Kurtis Oluwatosin Vera, a graduate of History and International Studies from Adekunle Ajasin University, runs a fashion business where she sells footwear, accessories, wears, etc. Her entrepreneurial journey began in 2023 from her home in Ile-Ife, Osun State, few months before resuming school after the 2022 Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.
By Eberechi Obinagwam
Kurtis Oluwatosin Vera, a graduate of History and International Studies from Adekunle Ajasin University, runs a fashion business where she sells footwear, accessories, wears, etc. Her entrepreneurial journey began in 2023 from her home in Ile-Ife, Osun State, few months before resuming school after the 2022 Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.
“The 8-month ASUU strike in 2022 was a major breakthrough for me as I was opportune to meet people with great business ideas while working in an eatery. I learnt that in order to set my business, I needed to get the right audience. I knew at that point that I had to stop procrastinating and launch my brand. I started at home (Ile-Ife) for few months, before resuming school and officially launched my brand, Vera’s Hub in 2023,” she told TheNiche in an interview.
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Kurtis started as a mini drop shipper, words of mouth advertising, ads, and consistent posting on social media platforms. As days went by, she started getting referrals from friends and family, customers from different angles began shopping from her online stores.
Now Vera’s Hub has thousands of customers across the state patronizing her online store. The Hub is also a thriving brand in Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) where she started from.
She said her inspiration for business started from nine years when she would follow her mom, an event planner and mini side business owner, to the shop on weekends. “My mother taught me the value of having a business from an early age. I wanted to have my own money,” Kurtis recalled.
“She made me start going to the shop at Age 9, on weekends, and taught me how to attend to customers. It looked like punishment then, but today I’m grateful for that training.
“I knew the power of making money from an early age and that influenced me to start my business. After graduating, I’ve not had a 9-5 job because I feel business is more thriving. However, I’m of the idea that both can be managed successfully, which I’m working on,” she added.
Sourcing capital
Sourcing capital was not a huge challenge for Kurtis because she started as a mini drop shipper, i.e., selling products online without holding any inventory. However, she said it became a bit of a challenge because she could only buy products when a customer paid, which limited her sales. “But then it was the only way of solving the problem of not having capital,” she said.
Penetrating the market
Kurtis’s challenge in penetrating the market was based on her limited knowledge of fashion sales, which took her a long time to figure out before she started gaining an audience.
“I had a problem penetrating the market because I didn’t have so much knowledge on fashion sales. Technically, I had so much issues with my price range and also with late deliveries. Hence, it took a while for me to figure out the business well like 3-6 months to gain my target audience,” she said.
Logistics experience
Kurtis said her experience with logistics service made her to almost give up. She shared: “There was this particular time when I started that I couldn’t reach out to a driver for 3-5 days. Supplier had sent out their products so it was not their business again and customers needed their goods too. It was really toxic and scary,” she recalled. Laughing out loud, she said: “I said God after this one, I’d stop but guess who is now a friend to all logistics service no, it’s me.”
Breakthrough
Kurtis’s major breakthrough was getting a contract that gave her a huge amount of money for the first time. She said: “I couldn’t sleep because that was the first time a client had paid such a large sum.”
Business challenges
Kurtis is faced with challenges of logistics and price hikes. She notes that delivering goods across Nigeria is tough, citing issues of nonchalant drivers, delayed deliveries, and rising costs.
Japa
Kurtis is staying back to run her business because she believes that Nigeria would definitely get better with time. “Business in Nigeria has thrived despite the challenging economy“, she enthused.
About Kurtis
Kurtis Oluwatosin Vera was born in Port Harcourt. She holds a degree in History and International Studies from Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA). She is the brand owner of Vera’s Hub. She sells her fashion items in bulk and delivers worldwide. Her social media handle is Vera’s Hub.
