Barrier Breaker of the Month of July 2021

The Barrier Breaker of the month of July 2021 Is…

Goodness Adeosun a medical student in University College Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria. She is into making shoes which is a side hustle with the brand name Gudie. She has been in this business for the past 3 years. From the age of nineteen.

How it Started

After my Cambridge exams in 2017, I was engaged in so many activities. I had cousins coming from the US to visit and asked them to get me some stuff. I had asked for a lot of things and wanted to give them something in return. That was when I thought of crocheting a shoe for them. The first one I made did not come out the way I visualized it so I had to keep trying and as I kept trying, I was improving and getting inspiration and ideas and that is how I started shoe making as a business. People loved them too and wanted it.

My Thoughts

Always be good to people, you never know what will come out of it. There is a saying that “it’s not the gift but the thought that counts” and for her, the thought of doing something good for another person, or being kind caused her to start a business.

Dentistry

As a Dentistry student, it can be very time demanding and stressful. I am one that is fascinated with everything that has to do with my hands and not reading. I don’t like reading at all. I would have preferred doing Engineering but I found myself in Dental school and you have to read a lot. The reason I went into Dentistry is not because I was forced to. I was good at everything I did and I was very versatile. So it was hard for me to choose a career path. I kept changing what I wanted to do and my parents just decided to pick one for me and that was Dentistry.

Challenges

There was no access to investment and loans when I started which was very strenuous. I used to meet some shoe makers that have been into it for a very long time to make use of their equipment and machines for about two years. All profits were put back into business and I’ve been doing this since I started. So when I say that I made this kind of loss, people are shocked. The journey has been turbulent, there have been twists and turns but it’s all worth it.

Jois: Did you study shoemaking?

Goodness: No I did not. When I initially started, I started with crocheting a shoe and then took it to a shoemaker to make a sandal but the shoemaker had faith in me and decided to show me how to make it. He gave me a list of what I should buy in the market and guided me. Within 3 days I was able to learn how to make them. From 2018 to 2019 I was always moving from one shoemaker to the other and borrowing their equipment and also using that opportunity to learn from them. I also learnt from YouTube and Pinterest.

Jois: Did anyone look down on you

Goodness: I did not experience that. They were just amazed to see a young girl making shoes.

My Thoughts

If you’re willing to learn something, you’ll go all out to do it and make it work. The way the internet is set up now, you can find anything on there and do it. You just have to do some research and if you ask some people, they will willingly help or direct you.

Lessons

Do not put emotions into business. Business can be very turbulent, it’s never easy. Be consistent and resilient. At first the journey wasn’t smooth. I couldn’t really see a clear view of what I was doing. Sometimes I will make a shoe and customers will complain and I’ll be discouraged and people were not responding and traffic was not coming to my page but I learnt to be consistent. That is what has helped me. Sometimes my posts or pictures go viral and I’m amazed. I tried different strategies and methods to drive traffic to my page and nothing was working but it was this year (2021) that I started seeing the results. There is no one standard or strategy to drive traffic to your page or website. You just have to keep trying and one will eventually work for you but just be consistent.

Also the people working for you may not have the same goal and aim as you, even family members may not understand your vision and might not put in the same effort as you would. All they want is for you to pay them at the end of the month and that’s it. They might not be able to cooperate with you as they should and that alone is stressful but just keep praying and things will work.

Support from Family

At first they were not happy about it because they believed it would be a distraction for me as a medical student but as time went on they realized I was still doing well in school alongside my business.

My Thoughts

I believe that most times your family wants to see some seriousness and consistency in what you desire to do. You can’t say you love doing something and not go all out for it. You have to show them for them to believe that that’s what you really want to do. No parent wants to see their kids as failures or jobless and so they direct you the best way they possibly can. But if you don’t like the route they (your parents) are taking you, sometimes you have to speak up and also show them. Be Consistent.

What do you know now that you wish you had known when you were younger

I faced a trauma in which I was a victim and I was happy with pity partying. It was this year I realized and learnt that having that victim mentality was wrong. I was always playing the victim so people will pity me but it never made me better. I was getting worse.

I have learnt to love myself. I used to depend on other people for my happiness. I have learnt to find happiness within myself. I should always know my worth. I should know who I should and shouldn’t roll with.

I have also learnt to secure my space. I used to be friendly and bad eggs will spoil the whole. Even though I had been told about the person or seen some red flags, I used to reject it. But now I do not need to interact with you very well to secure my space because as soon as I see the red flags, that’s it.

I have also learnt to say NO!. Sometimes you have to put yourself first. If it’s inconveniencing me then I say NO. I said No to a friend once and I was even shocked that I said NO (she laughs). I thought that would ruin our friendship but we are still friends.

My Thoughts

Can we just applaud this friend. This is what real friendship is about. The fact that I say No to you does not mean I do not like you. I may be busy, it might affect my schedule, I had made plans so I can’t change it etc. There are so many things that may come up. I’m not saying do not support if you can or if you know it’s an emergency, you should be of help. I’m talking about people stretching themselves when they do not even have the time and space to put someone else in their schedule and they end up wearing themselves out.

Advise

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it well – Ecclesiastes 9:10. I know I am very very talented but I would not have discovered this business if I did not attempt anything. I started crocheting and playing the piano when I was young and then I later went into graphic designing. I was just trying my hands on different things. So any opportunity you get, put in the work and do it wholeheartedly. If it works for you fine, if it does not work for you too fine. Just keep trying different things. It might take a while but just keep trying. Also keep a positive mindset. It’s not about waiting but how you wait.

Thank you Goodness for taking out time to be here. I really appreciate it.