In this week's uncovered conversation, I will be joined by my guest, Dunni Oladapo. She is a digital creator who focuses on producing wholesome content and uses her platform to speak on important issues such as body image. Her ventures include a design studio and wig company, that produce quality products leaving a unique touch.
Join us as we delve into the topic of personal and business finance, as well as first-time mistakes when budgeting in both aspects of finance.
Rhieme: Hi Dunni, thank you for joining us, can you please tell us about yourself?
Dunni: Hi, I’m a 19-year old student, a content creator and currently run two businesses as a hairstylist and a graphic designer – Ruaach Hair and Ruaach Studio.
Rhieme: What’s your take on finances? Do you see them as important?
Dunni: Finances are very very important. I believe it’s important to be diligent with our money, whether it’s personal or business finance. I’ve had my experience with both and I think they’re very important to take into consideration if you’re actually a living being and you’re working.
Rhieme: What are some of the everyday struggles you face regarding managing your finances?
Dunni: For me, the hardest thing is budgeting and actually keeping to the budget. This mostly comes up when I decide to go grocery shopping and agree to spend £30 pounds but end up spending £40 because I saw this drink or that chocolate bar. Sometimes I don’t stick to the list or even have one at times. That takes self- control, I don’t really have much but I’m trying my best! It’s definitely a learning curve.
Rhieme: Definitely, with shopping it’s so easy to pick random things, you actually have to control yourself and know your limits.
Rhieme: As a business owner, what are some of the struggles you face? You recently relaunched your hair business, how did you raise capital? There are many people who want to start but don’t know where to begin.
Dunni: I actually didn’t start off with any money. When I was finding my vendor and testing hair, I was using my own money and it was actually just me buying hair for myself. I was actually just favoured cause the vendor was really good, and didn’t require bulk orders. So I was able to do it on a pre-order basis. My friends were my first customers, so I didn’t have to worry too much about marketing or advertising, because they were my brand ambassadors. They could vouch for the hair to their friends.
Retaining money and working on pricing was quite hard. I wasn’t very business-minded then as I started at 16 and I’m still learning now. I didn’t know how to retain the money in the bank account because I had to buy hot tools like hot combs and straighteners, which came from my business account not my personal account. It was last year I considered buying hair in bulk cause my profit margins were not really great as my prices fluctuated. So I decided to do a mini rebrand, redo my pricing, find a new vendor but that required money. I ended up asking my mum for some help especially during black Fridays where order mass increased substantially–I needed extra hair.
Rhieme: Hmm, that’s definitely a different take.Sometimes people feel they have to rely on friends and family to help them raise capital. But you used your pocket money which emphasises you can actually start with what you’re given, as long as you have a plan.
Rhieme: Would you say you had/have a plan in terms of how you’re going to use your finances towards your business? For example, allocating money to hair supplies, dye?
Dunni: At the beginning I only had a rough plan. When I found out I didn’t need up to a £1000 to get hair, I decided to continue with the pattern of using affordable vendors. But now that the business is more led by God, it’s more of investing in myself. There are a lot of sacrifices that have to be made. My personal finances push my business finances. I’m not really worried about profit right now, because I know profit will be made. I have vision and direction which I didn’t have before. Now I’m leaning on God, not myself. Everything I invest I’m going to get back, it’s okay if I don’t see profit at first. Things are being put in place which is more important as the foundations will attract people.
Rhieme: Focusing on systems is so important. Sometimes we focus too much on profit when there are no systems in place.
Rhieme: You also brought in your faith. Would you say it has impacted how you steward over your finances?
Dunni: For sure, both personal and business finance. There’s no reason why I should spend recklessly.There was a time last year where I could use all I had to buy clothes. There was a day I used everything in my bank account, and I never ended up getting the clothes cause they never shipped. So that was a lesson in itself. Around April my faith kick started again, and that was when I decided things have to change. Doing business God’s way, you have no other choice but to improve. Right now I don’t have a business budget cause we’re not making money at the moment, but for my personal finances, definitely, I’ve been progressing.
Rhieme: You’ve explained that your faith plays a role in how you run your business. Do your financial plans change based on where God is directing you with your business or not really?
Dunni: For sure, God is teaching me that money isn’t bad, it’s about how you approach and use it. As I said, we’re not making any money currently, it’s more of investment. When we start to make money, the financial plan is going to change as God leads. It’s His business, not mine. I know they will because there’s more to just investing, at a point you have to look beyond investment.
Rhieme: That’s so key, sometimes we’re reluctant to invest because we ask ourselves what if this doesn’t yield any returns? But when you think about it, if God is leading you to make an investment, you’re going to receive returns. It may not be monetary, it could be a business idea that will yield even more than you expected. A lot of us are scared to make moves, but it’s about asking ourselves is it based on pressure or direction from God?
Dunni: Even with God aside, you are still operating at a risk as a business owner. There’s still an element of faith you have to place in your decisions. But what is your faith rooted in? I don’t hear God saying buy everything, I just know I need something, and a decision has to be made in faith. Mistakes will be made, that’s fine. What is important is you pick yourself up and trust in God’s leading. It might seem like you made a mistake, but it might still pay you in the future.
Rhieme: Also looking at things from a practical perspective.If you want to start something, you’re starting because you’ve never done it before, that’s a risk on its own. We try and calculate every move or sometimes look at others that have started similar things to what we want to do and compare their success rate to ours. But the truth is you don’t know what the outcome will be, but a risk has to be made, you’ve never done this, so just go for it. Always ask yourself your ‘why'. Are you doing it from a place of faith or fear?
Rhieme: With your finances at stake, did you feel pressure to re-start during your break?
Dunni: Honestly, I wasn’t that worried because I stopped taking orders based on the season I was in. I had been in business for almost 3 years, and a break was needed. Yes I want to make money, but there’s more to it. I had to prioritise my mental health at that point in time. So, it was more of a sowing season at the time, I actually didn’t know what was next for the business. I thought God would say forget this business haha. But the pressure wasn’t there. There’s going to be a cost with everything you do, but are you enjoying it more than it costs you? That’s what’s important.
Rhieme: You spoke about your sowing season. Does your business change based on the season you’re in? Are there times where you focus on strategising, planning or do you find yourself constantly executing?
Dunni: We’ve been back in business since March, so I don’t have that much experience. But the previous season I was in and currently, is a sowing season. We’re only taking consultations and preparing for the launch. We’re trying to engage people and build up momentum because that is more important. There are different ways to do it and God might give someone in the same industry a different strategy, but it's more than running a business. It also involves my personal development. In different seasons you can be called to different things, it’s not always about executing, that’s not the most effective way. We have to take time out to let God pour into us and increase our vision, because I don’t know where this business will be next month, or even in 10 years, it’s as God leads. It’s trusting God, knowing He has my best interest at heart.
Rhieme: That’s so good. It’s so important to move the focus from you to God.
Rhieme: What tips will you give anyone who wants to start, and is unsure of where to begin financially?
Dunni: Firstly, do it with God. Because you’ll be operating from a place of ease. You’ll know everything doesn’t depend on you. True vision only comes from God–He’ll show you where the business can go. Before the rebrand, I had no vision and God said to start afresh. You need to establish your vision, what is your business for, what are your products for? Who are you helping? That will sustain you when it gets hard and you want to give up. When you have vision from God, you won't give up. It’s not something you've birthed yourself, God is birthing that in you.
Also, having back up finance–that was my personal finance. Don’t worry too much about profits, keep investing because they will come back. Of course it’s a risk, but that’s why I said to do it with God. There’s always a risk with investment, but do you have enough faith in God to know you will get something back even if it’s not in the way you expect? It’s not really about what you have to lose, but what you have to gain. Even if you gain nothing [tangibly], you have increased your faith and trust in God. I can’t speak about business from another side, because I was on the other side and the grass is honestly greener over here haha. Everything you do with God will always flourish.
Invest in your gifts as well. This is a sowing season for me, if it’s not making wigs, it’s my content creation, running my page, engaging with people. I don’t even have a product yet but do people know what the business is about? Do I engage with people? Your gifts will make space for you but you have to take time to nurture them. You might also want to work on your own personal finance, it’ll certainly impact how you manage finances with your business. I’ve moved from a monthly budget to a weekly budget. I have a Monzo account and use the spending pots feature on it to know exactly what’s going in what and how much I should have weekly. So do it with God, prioritise personal finance and have faith in your decisions. You’re a steward of what you have, have faith that things will increase as you do more with what you have.
Rhieme: Thank you so much, this has been so helpful. Investing in ourselves is so important. Whilst there are financial investments, there are things we can do to build ourselves up that will have an impact on our financial investments.
For hair or digital design related questions, please contact Dunni on her instagram at @dunni.oladapo, @ruaachhair, and @ruaachstudio.
Thank you for reading, stay tuned for next week!
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