Wanneka Doris Nkumah popularly known as the Hair boss is the CEO Hair by Wanneka. The business guru was inspired by the drive to be independent and successful from the onset. Interestingly, she made several attempts that failed but due to her perseverance; she finally made it and has become a very active player on the scene. In this interview with Omolara Akintoye the hair entrepreneur speaks about her journey to stardom, her empowerment initiative, why women need to be hardworking, among others
You are a lady of many parts, where do you draw your inspiration from?
To be honest with you, it is God and mostly from my customers. Most importantly trends, they play a vital role in ensuring that I am update with the western world and then the economy. The populations of youths that we have now are trendier, fashion conscious on looks and appearance.
What has life taught you?
Life itself has taught me to be very humble and giving trust in no one other than God. I remember when I started my business especially the first few months, I was duped and it was the most difficult time in my business. I mean clients haunted for their weaves.
Tell us about your growing up days and educational background?
I attended Majesty High School, Calabar and later proceeded to University of Ado-Ekiti (UNAD) where I bagged a Diploma in Law. I later started an undergraduate programme in English before getting married. I then relocated to Lagos and started another degree at the prestigious University of Lagos.
Growing up for me was quite interesting, I had an amazing family and they would tear anyone down if we get bullied by an outsider (Laugh). I grew in the midst of a loving family. My Mother was a sweet, kind person and she loved all her children equally. As the last child, one would think I got so spoilt but I was given one of the strict rules but this has helped me over the years to become this independent, hard working and daring in life.
It’s interesting to know that I had friends from secondary school days that were prettier than I was, (laughs) it’s so true!! They made be understand that life is not just a twist of physical beauty but the inner beauty too.
For my dreams, I have always wanted to own an empire. I started as a stylist in the Nigerian Nollywood industry and gradually gained grounds and made a few friends that gave birth to the brand I have today called ‘Hair by Wanneka’.
Tell us about your journey to becoming an entrepreneur?
To be honest, I don’t know where to start from. It has been a very interesting journey. My passion for human hair was what made me decide on this choice of business. We got into the business and carved a niche for ourselves. Now, many hair clients love Hair By Wanneka because of the style and the marketing drive associated with Mizwanneka, the quality of the product as well as the affordability of the variety we offer. The most interesting aspect is the inspiring story of how I quit business more than two times because the business had failed. However, with determination I started again and in less than two years, we got the big break and my business started flourishing
Social media, Instagram became my office and my market. People gradually reckoned with my brand, the more I got orders the more I got referred to by existing customers and their experiences made me smile with joy. I used all the features that Instagram could offer. I regularly looked for new ways to improve my brand and here we are with the brand Hair by Wanneka.
How was it like at the beginning?
When I gave birth, my husband set up a shop for me in FESTAC, and gave me some money which I added with the money I saved over the months. I ordered for hair and when the first set arrived, it was fake. I was so discouraged, people didn’t want to buy, those that bought would later come to fight with me but I didn’t want to give up. Unfortunately, the shop went down and we finally closed down.
After a while, we moved to Lekki and here my targets were different. At a point, everybody around me told me that since it is Lekki, I should make it really expensive. But people didn’t even know me then and the patronage was very low. In four months we could sell just a closure and it was really discouraging. We didn’t make a single sale for a long time. I couldn’t even afford to pay my electricity bills, or my sales girls.
My mode of marketing was very simple and we made a lot of impact with determination. In the early days, I resold weaves bought from a well known hair seller and the result was amazing. In-terms of marketing, I would go to banks and gradually I got the fashionable female staff to patronize them. From the banks, I moved to church gates just to speak with the beautiful sisters and this way I introduced my brand to them.
Getting more active on social media was a huge success for me. It was a terrain that was easy to access and quick to reach a wider audience, and gradually I got more customers from outside Lagos. Gradually, I was able to gather enough money to buy a large stock of product, but unfortunately I got duped by a supplier which also made me to start afresh once more. It was a bitter sweet experience because I was hounded for taking clients orders serious. I believe in quality in whatever product and that really helped my brand. I had no choice but to start afresh and attend to the business I loved. Though it was rough at the beginning but today I thank God for everything.
How do you cope with competition in the industry?
To be honest, I try to do the best that I can to ensure that I get the best to my customers turn fans. There would always be competition and the strategy for me is to ensure that I get the best quality out there for my customers. I am very particular about quality over quantity, that is why I always marketing is very unique,
The process always comes with sessions where I brainstorm with my team as well as review comments from my customers which I don’t usually take for granted. Obviously, it comes with sleepless nights (smiles) at the end of the day I am able to come up with something solid.
Interestingly, some of my collections are usually put together and inspired by my clients, those who always make it a conscious effort to keep me abreast of the current trends in the sector.
Have you won any award recently?
I won a few award and they have become a great source of inspiration to me. They include Exquisite Magazine (Eloy Awards 2018) Millennial Entrepreneur of the year; GMYT African Humanitarian Awards on Entrepreneurship 2018; Beauty Entrepreneur of the year by Lamode Magazine 2018; Nigerian Designers Hair Stylist of the year 2018; Social Media Awards 2018, Prolific Entrepreneur of the year, among others.
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