Wisdom Silas
Founder of styledByTito, Bolatito Bashiru has abandoned her banking profession to pursue her dreams of becoming a Tailor.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the
former banker, resigned in 2016 to become a fashion designer with the aim of changing people’s mindset about Tailoring profession by building a trustworthy and successful brand.
According to her, individuals and businesses usually witness disappointment and consistent frustration when they patronize fashion designers in the country.
Bashiru said,”I always witness my mum and tailors quarrel. From ill-fitted dresses to failing to meet delivery timelines. She always backdates her event whenever she is sharing it with tailors to avoid disappointment.
“As a child, while growing up, I discovered that, when you say you’re a tailor in Nigeria, the first thing that comes to people’s head is disappointment and anyhow-ness.
“I witnessed this and nursed an emotion with a desire to change that by building a trustworthy fashion design brand,” she notes”.
She stated that her saving was part of the capital used to establish her business in 2017 after resigning in December 2016.
“Before resigning from my job as a banker, I had been improving on my skills and thereafter, working on my dream and this period allowed me to save some money,
“The savings upon my resignation in December 2016 was used as part of what will be regarded as my startup capital to commence business operations in 2017,” she explains.
“The fashion business commenced work with just one sewing machine but has now grown massively into different sections of operation.
“The growth has been massive, from sewing with a single machine to owning a production store and fashion academy at the heart of Lagos.
“Our customer base has also grown over the years too, with clients locally and internationally.”
She also added that timely delivery, giving attention to the smallest details, and maintaining a non-compromising standards have helped the business scale and differentiated it in the country’s fashion industry.
Bashiru who is fondly called Tito, mentioned the sources of the business raw materials which are locally gotten across the country.
“Our fabrics are sourced from sellers in the local markets, so we help them stay in business and contribute to the economic growth.”
“Because we work with a variety of clients with exquisite taste, we source raw materials across the country, from the South East to the deepest parts of the South West as well as the North Central.” she said
During the time of writing this report, some of the challenges the fashion business faced was getting the right employee “quality worker” and the huge infrastructural gaps also impact her business negatively.
In dealing with these challenges, she said that she started training her employees herself to fit into her desired taste instead of employing a skilled professional.
“I stopped looking for quality employees. I created them, most of the people working with me right now graduated from my fashion academy.
“The top students get internship opportunities after graduation and are offered permanent roles after their internship and work became easier ever since I adopted this capacity development approach.
“In the long term, we want to build an internationally accredited fashion academy having trained over 10,000 new designers in 10 years.” she said.
In her advice, Tito said “Be consistent, Be loud and unapologetic about your business. Tell everyone who cares to listen about what you do.
“You’re your biggest cheerleader. Also, don’t stop improving yourself. Be ready for the breakthrough you’re praying for,” she advises.
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