Right so I'm on the hunt for inspiring young people doing their thing. To start off this series, allow me to introduce you to Sarah, a young entrepreneur. Have a look below into what she had to say about her business and how she started it.
Where do your inspirations come from?
S'ALONGE
So what is the name of your company?
The name of my Company is S’Alongé (www.salonge-designs.com) and we are a fashion retail company who specialise in creating African inspired designs. I guess the difference between us and others is that we store a maximum of 5 prints.
There is nothing worse than walking into any function feeling absolutely sexy and then you turn to the left and see another woman in the same outfit! (Unless of course it’s a wedding or a party and its planned) And for that reason we have now launched a new venture mass-supplying material specifically for customers hosting a function and they intentionally want their guests to be in one particular print.
For all of my Nigerians you will know it as Aso Ebi and for non-Nigerians, you know when you look on instagram and you see a load of guests wearing the same vibrant print in a number of different styles? Yeah…We now supply that.
So why did you decide to go into fashion?
It's a funny one. I love my culture and I love business. So when I saw girls wearing this Chiffon material in a tradition African style that our parents wear I had to get involved! So as oppose to just buying 10 of my own I thought why don’t I start a business. So I did.
Any concerns or fear before you started?
YES! What if no one other than my friends buys my collection? What if I don’t find something new to do when the trend ends? I didn't start S’Alongé to be a seasonal business. I started it in order to build my empire.
How did you actually begin your business and how did it go from an idea to a physical manifestation?
So one thing about me is when I have an idea I run with it. I had the idea for S’Alongé in May. By June I’d done the photo shoot and by July I launched the website. This all took a lot of faith and planning but it was ambition, drive and God who got me here. I sat down I identified a gap in the market that I could fill, I researched the best quality suppliers for the fabric and seamstresses to ensure I could still be competitive and make a profit. The reason everything happened so fast is because I responded to every lead and took every opportunity that I could. I have an amazing support system and a mother who has been in the trading business for over 10 years so it wasn't long before I started to use the skills and knowledge that I had learnt watching her all of these years.
It depends what you mean. As a Business woman trying to be amazing, my inspiration comes from men and women who despite all odds trail blaze in whatever they do. I have the great privilege of having a strong mother and a strong professional mentor who are both women who are successful in their own right and a father who has had his owns businesses for over 2 decades. As a creative director in the line of fashion that I work in, my inspiration is my culture! Everything from the colours and the prints! And as Sarah Alonge a 23 year old female, my biggest inspiration is my fiancé. He reminds me constantly of the woman I want to be and the mother and wife I hope to be in the future.
What has been your biggest Challenge?
Biggest challenge…where do I start! Finding creative ways to minimize expenditure. I didn't take out any loans to start the business neither did I really have a business plan. So all the money I invested was money I saved, money that was short term invested and money from my loved ones such as my father in-law to be who by the way thinks I used the money on holiday lol Thanks My Jose J. But I digress..Because of the financial set up of the company, I couldn't outsource people for things like the website. So having to learn to do things that I have never done before was exceptionally tricky.
What has been your biggest success so far?
Oh that is such a hard one but I guess featuring in the Future London Fashion show this summer. It was such a success and I was exceptionally honoured that I was even invited so yeah that was great!
If you had to describe yourself in just 3 words, how would you?
Resilient, Focused and Driven .
If you could give one piece of advice, what would it be?
No one will ever see your creativity if you do not share it. There is nothing worse than having a vision out live you. Just start despite the odds. It is a competitive industry.
Can you recommend any key contacts,organisations that could help?
STARTUPS in general are great. It is hard to share individual contacts but what I found is that people starting up tend to be exceptionally hard working, they will offer you a great rate and they understand. Yes companies who have been doing photography, consulting etc for a longer period of time will have more experience but Startups are great for what you need at the beginning stages of a company.
Much love to Sarah for sharing her story, If you're interested in purchasing a piece, which I myself plan to do, go to
www.salonge-designs.com Follow SAlongeDesigns on twitter
Be you and Be true to who you are.
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