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

Your entrepreneurial journey can be easier!

With Bumpa, setting up your online store is simpler. It doesn’t end there; Bumpa provides you with a host of features for business management - invoice & receipt generator, CRM tools, business analytics, inventory and order management and more!

Download the Bumpa app, sign up today and get started with growing your business both offline and online, effortlessly!

Join Bumpa today!

Dropshipping is one of the most prevalent business models for young aspiring entrepreneurs, or people who typically do not have enough cash flow to start their business, and might not necessarily want to apply for a business loan. From some research, we discovered that some of the roadblocks people face with this model include knowing how to start, how to source for products, and how to make sure that the customers they get end up getting quality items.

To understand better and let our readers know where to begin, we spoke to Samaila Hyelhirra, the CEO and founder of Hera’s Closet, a prominent online fashion store for women in Nigeria. Fun fact; she started her business when she was 18, and has been running it for 3 years now.

Tell us why you decided to go with the dropshipping model.

So, I'm not going to lie. I was broke. I had no money!

Lool. The sapa was strong.

Very. I was an unemployed university student in the great year of COVID-19, so it was rough. I was thinking about how to make money. And then I remembered there was this lady who put me in her group so I could shop from her. So I thought "She's selling these things, so how about I sell them to other people, and make money off it?" So, I went to her DM and asked her if that was allowed, and she said yes. And that's basically how I started. On the 18th of December, 2020.

Sapa can be such a motivator.

You have no idea. I started with my own personal account, and basically just started sharing content. But yes, that is why I picked the dropshipping model. Because I didn't have any capital to start with.

Speaking about challenges, Samaila mentions the struggle of initially not having a reliable supply source and fluctuating product quality. Additionally, she faced incidents like having to refund customers with her own money due to the lack of a proper system in place.

Do you have a story about one of these incidents?

Oh yes. I got into trouble so many times. There was one time I got about 25 orders on a 2-piece item, and we discovered after deliveries that there was an error from the manufacturer. The bottom fit perfectly, but the top was small. So it was a whole mess because there were customers who wanted a refund, and I had no choice but to refund them. So in the end I was losing more than I was gaining.

Wow.

Yeah. When I think about it, I had such a bad structure at the time. I didn't even have a proper record system in place. I was mostly running on just vibes, and that was largely because I was still doing it just for the money. I hadn't seen the bigger picture yet; it was all about the money.

So, it's been 3 years now. How have you been able to fix some of these issues?

Yes, mostly. I don't have quality control issues anymore, but sometimes there are size issues that slip by us. I also have a very tight refund and exchange policy that protects both me and my customers. So anything that goes wrong can be easily resolved.

That's actually a great approach. How did you solve the problem of suppliers?

So what I realised over time with dropshipping suppliers is that less is more. Although I have expanded a bit into importing some of my stock myself, I still rely a lot on the dropshipping model. With suppliers, it's easy for everything to become a mess when you're buying from so many of them and just trying to track everything. It becomes a problem 'Who did I buy this one from? When did I get this?' and you'll end up being completely stressed. It's not worth the hassle. I have found a way to streamline the number of dropshipping suppliers I have, so I know I have a specific person for a specific item.

Not you casually dropping gist about expanding your business.

Haha, well, yeah!

What are your criteria for choosing suppliers?

I always ensure that I personally test their products i.e. I buy with my own money, check out the quality, and wear it, before deciding to sell. I also get my staff to check the quality of the items before shipping them to customers. Over time, I have created a strong quality assurance process and built trust with my suppliers. These days, I get inquiries from potential suppliers but I have to filter through them to maintain the quality standards I need for my customers. Like I said, with suppliers, less is more anyway.

Words on marble. Could you tell us why you chose to dropship fashion items?

I have a strong passion for clothing, and I think that’s one of the things that’s even kept me when tough times came around. It influenced my decision heavily to enter this niche, and of course, it’s one of the most popular niches. I also believe strongly in focusing on products people can’t do without, when you’re starting a business. And of course, clothes are one of them!

Hera's Closet sells quality fashion items online

Completely agree. What’s a good day for Hera’s Closet, in terms of orders?

Well, we could receive as many as 55 to 60 orders daily, and on a slow day, we could see 5-7 orders. A good month sees us hitting up to 800 orders.

Those are really high numbers! How do you get your customers?

Social media has been the best channel for getting customers for our business. I initially didn’t have money to do any marketing, so it was just me, and my social media accounts. Another mistake I made was trying to do everything by myself. I’m not great at social media, and it really showed because it affected the business. So the first thing I did when I started making some profit was to hire a social media manager and it’s had a positive impact on the business.

How so?

For one, she convinced me to start spending a little, in the beginning, on marketing. I’ll tell you, I don’t think I would have considered running Instagram ads or all that if it wasn’t for her. Thankfully, we started seeing the benefits almost immediately. Now I just give her whatever amount she wants, because I know we’ll definitely be getting the amount back and then some. The returns on it are always consistent.

Most business owners are skeptical about putting their funds into advertising. Would you say it’s a great strategy, especially for dropshipping?

Oh, I think it’s a great one, for sure. As long as you’re targeting the right audience with the right content, there’s no way you won’t get customers from ads. It’s magical for us because even making just a few sales already covers the ad expenses.

Nice. Do you focus solely on Instagram?

Not at all. Ironically, Instagram isn’t even where we get the most customers, even with the ads we run. Twitter is. Customers engage with our content more there, and we tend to get a lot of referrals from the platform as well.

Twitter is typically a hard platform to hack for most businesses. What’s your secret?

For Twitter, we focus on the kind of posts we know will get engagements and clicks. Crisp images of what we sell, and pictures that show, for example, how a dress would look on the buyer. It also helps to get your circle to engage with the post so that it takes off from there. But the first trick is we make sure the post is the type that people will love either way.

Amazing. Do you get a lot of repeat customers?

Oh yes! Customers always come back.

How have you hacked this?

We’re very, VERY big on customer service; we make sure it’s everything it needs to be. That’s it, really. For one, we make sure that customers’ messages never sit too long before they’re replied to. It’s the internet age, options are everywhere. So it’s really not wise to keep a customer waiting. Another thing we do is always try to help the customer. For example, determining your exact size when shopping online can be a problem, and it makes customers skeptical about shopping. So we empathise and help with clarifications as well.

Then we always try to match the customer’s energy and vibe. If they’re texting you in pidgin, for example, it’s okay to reply the same way. If they seem friendly and comfortable, we also match that energy. We basically don’t take the robotic, ‘one way fits all’ approach. And of course, we also make sure that everything a customer gets delivered to them is of top quality, and matches their order as well. Their money is hard-earned, so we don’t want them to feel like they’ve wasted it.

Happy feedback from Hera's Closet's customers

Samaila was excited about the success of July, where she sold almost a hundred pieces of a particular dress that had impeccable quality. This brought a particular question to mind.

How do you deal with items being out of stock after a customer has placed an order?

So one thing we do is always confirm availability before even letting a customer pay. For items that are hot, they could be sold between the last time we confirmed availability and when a customer places an order. In situations where it’s sold after it’s been paid, although rare, we empathise with the customer and refund them for the item.

That’s totally fair. Now let’s get to the interesting part.

Haha, is this about money?

Lol, absolutely. How much do you make in revenue, in say, a bad month?

In the worst month this year, we made about 1.9 million naira.

Wow. And in the best month so far?

July. We hit 7.3 million in revenue.

No way! That’s seriously impressive.

It was, I won’t lie. We were really excited.

Do you remember how much you used to make when you first started out?

Haha, maybe around 200,000 naira in a really good month.

You’ve come such a long way. Well done!

Thank you!

We wrapped up the interview with Samaila leaving some encouraging words for aspiring entrepreneurs considering the dropshipping model for their business.

Do you have any advice for aspiring entrepreneurs considering dropshipping in Nigeria?

Ah yes! As they say, experience is the best teacher.

Lol. Please share with us!

Starting a business isn’t easy. There are frustrating moments, moments of uncertainty, there’s lack of support. There’s a lot. But one thing I’ll say for sure is it’s worth it. I started very young when I was 18, and it completely changed my life and has made me a self-sufficient adult.

The first thing I’ll say is to be present for your business. Nobody will handle your business better than you, and you’re the one who will set the tone for how people treat your business. Always show up, and don’t just assume the people you put in charge will do everything. Then, it is important to invest. Invest in marketing, invest in quality control, invest in your staff. You don’t have to do too much in the beginning. But invest. You need to spend money (wisely!) to make money.

Then, pay attention to your competition. If you want to stand out, you need to know what others in your field are doing. But also maintain a realistic mindset, especially when you’re just starting out.

Then, you need to have a well-coordinated record-keeping system to track revenue, profits, and expenses. It’s important as it gives your business order, and helps you track everything, which is something you also need to do. There are tools like Bumpa to help you with this, so you don’t even need to sit down and fill things into Excel sheets from morning till night.

True. Bumpa is a perfect, affordable tool for this.

Totally agree. Then, please take the quality of the items you sell very seriously. You can achieve this by having reliable suppliers and making sure your quality control process is tight. The urge to go with the cheapest options might be strong, but avoid it. You want to build trust with your customers, and you can only achieve that by giving them quality items.

Lastly, don’t forget that you’re the boss! Bad days will come, but remember that you’re the boss and no one can take that away from you. Mistakes are okay, but learn from them instead of beating yourself up, and just keep pushing!

These are such great words, Samaila. Thank you sooo much for doing this with us.

You’re welcome! This was fun.

You can check out Hera’s Closet on Instagram or Twitter for amazing fashion items with the best quality!

Subscribe to our Blog

If you love tips & content like this that will help with your small business marketing and growth, then you’ll be excited to know we have more! We could always send you notifications when they are published if you share your email with us. We promise to not be a bother, and you can always unsubscribe anytime!

Subscribe Now

Want to Learn More about Bumpa & How to Grow your Business with it?

You can sign up to Bumpa in 5 seconds as a small business owner and let us begin the journey of growing your business with you!

Sign Up Now