A (2:23)

I love money.

B (2:25)

Let's talk about money.

A (2:26)

Right.

B (2:27)

There's a temptation to carry on, but I want to talk about money.

A (2:31)

Talk about money.

B (2:32)

So let's do this right. So you came to Accra?

A (2:35)

Yeah.

B (2:36)

And then you started your service?

A (2:38)

Yeah.

B (2:39)

Okay, now talk me through the journey from there to starting your business.

A (2:41)

Okay. So when I was coming to our car, I had met someone. And then the person was like, he's opening a shop. Then he would need someone to manage the shop. An apple shop. It's going to be big. And then he needed someone to take out the shop and he realized I was respectful and, you know, all that. So instead of going to the field to work like my colleagues, I went to work in an apple shop somewhere around Sphinxes. So right when I was working there, things were getting weird, you know, men and women stuff. So I was like, no, I want to end it. So I didn't even complete my service. I completed in seven months. So I went to the NSS office and filed for completion. So I just finished. And then I only stay home trying to figure out what to do. So I had an opportunity to go and work with someone, work under someone in the construction field. But I wasn't getting much from it. It's like I wake up, go to work, and I'm not being paid. I'm not learning anything. If I want to be on the site with you, I want to learn. Not just I want to learn on the job as well. But I wasn't getting that. So I was like taking. I mean, I'm taking transportation in and out, I'm eating, I'm spending about 20 cities daily. That was like a lot of money for me. And I'm not getting paid. Just I saved a lot from my previous work. So I was surviving on that for a while and I realized, no, my money is going to get finished, so I'm not going to go to work again. I woke up, I went to work one day and I was so depressed. I wouldn't say depressed, but so sad. I cried, I cried, I cried. I called my friend, I was like, come back home. So I went back home and I never showed up to the work again. And then I stayed home for about two years. And just to, you know, clarify stuff, I met someone. I mean, someone, a guy from my workplace was doing well. So that two years that I was home, you know, he came through for me. But I realized the Relationship was not serving me again. And then right from then I started

B (4:35)

Femlux, the relationship was not serving you?

A (4:38)

No, because I didn't want to be at home and not doing anything. It's like I'm. I'm at home, I'm not doing anything. I'm not making any money. I have to depend on a man. And I wasn't comfortable. So I started planning do. So I was doing so many other things, but I wasn't. It wasn't passion. I was just doing it. And I wasn't seeing any results. I was like, I love feminine hygiene, you know, and that's where Femlast came about.

B (5:02)

Yeah. But then where did you get the money to start the business?

A (5:05)

Good. So as I said, I didn't start with any money. I didn't start. I just had the idea. I didn't even have the idea. Let me start from. Let's start from the beginning. So I buy from some lady, and then I realized she's selling something that I'm interested in. And I've used that product before. And I bought it around like 350 cities, but she was selling it way lesser than I bought. I bought mine. So I was like, I think a lot of ladies would need this. So I bought from her and tested it. And I didn't even. It didn't come to my mind. When I bought stuff first, I wasn't thinking about business. I said I wanted to try it because instead of buying for 350, someone is saying, it's lesser. Let me try it. If it works, then I'll be buying from her. So I bought it, it worked, and I forgot about it. Then one day my friend came and was like, she's looking for something. I was like, oh, I buy from this lady. Not the same product, though. She wanted something. And I realized that lady sells the same thing. So let me go to the page. I went to the page and I saw it and I was like, I'm making a big mistake. I can make a business out of it. So let me go and speak to this lady. So I called my friend and I was like, I found a business idea. I want to start selling this product. It was like, are you sure? How are you going to start the money? So we were on the phone for hours planning, and I was like, going to do drop shipping. More or less like drop shipping. I'm going to buy from her. I mean, when people. I'll post it. When people buy, I forward it to her, the order to her, and then she would deliver to the people. So I spoke to the lady and I was like, I'm going to post your product. If people likes it, then you would deliver to them for me. And right there, the same day, we came up with the idea. By noon in the afternoon, I posted it. And really, I posted so many people in the first 24 hours of my business, I got more than 100 orders.

B (6:50)

Wow.

A (6:50)

I got more than 100 orders. That should tell you how much people needed that product.

B (6:56)

Where did you post Snapchat?

A (6:59)

I started my business from Snapchat. I didn't know how to use. I mean, I knew how to use other social medias, but Snapchat was where I was very active. I had little followers. So. But then that's the same day I came up with a business idea. I knew one influencer, so I paid her right away to post it for me.

B (7:14)

So I went, where did you get the money to pay her?

A (7:16)

I had saved from my previous relationship. I saved about 10k that time. 10k was like big money.

B (7:22)

So this person that you were with was a very good guy to you,

A (7:24)

Good, very kind care of you. He did.

B (7:27)

In fact, that's how you were surviving at the time.

A (7:30)

Yeah. Okay. So he was doing well. And I also tried to save, not just spend and, you know, enjoy the life at that moment. So I saved with my friend, not with myself because I know I'll spend it. So I saved with my friend. And then I didn't start the business with money duba. I needed money to make it move. So the others were coming in. I was forwarding it to this lady and I think she was swamped with the others. She didn't know what to do again and was like, it's stressful. She can't do it again. At that moment, I didn't know, like, that was 24 hours into the business.

B (8:03)

And she said, it's stressful, she can't do it again.

A (8:05)

She doesn't know because she. I mean, she's not used to. Because the people and people believed me and they were paying. At that time, no one was coming to me with, let me do payment on delivery stuff when you come and how I even thought. I mean, I just put the price there and people were ready to pay. I was like, really? People are ready to pay? Just like that. So they were paying and I was forwarding it to her. And then she started delivering the next day. I think we started in the evening. So the next day she started delivering. And then that was where I also thought of making it better because she was just putting it in a rubber and sending it out. And a product of that magnitude, you can't just send it out just like that. It was risky.

B (8:45)

Okay?

A (8:46)

So that is where the idea started from forwarding it to her. And then I was paying the influencer to keep posting it, keep posting it for me, because the orders are coming. And in a span of 24 hours, I've made about 20,000 Ghana cities, even more. Okay.

B (9:03)

And I was like, wow, just selling on Snapchat.

A (9:05)

Snapchat alone, no other platform. I didn't even like WhatsApp. I didn't. I didn't even. I didn't like TikTok, Instagram, those stuff. I didn't like it. I think it was a year into my business before I started TikTok and just Snapchat. But that one, you need to pay influencers. And I didn't mind so far as the money was coming. I was just paying them to, you know, keep posting for me, keep posting for me. And then the others were coming. Connected Minds Podcast.