Ebele Enemchukwu, chief executive officer of WABIO International Ltd has carved a niche for herself in makeup artistry.
By Eberechi Obinagwam
Makeup is not just the cosmetics and beauty products used to enhance looks, but the artistry behind it. Ebele Enemchukwu, chief executive officer of WABIO International Ltd has carved a niche for herself in this field.
She told TheNiche during an interview how she started as a makeup artist. “As clichè as it may sound, my journey into makeup artistry was inspired by passion. My self-makeup application has always received attention and most times people would inundate me with questions about how I achieved certain looks on myself. It has the signature of clean, fresh, and appropriate.”
Ebele who holds a B.Sc from Abia State University, an MBA from the University of Lagos, and 18 years of experience in Customer Service, commercialised her makeup passion when she saw the challenges women face in handling their makeup looks and the disappointment from a makeup artist when she was Mrs. Nigeria United Nations and Mrs. Tourism United Nations in Nigeria and Jamaica respectively.
“By the time I won the titles of Mrs. Nigeria United Nations and Mrs. Tourism United Nations in Nigeria and Jamaica respectively, my activities and places requiring my official appearance as Queen expanded. I had to make these appearances as regal as possible, and this meant engaging the services of Makeup Artists for every time I had an event. It was a lot.
“My friend and former colleague at work, Lilian of Flair Beauty, was always there to handle my makeup for all my Lagos outings and would recommend a Makeup Artist when I had to attend events out of town. It was all smooth sailing until one day while outside Lagos to make a special appearance as Mrs. Nigeria at an event, I waited endlessly for the Makeup Artist who never showed up. It wasn’t a pleasant experience, and that was the last time I required the services of any Makeup Artist. I was simply done with what seemed like being at their mercy whenever I had an outing. Plus, the fees were getting heavy considering the increasing frequency of events I had to attend.
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“I therefore sought and found a Training School run by Lilian of Zaron Cosmetics. It was programmed to last three weeks, but I was only able to get two weeks off work. I practically took all the days left of my annual leave. Thankfully, my skill level was intermediate at the time, so two weeks sufficed. This was in 2017, and even though I needed it for personal use at the time, I went for the full professional package, so that I would still be able to use same skills whenever I was ready to go commercial. As it turned out, that day came in 2018, and I decided to take my skills up many notches by doing a ‘Masters’ in Makeup Artistry at the prestigious London Makeup School.”
Birth of WABIO International
Ebele in line with her exit strategy from paid employment, got an office space in Lekki, resigned from her employment as a Customer Experience Trainer, and off to London for advanced training in makeup. After that, she got back to Nigeria, set up the Studio and voila, WABIO Place was born and officially launched in May 2019.
WABIO, which is the acronym for ‘Women Are Beautiful Inside and Out,’ extended its services from just helping ladies with a clean, event-appropriate look, to training them on how to achieve the same.
“I realised that I could offer a solution to that challenge by not just ‘giving fish, but teaching people how to fish’ that was what formed the basis of my commercialising my passion,”
Raising initial capital
Makeup artistry can start with little, she said, adding that getting a face done or that of a friend requires a few items to get started. Even professionally, she disclosed that you can run the same without having a physical location. It becomes a different story when you decide to have a studio to cater for walk-in Clients.
For her, sourcing immediate funds was not so much of a challenge because she had already developed an exit plan and had saved from her full-time job as a Customer Service Trainer in one of the biggest telecommunications companies in Africa.
“By the way, entrepreneurship was something I never dreamt of. I almost dreaded it. I had always dreamt of corporate life and rising to the very top of it. But as life began to unfold and things started changing, the pay which seemed big suddenly started looking like a joke, and the handwriting suddenly became clear. Having a business-minded Nnewi husband, even though a Banker, I knew I could do so much more and offer so much more outside the confines of a typical corporate organisation. I developed an exit plan and saved, so sourcing immediate funds wasn’t so much of a challenge,” she recalled.
“This is why I advise people, I bring this to them, reminding them of the place of delayed gratification, saving for the rainy day. You mustn’t be in a paid job to do that. With some level of discipline and sacrifice, you would be shocked at what that mustard-seed saving can become. Rather than ask for human hair on your birthday, ask for things that bring you one step closer to that business dream. Request for access with that ‘destiny helper’.
“Rather than a bigger house in Lekki, how about securing your office rent for the teething years of your business? Can the funds for that expensive international trip be channelled to get an international degree? Tough decisions to make, but worthy of consideration. More often than not, all these initially forgone desires will come back, but first, surmount the initial challenges of setting up and running a business in this perilously peculiar business environment called Nigeria. Setting my priorities right and staying focused on it, works for me,” she said.
Penetrating the market
Ebele penetrated the market by offering something different and being the best at it. She achieved it by enrolling in a master’s class at the London Makeup school because she knew that the makeup industry has always been a saturated space, and becomes increasingly so with each passing day.
Recognising that for her to standout, she needed to offer something different paved the way for her. “For every time any Client or Trainee interacts with our brand, they leave our courtyard with a deep sense of satisfaction. With the volume of verbal and non-verbal heartwarming reviews and feedback we receive, we can almost always see that our vision of bringing something different to the market has been achieved,” she said.
“Also, with every sense of modesty, the services we offer have found their way as a household name for a select class of persons. The niche we’ve carved over the past four years (excluding the COVID-19 year) is for persons seeking something different. Something uncommon. Something royal. It’s no coincidence that our moniker at WABIO Place is “Beauty For Royalty”,” she added.
Unforgettable experience
While struggling to establish her brand, Ebele was faced with the challenge of Covid-19 epidemic in 2019 and in 2021 when miscommunication drove a wedge between herself and a very close friend.
Narrating her experience, she said: “I had finally quit my permanent job as a Learning and Development Specialist in Telecommunications to take the plunge into entrepreneurship. I left for London to further hone my skills. By the time I was back, set up my office space, and launched WABIO Place in May of 2019, ten months had flown past with a running rent (I paid before leaving to secure the space) and no meaningful business done yet. Haha! Paying that year’s rent was a challenge because it coincided with a family issue which sprung out from nowhere, causing what should have been available funds to simply vanish.
“Thankfully, through the rent breather of a couple of months from our landlord and cash support from a friend, we pulled through. Just when we were beginning to find our feet, the lockdown happened in early 2020 and all the areas of my business which by their nature, had to do with close human interaction were halted. Like the rest of the world, it was a rude shock. Not being good at pity parties, I decided to pursue my secret passion for the screen (I may have been an Actress, but for hubby’s disapproval). Haha! With studies and research, that period birthed my YouTube channel and my engagement as a resource person for online training sessions for leading Nigerian Organizations with branches across Africa. From my lockdown’ living room, I earned, while teaching on Customer Experience, Business Communication, Presentation Skills etc. for Nigerian and non/Nigerian audiences.”
Ebele recalls another unforgettable. This happened in 2021 when miscommunication drove a wedge between herself and a very close friend.
She said: “I always say to people in business, better establish yourself/business beyond family and friends. Never take for granted that they would support you, especially at the budding stage of your endeavour. You may be serially disappointed. As with the many areas of my business efforts, both as WABIO and the Ebele Enemchukwu brand, my time, and how I translate it into the various services I provide, is my most valued currency. If it has to be used, you pay for it. You waste it, you equally pay for it. This is why Time Management Skills is a topic I often recommend and teach. To every business owner, keep going, keep growing.”
Break through
Ebele shared the journey of WABIO Place, from a walk-in studio to a training hub. She revealed that numerous positive feedbacks from clients, with many saying ‘WABIO Place is different’ (or similar words), have been significant motivators for her to stay committed.
Despite initial struggles to convince clients that her team could deliver the same quality as her personal touch, consistency and messaging eventually won over clients. While the training program has grown, Ebele is still seeking breakthroughs to self-sustaining without requiring her direct involvement.
Challenges
The CEO, WABIO said power supply ranks number one by a far margin of challenges business owners face in Nigeria. “It may not be peculiar to my business, seeing that most people are on this boat, yet it is a huge challenge and continues to gulp a significant chunk of resources that would otherwise be applied to more meaningful areas of the business.
“Another one is government taxes. The only thing Lagos State Government has not taxed is the air we breathe at WABIO Place. Okay, I’m exaggerating, but the taxes are unbelievable, distracting, disruptive, embarrassing and irritating. I often try, but I may never understand these things called TV bill, radio bill (even when I do not possess one), signage bill that I do not have on the outside. A lot of business-debilitating nonsense, but we trudge on,” she said.
Japa
Ebele said her hope in Nigeria totally encapsulates her reason of not joining the japa trend. She said her immediate family has always told her that being in the tourism industry may have contributed to her position, seeing that she does a lot of japaing every now and again, in the course of her work.
In the course of her job, she said she has seen what life in a few countries is like, and is convinced that there is no place like home.
“But if ‘home’ isn’t working for you, I’m all for finding it elsewhere, while hoping for the best. Something of importance is the fact that makeup artistry is a useful skill for both personal and commercial use for life abroad. This is why a significant number of our participants for the Professional Makeup Training at WABIO Place are those planning to gain an additional skill before they japa. So you see, it would be unfair of me to japa. Who will train them here in Nigeria? I went all the way to London to study Makeup Artistry, just so that they are fully equipped for life at home and abroad.”
Ebele and her many parts
Ebele is a Customer Service Expert, Etiquette Coach, Compère and Image Consultant. Born in Enugu State, bred in Abia State, Schooled in Akwa-Ibom and Lagos States, married in Anambra State, adopted by Cross River State, crowned in the FCT and Kingston (Jamaica). Ebele, like the numerous states she has ties with, is a woman of many interesting parts.
Ebele has designed and facilitated over 750 training sessions engaging more than 20,000 Participants on both virtual and in-person platforms in Nigeria and within Africa. Ebele is the Founder of WABIO Foundation, an NGO dedicated to the cause of womanhood.