By Feranmi
Hey, Jerry!!! Longest time. How are things with you now? I hope you have occupied yourself doing something since we departed from school because I know you well. Hoe you’re not just chilling and whiling away time at home. For me I started executing my plans few weeks after we left high school.
I’m so sure that by the time you see how far I’ve progressed, you’ll be surprised to discover the level I’ve attained and I’m operating at in my conglomerate (hehehe) most especially my tomato business.
Funny enough I recall vividly back then when we were still in school, I told you all my plans, you dusted them off saying that I won’t go far because it wasn’t gonna work but now I’ve gone far, farther than you can imagine. When we left school, my mom and I started working towards my conglomerate..em..actually, my business outfit. It was easy working with my mom because she’s also business-oriented.
I started with natural cosmetics but inadequate finance was a major issue. Then I had to revert and take a look at my plans. Luckily for me, I saw one lying dormant there… looking at me straight in the eyes…saying take me and you won’t regret. So far, since I took that particular plan on, I’m so happy to say that I got no regrets.
Boom!!! I picked up the tomato processing and preservation business, and I am on the run with it.
People need to eat and survive. If they can do away with clothing and cosmetics for a while, they definitely cannot pose for food. Try it, and you will be dancing up there with the angels. I started with home-made tomato paste which can last for a duration of two years, then I moved on to drying tomatoes and grinding them. The dried one would help those living in desert areas and even students. It’s also easy to transport.
I recall one of those days when I made a profit of #7,000 from ten baskets of dried tomatoes. It took my time but it paid off in the long run.
I mean instead of staying at home for a year doing nothing while waiting for admission, I engaged my self gainfully and became the manager of a small company. You didn’t even ask who the CEO was, it’s a secret but I’ll dispose it to you, the CEO is GOD. He helped me and He’s still helping me. He opened up opportunities for me, so it’s His business, I am just manning it here in this corner of the earth
I also went further to producing curry, spices, dried red pepper, paprika, ‘shombo’, and dried yellow pepper. Oh, I forgot to tell you: my tomatoes come in different forms, one can have it in crushed form, blended form, mixed form with pepper and onions either blended or crushed.
From this point, I progressed to looking for investors who could invest in my business, then we can share the dividends together. Sadly for me, I didn’t have a business plan, I’m still on the outlook for someone that could help prepare a business plan to enable investors come in.
There’s more in this business than I thought and so far so good, God has been helping me.
The next time you’ll be hearing from me, I ‘ll probably be Nigeria’s youngest female entrepreneur. See you then, Jerry.
▪︎ Feranmi, an agropreneur in Jos, Plateau State, sent this piece via WhatsApp. She can be reached at info@everyday.ng