'Success is being Satisfied & happy' —Asagba EjiroOghene

Biopreneur's Interview session would be featuring Asagba EjiroOghene, CEO J.J Classics’ Cakes.

Asagba EjiroOghene is an Undergraduate Student of the Premier University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State. She's a young Entrepreneur with an inspiring startup story and amazing entrepreneurial sense.


Good day Ma. Can we meet you? 

Asagba EjiroOghene

Good day I am Asagba EjiroOghene most people call me Jyro, I’m the owner of J.J Classics’ Cakes by Jyro.


- How did the idea for your business come about?

Well back in secondary school I was broke and I thought to myself well why not start something and sell to my friends so I prayed about it and God dropped the idea of cakes in my mind so yeah I started there and then

- What was your key driving force to become an entrepreneur?

My key driving force was money😂
And of course I knew that on the long run I wanted to have my own side hustle outside school.


- How did you come up with the name for your brand/company?

 My brand name “J.J classics” is a combination of my name and my sisters “Julie and Judith” the brand was originally owned by my mum but she’s passed now and I decided to take on the name by making my own brand “cakes by jyro” a sub division of it.

- How did you raise funding for your venture?

 Like I said I started in secondary school so I started small...I baked cakes and sold in pieces for cheap and my friends are the most supportive so I continued and yeah I’m here today🙂

- How do you build a successful customer base?

My customer base consists of mostly my friends. Where I do the work is putting out good commodities. when one buys they tell another and another and the cycle goes on and on

- How do you market your business, and which tactics have been most successful?

 J.J classics is and online store so I market it through social media. However people have been the most successful marketing tool.

- How many hours a day do you work on average? 

I really do not know but I mostly work through the night from let’s say 8pm to 2am as in the mornings I do more of deliveries and other stuff that I need to do asides baking.

  - How's business and schooling like? 
  
Business and schooling isn’t that hard you just have to find balance. I do not put my business aside when I’m in school although I reduce my baking I still do it but I ensure I create a balance so as to not let either of them be affected as they are both important.

- Can you describe/outline your typical day?

My typical day, I wake up to a call of someone who wants me to deliver a cake for them. After delivering I come back to my chores for the day then go back to sleep. Then I begin my baking for the next day after waking up.


- How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?

Being an entrepreneur hasn’t affected my family life in anyway as I work from home. Only difference is they eat more cakes now😂


- What motivates you?

My future motivates me. I have a lot of dreams concerning my brand that I strive so much to achieve.


- How do you generate new ideas?
I pray.

- What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?

This is a tough question as I have anxiety so managing fear is something I haven’t learnt yet.


- What are your ideals?

My ideal is to be successful. I do not have a specific ideal like to have this amount of bakeries or something. I just want to keep growing bigger and bigger.

- How do you define success?

Success to me is being satisfied and happy. When you get to a stage and you know you’re there or this is what you want then yeah you’re successful. To me, a cab driver could be successful as a cab driver because maybe that was what he saw himself doing and is happy doing it.

- Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?

No I do not, whatever works for you.


- What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?

The money😂 and of course being my own boss.


- What has been your most satisfying moment in business?

My most satisfying moment in my business is right now. Because I keep growing each day and this is the highest I’ve attained in my business yet.

 
- Just like the popular saying; What Is The Difference Between Hard Work And Smart Work?

Well contrary to the believe that smart work is all about shortcuts, I feel like you can’t achieve anything without both of them. You have to work hard (the long hours and sweat) and you also have to be smart and advance. While hard work would mean working hours, smart work would be actually prioritizing your work.


- What piece of advice would you give to college graduates who want to become entrepreneurs?

I’d say you should know your market and also your audience. Do something different even if when you start others follow, it’d be better than you doing what everyone is already doing.


- If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?

Nothing

- What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?

 You should have a long term goal, be willing to learn and of course hand good communicating skills

- What entrepreneurial tricks have you discovered to keep you focused and productive in your day-to-day busy schedule?

I think they’re “tricks” it’s just self Control. If you know you have a lot of work to do, do it.


- What key activities would you recommend entrepreneurs to invest their time in?

 Learning new things from people that are just starting and people that started Before you


-  Who is your mentor or Who has been your greatest inspiration?

My greatest inspiration has been my boss so far. She thought me the basics and it has been since ever helpful to me.

- What business-related book has inspired you the most? (or, What is your favorite book?)

To be honest, I haven’t read any business related book.


- If you had a magic stick, which are the three things you would change in the world?

Stopping the constant deaths, stopping corona virus, removing bad and corrupt leaders in Nigeria.

- What is the part of your life experience you would alter if you had the chance to?

My life experiences have all taught me one thing or the other I wouldn’t alter any.

- If you were to write a book about yourself, how would you name it?

I’d name it “The journey of a young girl”

- Why'd you give it this name?

Because I’m pretty young and looking at my journey I’d say I’ve achieved a lot for my age and I find that I inspire a lot of people despite how little I am so yeah...

Thank you for your time ma.

1 Comments

  1. Folayemi Idowu-PraiseJanuary 12, 2023 at 3:35 PM

    Wonderful, Amazing and Beautiful

    ReplyDelete