Dear Friend,
This week we had a chat with Adetoro Eko, CEO of Detoro Organics. In this letter, Detoro shares her journey to starting three ventures and finally choosing to stick it out despite a lot of setbacks. She also shares her lessons from her choice to start over.
Enjoy.
What was the turning point for you in your life/career choice?
I didn’t think I would be in the skincare space. I majored in public relations and advertising in school. I interned at an advertising firm for 14 months, and during that period I developed an interest in recycling. I used to gather pure water sachets from different households, and then sell them to those who would turn them to different materials. I did that for a while, and then my dad looked at me, and said, ‘this business, if you are going to do it, you have to do it full time. Recycling is very capital-intensive’. Because at that time, I started storing my materials at the back of our sitting room window, also, I later got my grandfather's backyard. So, he said I needed to do it, and do it well, if not there was no point.
My dad is someone that used to travel a lot. So, he said he saw shea butter in a community in Abuja and that he will get some for me. When he got back from his trip, he came back with 200 kg of shea butter which is equal to 10 paint buckets. So, I decided to travel to Abuja to learn how to make bar soap and other skincare products for about a week or two. I came back and I started practising and selling. The journey started in 2016/2017. Being in the skincare space wasn’t like I planned it, it was one thing leading to another. And because I was passionate about the environment and I love to take care of people, that was one of the things that made me say, ‘fine let me do this’. I started making bar soap and transcended to other things as people asked. I also see myself as very creative, I can come up with many forms of products because being a skincare formulator is a science and it's an art. That has been how my journey transcended to me being a skincare formulator for over half a decade. The journey has been interesting, and it has been a learning curve.
I started my hand at recycling and later tried my hands at making liquid wash. My third venture was skincare formulation, and I told myself that I needed to make a success of something. I am definitely not where I want to be yet but I am gaining momentum and I am learning how to do business. For instance, if it was the art of making care skincare, I have mastered that very well, but the business side is what I am learning. I thought in my head that once I make a product people will buy it, but then I saw a lot of my products on the shelves, and I asked myself ‘who is buying them’, so marketing and sales are things I am currently learning.
I am fascinated by my journey because I see myself as being privileged to be in the skincare space, after starting and stopping other ventures. To still have other ideas on what to do is a privilege and it is also a learning curve.
What was that one piece of advice that changed your life?
Thanks to my dad, I started Detoro Organic. He believed that instead of me just doing a 9-5, it will be good to start a business. That was how I started it. Also, I registered for a class and I have learnt a lot about business from it. There is this thing the facilitator does on WhatsApp, it helps. You know there are days that you don’t wake up on the right side of the bed and don’t feel like it, but you will still show up. This guy sends messages every day. The fact that I am doing most of the work in Detoro Organic presently, the ability to keep showing up, and minding your business no matter what is what I am learning and it helps. If not for what I am learning, I wouldn’t want to show up because I will believe that who will want to buy skincare products despite the scarcity of cash in the country at the moment? It will be only the bad news that we will focus on.
How do you deal with setbacks?
One of the setbacks was producing many products and not being able to sell them. I had to realize that it wasn’t just about creating a product. Back then, I will create a product, post it on Instagram and expect money to come. As someone who creates a product, you spend money to buy materials for the product and sample it, I had to fight the battle of disciplining myself to reduce the raw materials I just buy for the fun and frenzy of it. Another thing was that I started the business from home, and my dad was telling me that I needed to grow the business. Later I got a space in the family house, and he said, ‘I will pay the first year's rent for you but you need to grow your business and do better’. So, he paid the first year's rent and for the years after that I have been able to pay the rent. A challenge I also faced was going from just making any product to knowing what the market wanted. For instance, I have a product which is ‘the black soap’. I learnt to make it as far back as 2016, but I wasn’t really interested in it. But, people started asking and I had to take an online course and honestly, that is one of the best seller's products. I have learnt that beyond the act of skincare, I have had to ask myself, ‘what problem are you solving?’. What are your customers asking for? Because there is no point in having products that people are not buying.
Another lesson is also putting myself out there, if it was the old ‘me’ I wouldn’t be doing this interview because maybe there is a part of me that just feels like I am not doing much, and I have not gotten to where I want to be, and I have not done enough. Now I am learning to take that step, do it afraid. I am learning to show up. I am also learning to have a goal as regards what I want for Detoro organics.
What are things you’ve done over the years that made a big difference for you?
Going back to school: I have always wanted to attend the University of Lagos (UNILAG), but I got admission to Lagos State University (LASU). So, I was lackadaisical about my admission to LASU, someone later volunteered to help me change schools when I was in my third year and I jumped at it. Later I found out the person couldn’t help, and because I had missed many lectures and I lost that admission. My dad looked at me, and said, ‘look you have messed up, but you have to go back to school. I didn’t want to go back because I was ashamed that I will be starting over again in the school as a first-year student. Here I am, years down the line and I am grateful that I took the plunge to go back. Now I am even considering doing a Masters's Degree, and this was because I went back to school.
Having the ability to start over. It is not usually easy. This is the third venture I am involved in, did I feel like a failure? Yes, I did. But I moved on, I have had to learn to move on. No matter what happens life goes on.
What good news/thing in the world is being overlooked?
The human mind. For instance, a lady is in a relationship and it breaks and she feels like life has ended. Someone comes to encourage her to move on and evaluate herself. It is that human mind that is not willing to give up, no matter what. The fact that if you don’t like what is going on, you can believe that there is something better out there for you. It might seem like it is taking a long time, but it will happen. It is just the power of the mind to persevere. For believers, that is what we call faith.
If you had the opportunity to travel back in time to see your younger self, let’s say your 15-year-old self, what would you tell her?
I will tell her, “be bold and courageous. Don’t be afraid, speak out. Believe in yourself. Be confident. If there is something that you want, go for it. The time you have is now, and you can only make use of what you have now”.
What's something that makes you feel hopeful for the future in the work you do?
I have been working on Detoro Organic for 5 years and when I look at the process -when I was going to learn, I didn’t consider packaging, people stocking the product, pricing, or storage. When I look at companies that make imperial leather, and joy soap, I can imagine what the company have gone through over the years and how they started. So, I am very excited about the future. I know that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and I know that God will answer all the desires of my heart. People who create bleaching soap create ads on social media without apology, and if I am saying that I am making people's skin healthy and I am not on social media, people will be buying what the other people are selling. I have not yet figured everything out, but I look forward to Detoro Organic being a household brand. I am very optimistic about the future because I am Christian and also based on the review our customers have given.
Funnily enough, it wasn’t like I wanted to be an entrepreneur, I just wanted to make a difference. I am not a fan of sacking your boss, because not everyone is called to 9-5, being your own boss is a lot. It demands a lot of persistence and consistency.
I am also very optimistic about a better Nigeria.
What is the one piece of advice you would give to someone just starting (in your space)?
Find a place to work, because you will need the experience, even if it is voluntary service. If there is anything you are interested in, whether it is available in your area or not, learn it. Find a problem to solve, and build on it.
What are you reading or listening to currently?
I am reading The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success by Brian Tracy, and I am listening to Moses Bliss’ Miracle no dey tire Jesus.
Video of the week
Opportunity Desk
Here, you will find opportunities around the world for professional development and access to funds to push you closer to the future you desire
See you next week.
Your friends,
From AllforDevelopment.
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Great great, that my sister right there. Our dad made us register a business and start doing it and till now I still have that mentality.