Women Entrepreneurs And Business Efforts 

Years back women derived pleasure in  being full time house wives, working from one side of their homes to the other all day long.
They laboured in house keeping, sweating to take care of their children, husbands, relatives, homes and other things that mattered to their husbands, without being seen as support or contributing to the upkeep of their homes.
This scenario rubbed off on womanhood as parents found in difficult to train their female children but rather exposed them to trade and contribute to the training of their male siblings, with the strong saying that, “Women’s Education Ends In Kitchen”.
However, things started changing as the likes of Lady Koti and others stood their ground to achieve success in education, business and even politics changing the saying to, “ What A Man Can Do, A Woman Can Do Better.
The latter challenges women to make moves to acquire education, skills and whatever would help them to compete favourably with their male counterparts.
There is now no field where you will not see women taking their places beside their male counterparts at the professional and non-professional levels.
This week’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) edition, looks at how women are meeting the challenges of combining their duties as house wives with the provision of financial support to their families.
Read on:

To Mrs Beauty Edafinkomi, who deals on Ok children clothing in Mile 1 Market, “it is disastrous for a woman to be full time house wife in this present age. A woman must work to support the family, no matter how small.
“When a wife is not doing anything to support her husband financially, it exposes a man to depression, especially in this harsh economic situation of the country.
“Without support, the man gets angry over little things and most times becomes aggressive when he thinks of house rents, school fees, upkeep, health and other financial pressures facing him without support”.
The children wears dealer reiterated that gone are the days when women sit at home doing only house chores.
Edafinkomi who has been in business for over 20 years now, said that, “majority of people selling in the market are women, adding that her business gives her joy, as well as make her independent.
“When I sit down, check and know that I have been able to survive without begging people for anything, it also helps me to take care of my family, while maintaining my intergrity as a christian”.
On how she has survived over these years, she said it has been the grace of God, hard work, commitment and consistency, adding that, “since President Muhammadu Buhari came into office, the prices of things have been unnecessarily very high due to border closure and other operational policies.
“Some women want to do business but have no capital, so government should help women especially widows by giving them soft loans. This will in turn impact the economy of the country”.

An entrepreneur in the medical industry, who owns Goodcare Medical store, Mrs Goodluck Uchemadu, a nurse by profession, said women are trying these days in business compared to those days when we had many full time house wives.
“Many women are even doing better than men in business. Maybe because of the hardship and challenges in the country.
“I have been in business for eight years now. To be an entrepreneur is good and it gives one confidence even before people who know you are contributing to the upkeep of the family.
“Even if your husband as a millionaire and tells you to sit at home and take care of the children, you can start doing online businesses and be solving some problems instead of asking him for every of your needs”, Uchemadu said.
According to the nurse, being active in business activities also helps one to stay healthy and keep fit, in addition to burning excess fats in the body system.
On the secret of business success, she said many women/men do not separate their business money from the one used for family upkeep, stressing, “there is need to keep records of business transactions. Keep records of your gains, losses, in and outflows of your capital.
She called on government to support business women/men with loans and grants, which she said would result to business expansion, creating more employment that would better the society.

A young mother/entrepreneur, Mrs. Gbenewa Pretty Godfirst, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pentagon Touch Fashion Home said, “there are so many reasons why some women stay at home. 
“After all, I work from home. Not everyone at home is idle. Gifted women need financial push. Being idle will lead to poverty. And I urge women to get up and work with their hands and relieve their spouse of some burden, so we will have less widows in the society.
“Apart from the challenge of the capital of a standard business, I will say women are putting in more effort in business than men. Most men prefer to die poor doing a white collar job than going into business. Especially those with certificates,”
The CEO, who said she started sewing at the age of seven with needles, noted that skills put food on people’s table, except the lazy ones who want to be begging to survive.
Skills have reduced unemployment “drastically. And I think the government should empower youths financially. 
Mrs. Godfirst, who designs and makes shoes, bags, hangers, caps and more with Ankara materials said, in five years time, “I see God establishing me with the exact picture. He had given me. My products will be in every home in Nigeria”.
She noted that the traditional marriage wears of herself and her husband, even her maids were made by her, adding that finance has been her major handicap from attending fashion festivals.

By: My Business with Lilian Peters