419 Ways to Make Money: Ankara Accessory Making at St Colors A School

Meet Stephanie Obi

My name is Stephanie and I’m a teacher. I teach people around the topic of businesses. I’ve not always been a teacher; I started with several accessory businesses.  I used to do beads accessory, wires and most recently ankara accessory. I decided to teach people how to make Ankara accessory and how to manage the business so they don’t make the mistake I made when I first started.

Read more on Stephanie Obi here: http://www.stephanieobi.com/about-stephanie/

 

Accessory by Comfort-  student of St Colours A School

How I started

Ankara accessory is very easy to start. You can start with little or nothing.  I started with pieces. I went to my tailor and asked for pieces left over from clothe material used.  I didn’t use a machine when I started, I used my hand.  

I stumbled on Ankara accessory making.   I learnt by trial and error. I had a t-shirt line and I made Ankara broach and attached to my t-shirts to make it unique and more attractive.  People just kept asking for the broach instead of the t-shirts. Then I started selling the broach, in lots of numbers. They also kept asking for other accessories like earring, bags, necklaces and likes. And that was how my Ankara accessory business started.

St Colours A School

I was making accessories for years and I decided to start training other people.  I started training and got lots of requests from people outside Lagos. They were very interested in learning how to make Ankara accessory but they couldn’t attend because of the distance.  So I created an online school. St Colours a school is an online school where you can learn to make Ankara accessory from wherever you are.  St Colours is strictly online.

Courses on St Colours

We have different courses, they are:

·         Ankara accessories: bangles, earrings and necklaces

·         Ankara bags

·         Ankara slippers

·         Ankara Boxes

Each of these courses cost N15, 750

 

Rhema's Work-  student of St Colours A School

What’s required to start an Ankara Accessory Training with St Colours?

All you need to start is access to the internet.  You watch the video and learn how to.  At St Colours a school we focus on making learning easy.  We encourage students to start small and focus on using what they have for now.

 

Tega's Work -  St Colours A School

The ‘Business’ of Ankara Accessory Making

The most important thing you need to be clear about when you start a business is who needs what you are selling and what problem you are solving.   If you don’t know what problem you are solving for people, you will struggle in business.  It’s not just about learning a skill; you need to understand the problem you want to solve.    It’s not only about going out to market your business to people.  You need to have the mindset that as a business person, you are a problem solver.  You need to find out what kind of people like and want to wear Ankara accessory.  For example, people who travel abroad want it because it’s a unique African gift and they want to take it to their friends overseas.

Also, marketing is the most important skill in business and it is highly required in your ankara accessory business.  When you are marketing, market like you are there to solve the person’s problems. You are doing them a favor really.   This mindset changed my approach towards marketing.

 

Jane Frances''s Work -  St Colours A School

Don’t Just Sell to Your Customers, but Satisfy Them

The best thing you can do for yourself is to know your customer very well.  Know the problem you are solving for them.  Know why they are buying your product.  Understand what it is they need, so you can give value added services.  When you do this you will be distinguished and appreciated by your customer.

For me I do this because I want to serve. So I don’t find it difficult to go out of my way to make my customer happy.

You should do a business because of these three things: out of love, because you want to solve a problem and because you have a strong urge to create a difference. These are the things that help you keep the drive.   If you don’t have all these, then go get a job.   

 

Uju's Work: St Colours A School

What Motivates and Drives Me.

I have evolved. I’m not the same person that I was when I started the business. At a time I just wanted to create things. I loved (and still do) to make things and I found fulfillment when people are happy with the accessory I made and they come back to me really excited and showing their appreciation. That used to be my drive. After some years, I decided to help other people achieve what I have been able to achieve.  And that became my motivation.  In Lagos, there is a lot of exposure and opportunities unlike some other parts of Nigeria where people there don’t have such opportunities.  Most of my students come from these areas. My drive now is to help people who want to learn and don’t have the means and resources to.  

Stephanie Obi: Professional Bio

Stephanie is the CEO of ST Hub Limited, an online education company that teaches entrepreneurship and technology skills in a fun and engaging manner.

She is passionate about helping people start businesses and helping organizations leverage on technology to achieve their growth objectives. Her mission is to help you live a happier and more empowered life.

She is an MBA with a First Class degree in Computer Science, and brings all the experiences she has gathered at her fashion accessories business, ST Colours, Ericsson, The Tony Elumelu Foundation and L’Oreal, to create relevant training programs that help people succeed in business.

Culled from:  http://www.stephanieobi.com

Websites:

For Ankara accessory training:  www.stcoloursaschool.com

For Business advice and development:  www.stephanieobi.com