Temitope Fesobi is a very creative person and she is happy empowering young people and teenagers with culinary skills, amongst others. In this interview with Ogheneyoma Omarejedje, she talks about her passion, challenges and future plans
WHAT or who inspired you to go into the catering and events industry?
As a child, I used to watch “the 3rd eye” and there was a particular episode that contaminated baby food was produced and the little girl was helping her father to investigate the case. I can’t remember the details of the episode but it inspired me to do something. That day, I told my mom that I wanted to be producing healthy food. I love people staying healthy. However, when I finished school I saw the number of unemployed where I was and I started thinking of what to do to reduce unemployment. Interestingly, I got a revelation to start training youths on difficult crafts and I made this a reality. I started and invited my friends and we all trained together for a token.
From that point, I started doing catering and event decoration as well as planning to raise funds to continue the training outfit.
What are the potential and opportunities in the sector?
I would say that the food and entertainment industry is very rich. There are lots of opportunities in the sector. Everybody wants to eat good food and most people want their parties decorated nicely. A lot of innovations have come into the industry and people are getting very creative. So, when you want an event that looks great, it is better to make use of professionals. If you can get good food across to the people, they will buy and you need to create a niche for yourself.
What were the initial challenges?
At the beginning, we had the challenge of people’s patronage. Also, I remember that our environment was flooded with people doing the same thing at that point. However, that did not deter me at all. So, I believed that the challenge can be easily tackled by creating a standard for yourself, and it worked for me. This may be tough but in the long run it pays off.
What lessons have you learnt doing this?
I have learnt so many lessons. A major one for me is to look before I leap. On two different occasions, I have been duped. The first one was heavy on me, but the second one was not so much because it was a kind of trick. But now I have learnt not to move without God instructing me, because in business you need God to be the leader.
What is the focus and target of the children’s competition?
The focus of the children’s cooking contest is designed to bring out the creativity of children and to motivate their taste and desire for cooking great meals. This actually helps them to be more responsible at home. It is also targeted at developing a healthy sense of competition with others, thus preparing them for the world. In addition, I would say that it helps prepare the teenagers for adulthood and it exposes them to being creative in the kitchen in different ways.
What are the other things that occupy your time?
The other things I do are training for different vocational skills such as baking, event decoration and planning.
Let’s talk about some memorable moments as an entrepreneur
As an entrepreneur, making decisions is key and making the right decisions is very important. Looking back, I must say that I had made some bad decisions that burnt my fingers. I have even made some decisions that made me go to level zero, but in all I always have an anchor to hold on to, which is Jesus.
Going down memory lane, there were tough times; days when I had to be the admin staff, the marketer, the printer and much more. There are times when you do a job and everyone that sees it loves it and you get other jobs from it. The problem most times is that some people do not like to pay you the balance.
Who or what do you consider as the greatest influence in your life?
My greatest influence first is God (the Bible), and secondly my immediate elder brother who will never let me rest. There are times I will want to give up and he will tell me, “never, you have come too far to give up.”
There was a day he told me, “Tope, we are in this together if you fall, I fall.” That day, I made up my mind not to give up. Also, some of my cousins have also been very supportive.
Let’s compare when you started doing this and now; what has changed?
A lot has changed. I know better and do things better than before. The little training outfit I started then has gradually metamorphosed into a big training and production outfit. In the next few years, you will hear about TopJoy School of Crafts, which is something that I am also passionate about.
What are some of the changes that you would like to see in the sector?
I will like to see a lot in the food sector; we have wide variety of foods that we need to be proud of. I will love Nigerians to be creative in the kitchen so that we can have great and healthy meals both in our restaurants and homes, so that we can have a healthy nation.
If you have to advise Nigerian youths, what would you tell them?
I will advise Nigerian youths to love work. Most youths that I’ve met want to make money without working. I have worked as a steward for an elderly man before. His children are not in the country and the wife just died, so I cleaned the house and made food for him. I have done rug cleaning before for people. I believe once you love work, you will make it in life. Most of our youths do not understand the value of work. We as parents need to teach them the value of work. Work does not kill; it only builds.