you have had?

We had catering job i had bought  52 fresh fish,  unfortunately, the fish all spoiled due to power outage. As a result, I had a huge loss on that day.

 Why do you think most food entrepreneurs fail in their businesses?

  • Inconsistency and switching up an idea before seeing it through
  • Focus is key in business
  • Also, not realizing the personality traits they need to have if they don’t already have it.
  • You have to be a people person; you have to understand your customers and be very compassionate, ask how they are doing, check up on them and know how they loved to be served.

How do you treat recipes ?

I per-make all my recipes and i alone know how to make it.

What advice will you give someone starting up?

  • If you have 9-5 job, think about it very well before you leave it for business
  • You have to look at the business very well to be sure it is where your call is.

What advice would you give your young self?

Save! Just save even if it’s little. I wish I saved enough while I was younger. If I knew I’d be here, I would have saved more.

The most influential book you have read and can you recommend a book and a source of info for you or as resource?

My Mom is enough books for me. My Mom has been in same business for over 16 years. She understands the business perfectly thus, has been an immense resource and support for me.

I also have a WhatsApp group for friends and they have been supportive and helpful to me through this journey.

Key Points
  • Inconsistency and switching up an idea before seeing it through Leads to failure
  • Focus is key in business
  • Not realizing the personality traits they need to have if they don’t already have it – failure
  • You have to be a people person; you have to understand your customers and be very compassionate, ask how they are doing, check up on them and know how they loved to be served
  • If you have 9-5 job, think about it very well before you leave it for business
  • You have to look at the business very well to be sure it is where your call is.

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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