Lois: ‘Why I chose to be a water vendor’

Lois Seway Timothy is a young entrepreneur and the MD/CEO of Loway Table Water located in Fadan Karshi, Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna state. Lois who will be 26 by early August, holds a B.Sc. in Political Science from Bingham University in Nasarawa state. She tells WEEKEND how she chose to own a sachet water factory lately in 2013, raising the capital and its sustenance.

What inspired you to start the project? It is not always about getting a paid job, so I chose to own a water packaging factory. My business idea was always based on solving a need and having a wide range of customers. So I thought of a business that could meet these criteria, water purification came into my mind. My community has always had a great problem of potable water, the weather there encouraged people to drink water a lot, and then, I needed a business with a lot of prospects. That was how I got the idea of water purification and packaging to solve this need. How much capital did you have as start up? With support from the Youth Enterprise with Innovation (YOUWiN) programme and my family, I was able to raise the sum of nine million naira to set up a NAFDAC approved factory. What challenges did you encounter starting up? The first challenge was access road to the factory. I also had the problem of electricity so I was running on diesel generator thereby running at a loss. Due to insufficient infrastructures, my running cost was being diverted to cater for these things, and then the challenge of meeting up demand set since the funds weren’t enough for both production and infrastructural development. The most recent challenge was the security breakdown in the local government. It affected my customer network and even the sustained running of the factory. How are you overcoming these challenges especially on infrastructure? I was able to construct an access road that links the factory. I sought for additional funds from other sources to increase productivity and reduced my production cost as well as alternative power plants’ fuelling. The security situation has also improved as more security personnel are on ground to curtail any outbreak.

Do your customers feel satisfied with your products? Some customers make discouraging demands sometimes, but I have come to learn that if I am able to give them value for their money and satisfy them, it earns me their loyalty. And when there is loyalty, they make recommendations and help you to build a stronger network for the business. So I strive to earn their trust and maintain that. How do you create awareness for your business? I adopted unique marketing and advertising strategies that has helped to expand my business. My product’s quality is the best advert I have as it has gotten a lot of recommendations and extended beyond the community. I also do promotions and reward customers to sustain their patronage. What is the prospect of your factory in few years to come? Shortly from now, I have a plan to expand the venture into plastic cups and bottling lines, and subsequently into fruit juice production. I also plan to make my products available to the Kaduna state capital and to other states. My business is unique and is pervasive to all class of people. The line has great potentials with a promise of double Returns On Investment (ROI) and recouping the N9 million I invested at most within 12 months. I have a prove of that in these few months of its operation.

Do you advise youths to take to your steps or seek white-collar jobs? I will advise youths to be focused, plan well and be very determined. I know that it is not easy for every Nigerian youth to have a white-collar job, so they should think of productive ways they can help themselves and their country. It doesn’t matter if they have the capital or not they should just be determined. They should also be alert and well informed. Governments and various international bodies often present opportunities for youths to make their dreams a reality through financial empowerment. Then it is important to know that no business comes without challenges, so they should be very ready to face it and not think of giving up.