Oluwafayokunmi Olutomiwa is a 400-level Electrical Engineering student of the University of Lagos. She’s additionally carving her personal path and setting the pace as an entrepreneur in the printing, branding, and packaging industry as the fore-runner and co-founder of PrintPlaceNg, a fast-growing modern print and branding hub. Leveraging social media advertising and marketing and promoting, the startup has been capable of scale as much as a rake in revenues of as much as 15 million naira a yr.
We had a chat together with her and it was attention-grabbing to find out about her journey to this point.
You are 22 years previous at the second, and PrintPlaceNg is 2 years previous. Did you begin this enterprise at 20?
FK: Actually, no. Everything began once I was nearly exiting my teenage years. I imply I used to be 19. Never would I’ve thought that at that age, a viable enterprise thought might stem from my curious commentary. My enterprise inclination began once I realized the rising demand for outsized T-shirts amongst younger folks.
It was perceived to be a cool style model. So it occured to me {that a} enterprise thought of bridging the hole between demand and provide will thrive in the shirt gross sales industry. This birthed my first enterprise ‘Tees2Drip’.
Oh, so that you didn’t begin out printing, branding and packaging?
FK: No, I didn’t. I simply wished to promote outsized T-shirts and make ends meet. Thinking about how inhibited that mindset was now, I simply snigger.
So, how did that result in full-time printing and branding?
FK: Subsequently, I wished to enhance the branding and packaging of the shirts I bought. I imply I wished to make imprints and designs on them that’d be peculiar to me, in order that when anybody noticed the design, they’d instantly understand it’s from “Tees2Drip”. So I started reaching out to on-line distributors who provided printing providers.
To my shock, these distributors charged ridiculously excessive costs. I couldn’t mix the price of printing on my shirts with the price of blouse buy and nonetheless present affordability for my audience which was principally college students.
So how did you discover your manner round it?
FK: I mentioned this concern with my buddy who’s now my enterprise accomplice. I came upon that he was immediately concerned in conventional printing manufacturing. So he enlightened me on the domination of the provide chain by the middlemen. From him I obtained to know that these middlemen add costs as excessive as 3 or 4 occasions the precise printing prices.
For instance, let’s say 100 items of enterprise playing cards with middlemen is pegged at 6 naira. Directly from the precise printing retailers it may be as little as 2 naira.
Wow, that’s over 200% worth inflation and revenue!
FK: Yes, however that’s additionally swindling prospects, and that’s improper. However, this discovery was sufficient to spark my curiosity in printing manufacturing and led me to do extra analysis. I went spherical to printing retailers in Shomolu which is the coronary heart of printing manufacturing in Lagos.
There, you’ll discover the largest industrial printing machines you may think about. I combed the jam-packed nooks and crannies of the market on foot, in a bid to know the market and how the web and expertise will be leveraged to raised my enterprise and optimize my operations.
So what did you uncover?
FK: I obtained responses from a large viewers and found that just one in 15 retailers have digital data. And the only a few that find out about social media don’t put it to use for his or her companies. This is as a result of the well-informed middlemen have taken over the provide chain and forged a dense fog of doubt on the effectivity of social media for these folks. There, I realised a possibility for a doubtlessly viable enterprise in the printing industry. I wasn’t going to be a intermediary. I’d be a printer with digital branding and packaging edge and extra. A fancy one.
So the hit was leveraging social media and offering topnotch printing, artistic branding, and unique packaging at inexpensive costs. I knew if I obtained a very good hold of all of it, the thought might blossom and go on to face the check of time. The synergy of those prospects led to the delivery of PrintPlaceNg in February 2021.
Amazing work!
FK: Thank you!
You talked about college students being your major viewers if you began out with shirts. Is that the identical with PrintPlaceNg?
FK: Oh, positively. I nonetheless promote specifically branded shirts below the Tees2Drip merchandise, however now produced and packaged by PrintPlaceNg. And college students are a part of my major viewers.
As you realize I’m nonetheless a student, and it’s simply perfect that I proceed catering for them as a result of they’re the basis of my enterprise progress. Even once I’m not a student, I’ll positively nonetheless give them desire.
Meanwhile, I’ve skilled an growth in my major goal market since the creation of PrintPlaceNg which largely revolves round printing, branding, and packaging of various objects. So my major audience now consists of SMEs and massive firms.
Since the inception of PrintPlaceNg, I’ve labored with over 400 small companies and another notable firms like Spleet Africa, Lemonade finance, Babalakin and co, Audacia prime, AM Realty, Wave seaside, Mwangwa and rather more. I’ve labored with celebrities similar to Victony and Dorathy of Big Brother Naija season 5 to model and bundle merchandise for concert events and manufacturers respectively. A buddy of Celebrity musician Praiz as soon as purchased him a T-shirt from Tees2Drip. He wore it and cherished it! She despatched me footage and critiques!
I see you could have industrial printing machines. How did you get funding to accumulate them?
FK: Yes, we’ve tried totally different funding initiatives. In truth, the newest funding I utilized for is a type of competitors organized by Paga. It’s for females solely and it’s tagged the #HerBusinness initiative. I’m at the moment in the remaining spherical of the contest which requires voting.”
When I started, earlier than the enterprise began funding itself, I used the funding I obtained from an engineering scholarship I received. I added that to my financial savings and obtained my first printing press machine. I didn’t must pay for house, fortunately. My mum allowed me to make use of a small retailer in the home. I can keep in mind how that place was full of coolers.
Looking again I’m simply so grateful. I’ve sourced for funding, I’ve tried TEF and a number of different grants and foundations however none have been forthcoming. I’ve been rising simply on my consistency, technique, enterprise cash-flow, prudence and God’s assist. While my working house has improved in aesthetics extra time, we’re transferring to a a lot larger house very quickly! I can’t wait to unveil it! I’m nonetheless sourcing for funding o!
What are the most notable challenges you’ve confronted in rising this enterprise?
FK: Nigeria poses quite a few challenges, from electrical energy, to cost fluctuations and all, however we’ve fortunately been maneuvering these. But I feel our most notable problem continues to be visibility. It’s improved rather a lot over time, because of social media. Sometimes we run advertisements and they convert. Sometimes they don’t. But natural site visitors particularly on Instagram has been of assist.
For instance, there have been days the place the Instagram algorithm simply decides to favour our Instagram account and our reel movies blow up, raking in 1000’s of views. Apart from this rising our viewers progress, it additionally converts to patronage. We preserve pushing regardless. The imaginative and prescient is to be the most talked about print hub in the digital house!
What social media platforms do you actively use and how?
FK: Instagram is the first I’ll point out. It’s confirmed to be the largest driver of our visibility to previous and new prospects. We’ve gotten so many leads from Instagram that I’ve needed to double up as a content material creator and push PrintPlaceNg on the market as a lot as I can and imagine me once I say, persons are watching! People are at all times watching. I’m simply grateful for the resilience I’ve been capable of conjure for consistency in content material creation and exhibiting up even on days when there may be little or no motivation.
Other channels embrace Whatsapp. From Instagram you may attain me on WhatsApp and additionally our official line. I’ve fairly a lot of Whatsapp contacts constructed over time, so I take advantage of my WhatsApp standing to advertise the enterprise too. Thankfully, we prioritize and ship glorious work and this will get us referrals.
Facebook is the platform on which we’re trying to intensify promoting efforts this yr.
You’ve been doing nice! But how have you ever been capable of mix such a demanding enterprise with Unilag and Electrical Engineering?
FK: Honestly, I’ve been at crossroads many occasions. There’d been occasions once I needed to decide and set a precedence. While I can’t jeopardize my tutorial pursuit, I’ve constructed my enterprise to a degree the place I can’t afford to go on a protracted break. So I’ve simply needed to console myself with the indisputable fact that learning Elect/Elect is only for the imply time. It received’t at all times stand in my manner. Meanwhile, PrintPlaceNg for me is a long run dream, I’m so passionate and optimistic about what I can pull off with this blossoming concept that began in my head.
I’ve had very dangerous days particularly amid exams, as a result of Elect/Elect is simply as powerful and miserable because it sounds. And I’ve to satisfy consumer deadlines too. You might ask if I don’t have serving to arms. Yes l do, however I convey them on on contract foundation to handle working prices. And I can’t completely hand them my gear or facility. All in all, I’m grateful to God that I’ve been exhibiting up sturdy on each fronts for over 2 years now. Crazy however value it!
What different issues are you enthusiastic about asides enterprise and tech?
FK: Woah, that needs to be music! I like music. I like music a lot that I can’t put it into phrases. It’s fairly non secular for me. I like to sing and I’ve a singular and stunning voice if I need to say so myself. I’ve been tops in totally different music competitions. For instance, in 2020 I made prime 5 for the AccessTheStars digital auditions that started off with a whole bunch of entrants. The competitors was organized by Star Lager beer and Access Bank.
A few my shut associates say I’m humorous and that I might be a very good actress however I’ve additionally left that as only a passion, I hope to do music in the future although. Maybe when my enterprise is at some extent the place I can take the backseat to a big extent and simply oversee operations. But for now, we dig printing, branding, and packaging.
It’s been stunning chatting with you Kunmi. Any final phrases for our readers?
FK: I’m nonetheless rising. But trying again at the place I began from, I let you know, it will get higher. Start that factor, and preserve the larger image in thoughts. It will get higher!
…. to be continued
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