We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lola Oyenuga-Aborishade a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lola thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Taking care of customers isn’t just good business – it is often one of the main reasons folks went into business in the first place. So, we’d love to get a conversation going around how to best help clients feel appreciated – maybe you can share something you’ve done or seen someone do that’s been really effective at helping a customer feel valued?

Customers drive my business. I am a major proponent of taking care of your customers and your customers will take care of you. Having a repeat customer or a new customer based on a referral is major in business. You connected and did many things right with that initial encounter. I highly regard my customers and want them to know they are the most important part of AyoNi Ankara. Furthermore, one of my biggest goals is to connect artisans in Nigeria to the diaspora with their purchases. I find many of my customers ask questions of the products and the country. This gives me us an opportunity to educate on different aspects of my country. I offer sales, discounts and offer free items with purchases. How many people spend money where they do not feel appreciated? Not many people I know do!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was born in LA, but both of my parents are from Nigeria. I have always had an affinity for my culture. My husband is Nigerian and he is still very much connected to the country. when the pandemic hit and we were trying to figure things out for our family; we decided it was time to connect our culture to the diaspora. The connection many felt over the course of the last few years, with movies such as Black Panther and more favorable discussions of the continent, it was an excellent time to marry our two cultures. Though my husband started the business, I started digging in deep over the last year and a half. I love to see the pieces come to life on our amazing customers. I get to play with clothes, provide affordable #Wakandaforever wear and support artisans in my native country. It truly is the perfect match.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I am a proud social worker. I have been in the field for over 18 years. Although I love what I do, this was not my goal in college. I went to college with the intent of being a corporate attorney like one of my aunts. She lived in London but traveled between Nigeria and the US frequently. As a young child, I was impressed by her jet setting so I decided early that was the life I wanted. Well, things did not quite work out that way. I changed my major a few times, played around quite a bit before I finally graduated. By the time I graduated, I need to health insurance and fell into a position with the Department of Family and Children Services. I had no idea who DFCS was, but I was about to learn. I learned so many things about the world, people and myself during this time. I believe the most important lesson I learned is that I loved helping people and wanted to remain connected to this field somehow. After taking a practice LSAT exam that I passed with a decent score but could not wrap my mind around; I decided to work on my MPA with the encouragement of one of my professors, who also served as my advisor. I completed my program of study and began searching for a way to move around within the department. I knew for sure my advanced degree and experience would catapult me, I was wrong. I had the experience but the wrong degree. Ultimately, I made the decision in 2012 to return to school for my MSW. I was also able to obtain employment outside of the middle Georgia area with the same organization that I am still currently employed with. Going back to school for my MSW, as much as I fought it has absolutely been one of the best decisions I made for my career.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I find that majority of our sales come when we participate in pop-up shops. I have learned that our customers like to see, touch and feel the items before fully committing. I completely understand this and I know the value of word of mouth marketing. I stand firm on a few different principles – affordability, customer service and quality. I participate in pop-up shops and I find ways to connect with each person that I encounter, even if they don’t make a purchase. I know that that connection in person will somehow bring more clientele. I focus heavily on the principles we started the business on as I see how far we’ve come in business in this short time.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ayoniankara.com
• Instagram: ayoni_ankara