Bumpa Merchant Spotlight - The Scarf Shop

Meet Fatima Yahaya, a business woman rocking it in eCommerce with quality scarves. She’s the founder of The Scarf Shop, a small business that specialises in selling high-quality scarves in different materials, colors and styles to suit every taste and occasion. With the business’ vision of becoming the go-to store for unique and beautiful scarves, Fatima gives us some insight into relatable struggles for business owners, the tricks she uses to triple sales in one day (wow!) and some advice she wishes she knew before starting her business!

Could you please start off by introducing yourself and telling us about your brand?

My name is Fatima Ibrahim Yahaya. I have a Bsc in Information systems, and a masters degree in Information Security. I own The Scarf Shop, a retail store that specialises in selling high-quality scarves made from sustainable fabrics like silk, polyester, cotton, satin, e.t.c

Actually, it all started when I took an entrepreneurship course. I was in Uni, and I was eager to put some skills that I had learned into play. Of course, I also wanted to make more money. So I took some money out of my pocket money and got about 2 dozen of scarves.

And how did that go?

Interestingly, I sold them all off in a week.

Wow! That was quick. What was the trick?

I was surprised too. Well I actually went around the female hostels to sell them off. And then people kept asking “ah Fatima, when are you going to bring more scarves? So I just kept stocking up some more. That was the beginning of the journey, and here we are today.

Amazing. So how did you expand the business to where it is today?

I kept getting referrals and building the customer base like that. I wasn’t even using Instagram up until 2019 because everyone was telling me I just had to be on Instagram with all the quality stuff I was selling. They also told me it wasn’t about the money. So I opened my Instagram account in 2019, registered my business, and that was it. We've been in operation for close to 5 years, and I can say that we have a loyal customer base who appreciate the unique designs we always bring.

That’s wonderful & inspirational. You’re a superstar.

Haha thank you!

So, how did you find out about Bumpa?

It was during my NYSC year, from a friend (Folarin Banjo). I think he knew the founder. He told me I could use Bumpa to send my invoices & receipts, take inventory for my business and so much more. So I registered for Bumpa and then sometime last year, I got an email about hosting my own website domain and that piqued my interest. I think that was when I became a full Bumpa convert.

Wow Folarin Banjo! Thank you wherever you are o!

Yesss thank you Folarin!

Awesome. So I know that running a business in Nigeria cannot be such an easy task. Could you please highlight some of the challenges you've faced in the process of running your business?

Omo, like you said, running a business in Nigeria is not for soft-life babes like me but omo, I need to make money. But yes, despite my success so far Alhamdulillah, there have been a couple of significant challenges in growing the business. One of the main challenges I would say is marketing the business effectively and struggling to reach a wider audience through advertising on social media.

How have you worked around this?

I go for fairs, and before I do, I put up ads about being there. With things like that I typically make at least 3 times my normal sales in a day. This elevates my total sales for the month, compared to what I would make if I didn't go, or if I was just selling in my offline store. Also, we're still trying to experiment with different marketing strategies and find out the right approach to attract new customers and increase brand awareness for us.

I think one general problem for business owners is marketing and wanting to expand. Are there other challenges that you've faced with your business while running it, that Bumpa has helped you solve?

Yes! Sending invoices and tracking inventory. Now I can send invoices and even receipts to my customers by tapping a button, so I don’t need to write down customer information and have to type it to send to the customer. It’s an amazing feature. For inventory, I just put up the total number of what's in stock, so anytime someone orders either off Instagram or via the website, I just go and create an invoice and that way, I know that I'm running out of stock on this scarf or this design. It helps me keep everything in track.

So excited to hear the ways we’ve helped. Did you consider other solutions before deciding to go with Bumpa? And what made you decide to stick with us?

I was using another solution (I prefer not to say) before, but I went with Bumpa because it was very seamless to use and that made me stay. I also had the option of getting my own personalised domain. And another thing with Bumpa is you could put in like the shipping fee, so when the customer is checking out via the website, they can just pay directly for the shipping fee. So it's easier. Bumpa has made life easier.

Oooh this last line is bursting our brain. We’re definitely stealing it!

Haha you can go ahead!

Thank you! So, what Bumpa plan are you currently on and how long have you been on Bumpa?

I'm currently on the Pro Plan, and that's the plan I've been on since last year.

Amazing. Since starting your business, what sort of significant growth do you think you have been able to achieve as a business owner?

I'll say building and maintaining a loyal customer base. When I started, I had just my friends that would tell their friends and then they would tell their friends. You know how that goes. But right now, I would say we have a loyal customer base that I know that even when I don't have what they need in stock, they'll still say "I'm just going to wait for ScarfShop to bring it". I've gone for fairs where people where just saying things like “I'm here for ScarfShop o." It hasn't been an easy journey o, but they trust that I always provide them with quality items.

I love the way you're so confident about your brand. It also speaks to how you trust your brand and have been able to build a reputation and it's amazing.

Thank you.

You’re welcome! How was the beginning of your journey with Bumpa? How did you find the entire onboarding process?

Oh it was very easy. It was literally just 'fill this, fill this, this' and then you're on board.

She's very accurate, guys. You can confirm the reg process for yourself here by downloading the app either on Android or iOS!

Haha!

If you were to do one thing differently when you started running your business, what would it be?

Hmmm. I'd say brand awareness, advertising and managing finances properly.

And do you think that Bumpa has helped you solve some of these problems with our features?

Yes, especially for finances. I also saw that I could integrate Instagram DM(Meta) for faster sales and I'm exploring the feature now.

It’s a great feature. What's your favorite Bumpa feature?

I would say the invoice feature. And yes, also the business analytics feature with the dashboards that show you reports on how your business is performing.

You really love this invoice feature o. We can tell it's your favorite.

Haha! Totally!

So, if you were to give one advice to business owners just starting out, what would it be?

It's a struggle but don't give up. laughs. You'll definitely get there.

That is definitely quote worthy. Thank you so much Fatima for this. It was fun!

Thanks for having me Bumpa. You guys rock!

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