In her final year in the University, an ambitious lady decided she wanted to own a cosmetic brand. By this time, she had already learned Fashion Designing and wanted it to flourish along with the cosmetic brand. Sadly, all avail to find where to learn cosmetic production in Nigeria yielded no positive results and she was almost tempted to give up.
Fortunately, she took the bull by the horns and travelled out of the country making her first stop at the United States where she met her first instructor; Perry Romanowski who is a cosmetic chemist. She learnt a great deal from him and did not stop there. So, she enrolled in Institute of Natural & Modern Cosmetech in India. Her determined spirit propelled her further to Sandir Perfume School in Spain and even Formula Botanica in the United Kingdom. She kept on taking short courses; learning and bagging diplomas whenever she could. Not only has she succeeded in launching a beauty line but also founded a Beauty School in Nigeria to help actualise the dreams of Nigerians passionate about the cosmetics industry.
This lady is Ayo Bassey; a serial entrepreneur, cosmetic business coach, certified cosmetic product formulator, perfumer, herbologist and the founder of COC Beauty School. As an expert in her field with an experience of over a decade, here’s what every entrepreneur needs to learn from Ayo Bassey:
As an entrepreneur, client satisfaction must be non-negotiable. “My values are non-negotiable for me. Quality over quantity. I’ll rather work with one solid thing than a bunch of mediocre things. I can never negotiate on client satisfaction. I do everything humanly possible within my principles to ensure a client is satisfied and gets whatever value promised”. This culture is passed on as COC Beauty School alumni are well grounded formulator
Failure is not an option. “Either we win or we figure out a way to win, then win. Failure is not in my dictionary”. “If I had the chance to start my career again, the only thing I would do differently is be more intentional from the start. Apart from that, I won’t change anything because every single detail (whether good or bad) framed me and made me who I am today”.
Every entrepreneur must endeavour to acquire the top skills crucial in his field. Of which two must include; Visionary skill, the ability to visualise the end from the beginning and having a clear direction of what one wants to achieve and why. Business skill, mastering top business secrets and strategies. In cosmetic production, Formulation skill is a necessity; understanding formulation of the ingredients, how they work, how they are used and what to expect when used. A good thing that at COC Beauty School, the students develop all of these skills.
Learn to handle setbacks, challenges, doubts and criticism. “When I’m in doubt, I make a conscious effort to shut out the voices then I think back to how I started, why I started and how many lives have been improved just by coming to my school. I remember their faces and excitement at the end of their course, the confidence they exude and the light in their eyes like they are ready to take on the world! It’s a priceless feeling! When I remember these things, I buckle up and say to myself, God that brought me this far will help me conquer whatever adversity. It’s not a walk in the park but it’s worth it. I genuinely believe that I am destined to do what I’m doing and I believe I have all the grace required to pull through. My faith in God is precisely what keeps me going when things look though”.
Risk is inevitable in business. “Having to shop from some of our local suppliers is a major risk. A lot of our local suppliers currently adulterate their ingredients and this has an adverse effect on products created. The risk of purchasing raw materials without knowing if it has been tampered with or not. Most of the time, we can only determine an ingredient’s authenticity during production and that’s a challenge because by then, you must have already purchased it”.
Set goals. Ayo Bassey’s major goal for 2020 is to ensure that all her mentees become household names, as far as becoming globally recognised. She is also working towards ensuring her school is the number one Beauty School in West Africa. “In years to come, I see myself speaking more at events, launching more products and having the school expand to other countries whilst housing multiple platforms that would merge beauty with entertainment”.
About COC Beauty School
COC Beauty School is a Nigerian based institute that teaches the best of cosmetic product formulation from scratch. “The go-to haven for everything connected to cosmetic product formulation” which follows FDA standards offers 4 major courses; the Skincare Development Technology Programme, Haircare Development Technology Programme, Perfume Development Technology Programme and Makeup Development Technology Programme.
Beauty entrepreneurs who stand out from roadside mixologists or pro-mixers are raised there – impacted with the required formulation skills, sales of the products made and business direction on launching beauty businesses. These “scientifically sound formulators” understand the human skin, the human hair, how they work, what ingredients they can take safely and what they cannot take. They make the safest and most effective products putting into consideration skin type, race and climate. Their knowledge of each ingredient and essentiality of every single production step enables them detect issues and give ideal solutions that are healthy. Students are taught how to test products branding, sales and marketing, registration procedures and customer retention. This year, an additional course will teach all graduates how to scale up and generate better turnover. “Our students come to us knowing nothing about making cosmetic products the right way and they leave as experts with great Interested past students are also given the chance to become instructors.
Away from the classrooms, the school offers extra-curriculum activity such as beauty trade shows. This is to enable them exhibit their products, get new clientele and expose their products to the international market. This year, the destinations are Dubai and Istanbul with Dubai slated for February. “During this tour, students will be learning from 3 of U.A.E’s experts in the field of soap making, perfumery and scented candles exploring Dubai’s raw material market, luxury packaging options and aesthetics learning formulas from the generations before us”.
Also a resource magazine is set to be launched in a few weeks. “It won’t be just a magazine but a career handbook that will aid in the journey of being a cosmetic entrepreneur. It will also serve as a means for us to celebrate our graduates that are doing very well and making us proud,” she said.
Modestus Anesoronye
