Success can sometimes be found in the most unexpected places. It could lurk in detested and pitiful areas, and is then only achieved by those who have the guts to ignore all the pain and shame that comes with the process, and remain focused till they strike gold.
This type of success resonates hope for people who run odd businesses or side-hustles, and feel they’re only spinning in circles with no hope of real success to eventually come their way.
This is the success story of Ayo Megbope, a Moi-Moi (bean cake) seller who hustled against all odds to eventually grow a successful business with a turnover of over $100,000 a year!
See Also: How This African Entrepreneur Made Over A Million Dollars From Needle & Thread
Here’s how she did it:
The Early Work-Life Of Ayo Megbope
Ayo Megbope was a trained confidential secretary, who worked at the Corona Schools, in Lagos, Nigeria, for nine years. After working with Corona for so long, she decided to quit her job to start a playgroup.
To achieve this, Ayo Megbope signed up for a six months Montessori program to understand everything about the business. But by the time the program had ended, she lost total interest and was no longer motivated to run a play group, because according to her, it was no longer exciting.
Now without anything to do, Ayo Megbope started cooking for her sister-in-law, so she could keep herself busy. She would make all kinds of meals from soups to stews, and a lot more.
Then one day, her sister-in-law visited her, only to meet her family having a meal of Moi-Moi (baked beans). Ayo had prepared this meal from the last 1,000 Naira ($3) they had in their home, given to her by her husband to prepare dinner.
The Moi-Mois were so tasty that her sister-in-law asked that she started preparing Moi-Moi for her inclusive. In the process, her sister-in-law’s friends and colleagues started placing orders for the Moi-Mois from Ayo Megbope.
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Small Successes
In about three months from selling her Moi-Mois to family and friends, her monthly turnover was already between 30,000 to 40,000 Naira.
At this point, she realised she was on to something and had to maximise her profit margins, since the best way to run any business would be to have a high turnover.
Finding a place to grow her trade was now difficult. After much ado, she decided she’d go back to the school she used to work at, to see if she could sell them some of her Moi-Mois.
According to an interview Ayo Megbope had, she said; “I would show up in my rickety Peugeot car, with wraps of moin-moin in a cooler. I would stand at the school gate, and begin to call each parent by their first name or their children’s names, and attempt to sell them moin-moin. They were used to seeing me in skirt or trouser suits, but were now seeing me in Ankara outfits. It was an humbling experience. They were like, sebi we told you not to leave Corona but you did, see what you are selling now. Moi Moi. This is bad….but i sold still”
But as soon as they started patronising her and buying her Moi-Mois, they started requesting for other delicacies like meats, stews, soups, and a lot more.
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Her Big Break
At this point, Ayo Megbope could not really account for what she was making because she kept no real records, despite her revenues growing. Then she read in the newspapers that a United Nations team was coming to Nigeria to invest in women-owned businesses. It was a partnership between Goldman-Sachs and the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) at the Pan Atlantic University, to empower about 10,000 women entrepreneurs.
Every participant was required to write and submit an essay. Ayo Megbope did that by simply writing what she was doing, which was selling and hawking Moi-Moi in front of a school.
The 5-months long program opened her up to information she wish she had known a long time ago. It showed her how to structure her business, organise her finances, build great communication skills, and improve her customer service experience.
The Growth And Expansion Of Her Business
By the end of the program, her business, now called No Left Overs Nigeria Limited, experienced a major overhaul. She opened a bank account, has now hired nearly 50 staffs, including temporary workers, and got her accounting right. She went from a one-product business to becoming a full-on catering outfit, servicing over 1,000 people.
Her Moi-Moi sales in one week alone, was now able to pay all the staffs salaries in a month, and this was a major milestone.
Within a year from her time at the Goldman Sachs training done in partnership with the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) at the Pan Atlantic University, she was finally able to purchase a delivery van.
See Also: How A Former Vulcanizer Made Over $100 Million Dollars
Her Achievements Today
Ayo Megbope’s success was so remarkable that she was invited to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Goldman Sachs, was on the panel of the Turkish Prime Minister’s Global Summit on Entrepreneurship, and has held meetings with former American first lady Michelle Obama and former American president Bill Clinton.
To Sum It All Up
Ayo Megbope is an inspiration to entrepreneurs who run odd businesses and feel they’re wasting their time. She has shown that no matter how petty a startup’s products and services may be, positioning your business at the right place, with the right price, and constantly improving your knowledge, will set you up for success.
See Also: How This African Woman Built A Million Dollar Business From Helping The Less Privileged
What are your thoughts on this inspiring success story of Ayo Megbope? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
all I can say is wow!!! when opportunity meets a prepared mind
Thank you for the comment Dex.
One need to open both outer and inner eyes to free himself or herself from economic slavery.
The outer eyes are physical eyes and inner eyes is mind where good thoughts arises and it is the one that empowers and elevates one to stardom.
Thank you for the comment, Abraham.
I know great things are happening but I find this odd but I believe it. Starting small growing big is the slogan.
Thank you for the contribution Didi.
Have a great time!
How can I contact her, please?
LinkedIn should be a great place to start.
Thank you Stan for this inspiring story. I have consumed this moi-moi in the past and always imagined there would be a beautiful story behind the lovely product. These kind of stories inspire and encourage others, very different from the looting and killings we see everyday in the headlines of our newspapers. The story also shows training, especially business training is important for business men and women. Most Nigerians say they do business but what percentage have any business training? Opportunities! Opportunities ! Opportunities! Thanks again for bringing this story out. I will share it everywhere i can. God bless you.
I’m glad you found the article valuable.
Thank you for reading and sharing Korede.
Do have a great time!
I love her Courage and persistence. think Big but start small. We all Need to Start.
Thank you for the contribution, David.
This is really inspiring and motivating. I love her spirit. This illustrates the saying: not despising the days of little begining.
Thank you for the comment, Favour.
Im so inspired by this.
I got an audio of her testimony in a group i was in and decided to google her name.
I am starting mine little business hopefully in a month time!Her story has given me hope that with God and determination all things are possible.
I will share my story tot the world someday !
Thank you for reading, Abosede.
I am so so inspired…. I will continue from where I’ve stopped. N I wish I attended d program she was invited at The Crystal Vine Community..
Wow! Ma’am your story is so inspiring nown i know am going somewhere no looking back….
I love the story its really inspiring…she did good in sharing her experience and success with the world
Her story is inspiring. I needed this today!
Waooo! What an inspiring testimony I’d say…this piece actually has awoken me from my long slumber…Thanks for sharing and you know the what.. We’ll see at the top..cheers
They drive through commitment persistently and consistently.
Inspiring story, thanks for sharing sir. I really do appreciate. It clearly shows that there’s always an opportunity to grow our little business and every area we give value. We can start small and be proud to let everyone know what we do, learn to grow our expertise and then we could certainly enjoy higher inflow of profit as well as economies of scale.
This is my second comment today after someone mentioned this woman in a Radio talk this morning.
God normally raise hardworking persons whether male or female from small beginning.
There is a woman like that that started food canteen in a Mechanic Village near my office at Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos. She has grown her business to build another one at the back of Lagos State Government Secretariat and Ikeja City Mall,moved from rented space in the Mechanic Village to more spacious, acquired, beautifully refurbished and owned Three floor (two storey) buildings on opposite side of the road.
I read this story and I’m inspired. I would really love to know how she crafted her essay with her story and was able to qualify for the UN training. I’ll be so glad to connect with her on a personal level to learn from her and I’ll really appreciate if you can help with this @Stan Edom
Thanks for sharing the story