7 Years of Business Brilliance: An Exclusive Interview with Savvy CEO of Shoepify, Wunmi Kolawole

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Running a business, especially in today’s Nigeria is no easy feat. More often than not, businesses collapse due to a lack of funds, inaccessibility to business loans, mismanagement and sometimes, a lack of customers.

In this issue of The Corner Office, we spoke to the founder and CEO of a very prominent Nigerian brand who’s been in the game for 7 whole years! Wunmi Kolawole had a lot to share and gave us a few laughs along the way.

Hi, Wunmi. Thank you for joining us today.

Thank you for having me!

Okay, first question. If you had to describe your business growth journey using a food analogy, what mouthwatering dish would it be?

Haha wow. This is an interesting question! I’d describe it as a typical Nigerian pepper stew, with a lot of pepper! So, there's the stew base, which you can then use to make jollof rice, jollof spag, actual stew, some soups like efo riro, etc. You can keep that stew base in your freezer, and then turn it into whatever you want at any point in time.

That's hilarious. Why this analogy?

So with a good stew base, you have a solid foundation that lets everything you make out of it taste good. It also means you can experiment with different things, which is something we've constantly done over the years at Shoepify. We've moved with the times, customer demand and new market trends, and constantly evolved. When you see Shoepify, you probably think of just shoes, which was what it was before. But, we've expanded into accessories and everything else our customers need, enabling them to get everything in one place, thanks to that solid foundation and experimentation.

The stew is so important!

It is! Also, the pepper is plenty because tbh, Nigeria can and has shown us shege at different points in time. But, we move!

That's the energy! What inspired you to start, and why the name 'Shoepify'?

You know, at some point I stopped trying to convince people that the name wasn't gotten from Shopify. The inspiration came from a place of being a woman who wears shoe size 42 in Nigeria; it's really tough finding pretty shoes, and I grew up wearing shoes that I didn't really like. It was a huge problem for me because I absolutely wanted to wear fabulous shoes and look my best. So when I started to find pretty shoes, I started ordering them and of course, rocking them everywhere, especially to work. There was a particular day I wore a pair of shoes that EVERYONE was raving about. That was when my colleagues started asking me to shop for them, and said they wouldn't even mind if I added some extra money for my stress.

So that's how it started.

That wasn't the full motivation. Later that day I was scrolling through IG, and I saw the same shoes I was wearing earlier, and for about 3 times more than the price I got them for. That was when I realised that...

There's a market here!

Exactly! And then I started doing some research. I noticed that most of the pages on IG that were selling stuff didn't have prices added, had a no-refund policy set up, no exchange, etc. basically everything that would discourage a customer. It seemed like a lot of these businesses wanted to make just that one sale and never worry about the customer getting the value for their money. It was an entire crime scene!

LMAO!

It was terrible. But I saw it as an opportunity. So I started. Fun fact; the very first 2 pairs of shoes on Shoepify were my own brand-new shoes that I'd bought but hadn't worn. At the time I had a fashion page where I posted clothes that I'd made, so I temporarily converted it and started using it, just to see what the response would be. Another fun fact; I didn't get any sales but the response was very encouraging. People actually started saying stuff like 'OMG size 42 shoes that are actually pretty!'. So, that was it.

And the name?

Aha! I have 2 very close friends who I have a group chat with. I sent a message to the group chat and we talked about the business idea and possible names. I had some sleepless nights and eventually landed on Shoepify. The second I shared it with them, they said 'This is the one!'

Aww. Cheers to friends who cheer us on all the way. Have you had situations where people came to you, thinking that you're Shopify?

Oh yes. Funny story. I once went to a seminar hosted by PwC. It was an accounting for small businesses seminar, and then we had this networking session. I was talking to this person and then when I mentioned Shoepify, he got all excited, thinking I said Shopify. He started pitching aggressively and I was just waiting for him to finish and I went 'Uhm I'm not sure you know what I'm talking about'.

LMAO. That must have been awkward.

Yeah, it gets like that sometimes.

Have you had any key individuals who have played a major role in your success?

My mum. What she does mainly is trading, and I basically learnt how to do business from her. I'm a first child, which is pretty much the same as being an assistant parent in Nigeria. So growing up, I was helping with everything, including the business she was running, which is how I learnt the fundamentals of running one. One of the most important lessons I learnt from her then was how to be as transparent as possible in business, and I can say it has really paid off.

That's amazing.

She is. I'll also say that I've learnt a lot from my peers and friends who run businesses as well, and they were easier to connect to than any mentors because they understand better the actual reality of running a business in the same climate.

We haven't even gotten to the advice part yet, but this is a solid nugget!

You're welcome!

Read Also: Inside the World of Dropshipping in Nigeria & Valuable Tips from Samaila Hyelhirra, CEO of Hera’s Closet

Okay, let's talk marketing. Shoepify has grown a lot in 7 years, so you've probably tried a lot of things. What have you done differently to take your brand to where it is now?

One of my guiding principles is to always use what you have, not what you think you can get, to do a thing. The question I always ask myself is 'What do you have now, that is available to you, that you can use?' It's easy to want to start a business and go big because you saw someone else that seems like they did it that way. But instead of putting all that money and time into looking like a big business where you don't even know if you're making enough money to cover your overhead costs or stress yourself thinking about how to get funding to start big, use what you have.

A couple of years ago, I was speaking to a friend about some brands I really love, what they were doing at the time and how I wanted the same as well. She simply asked me 'It's great that you're dreaming big but do you currently have that budget?' And my answer was no. And she said 'Start and work with what you have.’

You should focus on moving from point A to B to C, instead of going from A to Z. If you don't have a big budget, put what you have to use. Your phone, your IG page, your parents, your friends. Just work with what you have and take it from there. Fun fact, I didn't move Shoepify out of my parent's storage room until 2020, just to save money on rent. I was using their electricity, space, everything, you name it, until it was time to leave because they didn't mind. This is just an example of using what's available to you.

Amazing. How have you overcome any setbacks that you've probably faced in the last 7 years?

Lol. When you finally settle into your business and start to balance your books and map out your strategy, the first thing you need to do is get a therapist.

OMG this is going to be interesting. crosses legs

No, for real. Because you need to vent, and at some point, everyone around you will be tired of hearing you talk about it. It also helps to have healthy coping mechanisms. There were times when I was literally over this running a business thing, I can't lie. It's tough. But these things helped a lot. Setting boundaries also helped; things like not working after a certain time of the day. I do that every Thursday now. It doesn't matter if the world is on fire. I step back and just take a break, binge TV shows, eat a lot and just chill.

I also take setbacks as a learning moment. It helps a lot because it helps us improve on whatever has caused that setback, and even work on other processes generally to eliminate other possible issues. For example, we had a situation with product quality where we had to recall items that had been sold, and ended up incurring a huge loss. But it taught us that we needed a better quality control system in place, and we worked on implementing that. And setbacks don't end, not really. It's just important to learn to manage them and learn from them.

Amazing. Okay, let's relax a bit. What's your go-to song when you need to chill a bit from work or even ginger yourself?

Actually when I'm stuck, I typically just take a break from the task totally. I could take a few hours or even a few days, and just come back with a fresh perspective. But when I need to be gingered or I need to ginger everyone else in the office, I have a Nigerian playlist. And you know the energy that comes with Nigerian music. I queue up my Nigerian playlist, which predominantly consists of songs by Asake and Seyi Vibez.

Seyi Vibez??????

Please don't judge me.

I prefer not to speak. What are some of your favorite Seyi Vibez songs?

I love Godsent and Man of the Year a lot!

Amazing stuff. Okay, serious question. How have you embraced innovation and technology to move your business forward?

Tech was made for me. No jokes. When it comes to tech, you will meet me in front, because I'm always pro anything that can make my life easier, my work simpler and my customer experience seamless. Tech always has a solution for me, so once I need a process to be automated, you'll find me looking for the best tool for it. I'll always advise business owners to embrace it too, because you'll definitely be reducing the amount of things you have to deal with.

For example, we've been able to fix the scepticism people have about shopping online for shoes by using a tool that lets you get your shoe size right when you shop, so you don't have to worry about knowing whether to buy with your UK or US size, and customers absolutely love the tool. That's the power of tech.

How do you get your customers to use this feature?

We try to do a lot of education; explainer videos and tutorials. We've realised over time according to our data, that over 70% of our customers have started using the website more.

That’s interesting, and this next question is something our readers can relate to; how have you been able to get customers to use your website more than any other channel?

We actually highlight all the benefits of using the website to shop, but it doesn't end there because sometimes people need an extra nudge before they will sample something, so we use a lot of incentives. For example, we're not running a sale if it's not on the website, and you can't participate as a customer if you're not shopping directly on the website. We also encourage our users to subscribe to get the first buzz of new inventory, and updates. Half the time, some products don't even make it to Instagram anymore because they're sold out on the site, because of this exact thing. Another thing is that shopping on the website allows you to acquire points that you can use to shop again at another time.

A loyalty program. Neat! Do you have some tips for how websites for businesses should look?

The first thing is your images! They need to be crisp and easy on the eye, and the customer should understand what they're seeing immediately. You should be taking your product images yourself, but even if you have to use stock photos, it also helps to show videos of what the product looks like live. Also, make sure your website just looks really neat and is super easy for your customers to use. Can they search? Can they pay with ease? These are the things you should look out for.

Thanks. Okay, let’s talk money. How have you organised your finances over the years? What advice can you give business owners in this regard?

Like I said before, data is king. You need bookkeeping and accounting data to know what you're working with, how much your business is making and how well you're growing. Assumptions can only take you far, so please work with data. Use the tools at your disposal (again, this is why I love tech), and then when you can afford it, get a financial analyst to help you make better sense of your books. But please, always work with data. Bumpa for example, is also great for tracking your business finances.

If you're reading this, she said please twice!

Lol yes, because it's super important. Data is the only reason why we've been able to make informed decisions over the years. It is also important to learn how to calculate your profit margin and if it's too much for you to understand yourself, take a basic course in accounting to help you make sense of the data you're seeing.

Love it. So, the country is tough, let's admit it. How can businesses cope with the ever-rising cost of things?

My dear. This is why I mentioned therapy earlier. It's not easy. One thing that's worked for us is looking at operational costs, merging things that can be merged and removing processes that don't necessarily need to be there. And we've had to find cheaper tools. That's helped a lot. We've also moved from air shipping to sea shipping. Takes a little more time, but it is very cost-effective. The hack is to review your processes and find a way to adjust.

Read Also: How to Reduce Costs for Your Business in Today’s Nigerian Economy

What's one key lesson you've learned in your journey that you strongly believe has been essential to your success?

Data! Lol! I know you'll say I've mentioned data too many times, but that's how important it's been in our overall decision-making. If you don't know your numbers or aren't monitoring your data, you're playing. It should be your best friend. You have to sleep with it, wake up looking at it, just breathe it in and out. It's the actual key to growth.

I also know that you need a lot of resilience to run a business anywhere in the world, but you need EXTRA for a place like Nigeria because something will try to test you every single day.

This is already a lot of advice but I still have to ask. Do you have any more advice for business owners?

Yes. Running a business doesn't have to be fancy, especially right from the beginning. So it's not about the fancy tools you can use, office space you can rent, or storefront you use. Before you spend any money on anything, consider what will happen if you don't have to spend that money. In other words, how important is the thing you're spending money on?

Also, as you grow, you need to start delegating tasks. It's fine in the beginning to do everything, especially when still defining your processes and testing out things. But it gets to a point where you need more hands to be more efficient, and if you're still the one handling everything then, you need to sit and ask yourself why.

Okay, for some final gist. Do you have any exciting upcoming projects you'd love to share with us?

Oh yes! We're going into production, and you'll be seeing our name on shoes soon! Watch out for Shoepify shoes.

Oh, that's amazing. Congratulations! Absolutely looking forward to that.

Same. Thank you so much.

And thank you also, for speaking to us.

Anytime!

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