Hi everyone! Welcome to another episode, we hope you've found this season helpful so far. At Uncovered Conversations, we're committed to supporting you build intentionally. Building is a journey and process, that shouldn't be rushed. Today we're joined with our phenomenal guest, Ore Lawani.
Arami was founded by Ore Lawani in 2016, out of a strong desire to see real improvement and make a tangible impact in Africa's beauty and wellness sector. Ore was born and raised in the UK, but was always curious about her home country Nigeria and the opportunities that abound on the African continent and in 2014 she moved to Nigeria.Aware that Africa wasn’t commonly featured as a key destination for finished beauty products, due largely to issues around acceptable quality and global export standards, Ore determined to create a new movement and contribute her quota to the changing face of beauty and cosmetics in Africa by defining her own standards with uncompromising quality and differentiated branding.
Today, Arami not only offers simple beauty solutions. The brand is centred on beauty with integrity and encouraging people to make better decisions for their body, being mindful of it as a sacred place. Ore’s vision is for Arami to become a platform for positioning Africa at the forefront of the global beauty industry and promote other thriving African beauty (A Beauty) brands. Additionally, the brand aims to boost awareness around the need for more sustainable business practices in Africa, locally sourced ingredients, change Africa’s underpaid labour challenges and make lasting impact within disadvantaged communities through their CSR initiative ‘Mind Body Soul’. Ore holds a BSc (Hons) in Computer Science with Business and Management from the University of Manchester, UK an Advanced Certificate in Public Relations from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, UK and various diplomas from The Beauty Academy, UK.
This conversation was so amazing. From Ore sharing her journey on how Arami Essentials was born, to sharing advice to those who are in the process of starting their own brands, there's so much invaluable advice in here. We hope this meets you where you are.
Rhieme: Hi Ore, thank you so much for joining us today. Can you please share a bit about yourself?
Ore: So my name is Ore. I'm the founder of Arami Essentials. Arami is a Nigerian based conscious beauty brand. We sell products that are good for both your skin and body, whilst also contributing to your total wellness and peace of mind. We’re very concerned about things being holistic. So whilst dealing with skin concerns is very important ( And we believe our products are effective in dealing with these), we don’t aim to stop there. Rather, we aim to extend the experience of beauty into other surrounding areas to showcase how interlinked everything truly is. For instance, health and beauty are two areas which I think have become separate over time, but at Arami we really try to draw on those connections. And it’s not just your physical health, but your mental health too. So that's, that's really what Arami is and what I do.
Rhieme: Thank you so much for sharing, I've heard a lot about Arami Essentials and I've used your products as well , they're absolutely amazing. So thank you for what you're doing. To kick things off then, could you please share the journey of how Arami Essentials was born?
Ore: Arami started about five and a half years ago, but in a way that I hadn't realised previously, I would say it’s been in the making for a long time. I moved to Nigeria from the UK eight years ago. And in the first two years of me being in Nigeria, I’d had enough of constantly having to buy expensive imported products, or waiting until I travelled to buy stuff. So that just led me into the world of raw ingredients and trying to understand what things were used on this side of the world. I just loved it, I loved making things for myself. In doing this, people around me kind of highlighted that this was something that I could turn into a business. What convinced me even more, was the major gap in the market. In my head I was thinking like, we are known as Africans and the continent of Africa is known as a place of rich ingredients and resources.So many things are grown here because of our climate, yet why is it that most of these ingredients end up as finished goods sitting on shelves around the world. I could see that there were things that were missing. Hence why I believe Arami exists today, to be that bridge, to the rest of the world. To ensure that we're known for far more than just the raw ingredients, but actually as a people that are contributing to the Health and Beauty space globally. Both in a concrete and tangible way, but more importantly in a way that will outlive us.
Rhieme:Thank you so much for sharing. I love that you were able to see a gap and take action based on that. Being able to highlight how all our resources can be turned into products of even more value is so important. So what you're doing is amazing. Because for so long there’s been this false idea that it’s impossible to get good products back home. So it’s so good to see how you’re actively challenging these preconceptions because it’s definitely needed.
Rhieme: At previous events, you spoke on the importance of building your business with intention, as well as building up the people around you and your team. How have you been able to navigate that all together?
Ore: Yeah, so I think for me, I realised very early on in before the business had started, that I had to rely on what I guess some people call a higher power. But for me, I realised I just had to rely on God. And that is because running a successful company whilst also having a team who are happy is extremely, extremely hard. I mean, some even say it may be mutually exclusive because in running a successful business, sometimes you see it as like, work hard, no long hours, horrible company, culture, and everything. But for me, I said to myself, that can't be my legacy. I can't have a business that has a horrible culture, because I've had horrible experiences in the corporate world prior to starting my business, which I'm sure lots of people can relate to.
I've always said to myself I never want to be that kind of boss, I want to be a boss that encourages, lifts, builds, inspires, and listens in a real way. You don't even have to be best friends with your team because at the end of the day, it's a professional relationship. But you see, empathy goes a long way and giving people the benefit of the doubt goes a long way too.Understanding that attitude beats skill always, because you can be the most skilled person, but you may be the most horrible person. It's an ever evolving learning curve to be very honest. You have to find the balance between being nice and being serious. It's taken me a long time to do that.
But I feel like I'm getting somewhere. It's really about being intentional. So I pray about a lot, my team, the business. On a more practical level, I try to stay as close to my team, no matter how we big how big we grow, I tried to understand the dynamic. I've taken HR as a particularly important part of my business. We're not a large company, but we do have a dedicated HR executive who has good experience. I see it as you if you don't have a happy team, you can't have a good company. You might have what one may call a successful company because you're raking in the millions or the billions. But is it really successful? Don't get me wrong, I want a prosperous business that is very important to me. But at the same time, a business that is just prosperous financially, but not but does not give people that joy is not the kind of company I want to build.
So I think it's really about being intentional. I had to decide the kind of business I wanted to build by taking the practical steps. Carrying out research, trying to understand ‘why’, reading books, talking to people that have had businesses for far longer. Talking to people that work in organisations to understand their plight.I would say that's really been how I've been able to try to do my best in this area, but it really is a journey.
Rhieme: Thank you so much for sharing. I love what you said about attitude over skill, As you said, it's so important to build people up because they're the ones who would end up contributing to the business being built. It’s important to know what your metric of success is. I know you mentioned this at an event, actually, you spoke about the people who work with you and how you don't see them as solely people who are working for you.But you also see yourself as having a role to play in their lives. And I think that's such a great approach to look at things because most of the time, with businesses, people don’t always think of how to develop others. But I found that especially with COVID, and when we started working from home, more businesses started considering the working environment of employees and their mental health. As you said, it’s really important to consider,success based on whose metric? I've noticed with God, he would always focus on building you up first, before he starts asking you to do x or x. That’s not to say, whilst you're building, you can't be learning on the go, no. But at the same time, if that's the standard that God has shown us through our own, personal relationship with Him, then how much more are we supposed to do towards other people? Thank you so much for sharing that because I feel going forward people who launch businesses, platforms etc it's so important to carry along people with you. When I start working, obviously, receiving good pay is important. But what is more important is actually having the environment to grow, and become a better person. I always feel like who you're becoming is more important than external gains, because that is what will carry you in other positions and just life generally.
Ore: I think it's so important for people millennials and above to really understand the fact that what we know as Gen Z will not work at a company for far long, for very long, if they are not happy there. Because there's so much emphasis in thisgeneration about the fact that they need to be happy at work, and they're no longer going to settle for not being happy. They'd much rather tell their parents are not working, and they're going to sit at home until they do something or they become an entrepreneur.I think the trend had already started earlier because I remember when I started working, and when I left my first job after maybe a year or something, and my dad mentioned I needed to stay longer, in my days we stayed longer etc. And that's almost unheard of now, people don't stay that long anymore.It’s not always down to mental health but a lot of people do actually leave companies because it's not serving them mentally.At the end of the day, you're spending the bulk of your life in an office, you spend more time at your office than you do pre COVID anyway, with your family. I just feel the upcoming generation and generations to come are not going to settle for things that don't serve them mentally and I don't blame them.
Rhieme: Definitely, because I feel now we take ourselves as people into consideration and not only think about the money. I feel like once you're aligned, and you're developing yourself, and moving based on how God is guiding you, there are truly opportunities in abundance.I also feel like the older generation kind of moved with a scarcity mindset and the main focus was to make ends meet and simply manage. I don’t believe in settling for just managing. I know there are times where you have to be very careful in your financial resources, but it's important our mindsets don't become limited because of our present circumstances. I think the question really should be, how is this job serving me and my development? And as I'm being built up, how have I been able to give back to my workplace?
Ore: I think something you said is so important. The fact that we're moving away from a scarcity mindset. Is working in the corporate world for everyone? No. Is it God’s purpose for everyone’s life? No. Or is everybody meant to be a millionaire pr billionaire? Nope. I feel like when people start discovering God's intention for their lives, or plans for their lives or other things, I will say it's easier. It gives you a bit more confidence when you want to take a step like moving to a different industry, changing jobs, starting your own business, taking some time out, it makes things easier, because, you know, like, you don't want to be where God is not. Because you know that peace reigns where he is. And if he's not somewhere, then you don't want to be there because what's the point? There's no benefit. So I think, as people get deeper spiritually, they ask more, is this what God has called me too?
Another thing you said that is so important is the fact that there are people that maybe this isn't the end goal, but this is part of the journey. But the question is, how are you serving while you are there? That is so important, because God said work as you’re working unto me to, so is God pleased with your work life? Are you worshipping God with your work life? it's these questions we have to actually ask ourselves, and there are also people that work in the corporate world, and they are happy there, There is nothing wrong with that because there is purpose there as well. So I think it really boils down to really understanding and if you don't understand us, ask God where you're meant to be, and try to get understanding. God is not a God of confusion, He will tell you, and He will make it very clear. You will know,it will resonate, and you will have peace.
Rhieme: Thank you so much for adding that. I'm such an advocate for moving based on how God is leading you not necessarily what people think you should be doing or how people think you should go. I feel like for some parents, the focus has been on optics, so how it looks on the outside. So traditionally, either for them, it was lawyer, doctor, engineer, and those roles are not bad, I want to be a lawyer, so I’m not saying you shouldn’t go for those things. But at the same time, the question is, does this role align with the original design God created you as? You can get amazing jobs and everything, but the Bible even asks, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world but loose his own soul?- Mark 8: 36 . So it's just realising , if this isn't aligned with what God has ordained, it means you're going to do things based on your capacity, rather than constantly leaning into God's strength. So thank you so much for sharing, because I want more people to remember this especially for people my age where most of us are trying to navigate careers, and what to do, I think the best starting point really is taking time out to be still and asking God what are the plans you have for my life? And you may not get everything in a day, but it would start with a word and running with it.
Rhieme: So how have you been able to find your niche? I know quite a few people struggle in terms of knowing their place and honing on their skills.How has that journey been for you? And what advice would you give to anyone who's struggling with that?
Ore: I think for me, it's been a journey. It's funny because I never ever thought I was a creative person because there's almost a prescriptive way of the way creatives are. So very artsy and they can draw, design and all these kinds of things.None of those things really interested me. But one thing I will say is that, firstly, don't put yourself into any box that anyone wants to put you inside of because we're all created by the master creator in his image. So there is some form of creativity inside all of us.
And then secondly, I would say, don't despise small beginnings and don't despise things that just seem random. Because from a very young age, I would say as early as maybe five, I have been interested in beauty. I have always loved hair, I even had dolls that I would play with and practice on their hair. I always told my mom, I was going to open some sort of salon. I used to obviously play with makeup as most young girls did and in terms of skin, I had eczema up until I was six, so I’ve always been conscious of the fact that there can be things wrong with your skin. I've also always been conscious of the fact that those things don't have to last forever. I've always been awakened to beauty and you concerns within beauty as well. After uni, I stumbled into PR actually in my final year of university. I actually studied computer science with a minor in Business Management and I did a course on strategy and it set my whole mind on fire. I started talking to the career advisor and having an understanding of PR.
It was so funny, because there was a show, back when I was in uni, I doubt you would know it, it was called The Hills. One of the girls in it worked in PR, I think two of them actually did work in PR, and one with a role in Vogue.So I was just like wait, hold on, this is very glamorous. I'd love to do this and it resonates with me. So don't also despise the fact that you watch Netflix, because you just never know what you pick up from it. There are some classes you'll take and you’re wondering why am I taking this? But pay attention because you really never know the things you're going to pick up. I'm no longer in PR, but it helped me greatly with my brand.
I went into the greater world of communications, understanding branding and digital communications and that definitely helped me with Arami. Even in university, I actually studied Computer Science, not because I was some tech genius or anything, but I ended up on that course because I wanted a different course. I didn't quite get the grades needed. But that changed my life because of my understanding of software engineering, coding and all those things greatly. Who knew where the world was going to go, to the point where tech was everything? So that gave me a great background in terms of tech.
On the business management side, like I mentioned, it helped me a lot with I never thought at that point I was going to start a business, I ended up doing that. Sometimes in life,it just seems like where am I going? Why are these things happening to me? What is the essence of God? Are you actually there? But God has this amazing way of taking you through a journey which does not seem connected but when you get somewhere in the middle, you begin to see how the dots connect. You hear all these quotes about the universe conspiring to get you to where you're always meant to be. Well, for me, I look at it as, God has said, I am working all things together for your good. I thought I knew what I wanted to do with my life and everything, but I was still unsure.
So I feel that sometimes when you're young, especially in your late teens, early 20s, mid 20s, even late 20s, there's no age on this thing, you can feel a bit unsure, but you still go with it. I don't really know what I'm doing, but I'm just going to go with it. I don't know what I'm passionate about, but I'll continue this because it feels good. You could be amazing at cooking, that could obviously lead to a whole lot of things.
I think going back to what we were saying before, we don't necessarily have to be into traditional career paths to be successful. I think that a lot of discovering what you're good at and your strengths lies actually in the things that you enjoy. I think there is a real reason why God allows you to enjoy certain things. Obviously, within reason, it can't just be oh I enjoy food, so I’m going to be morbidly obese. No, there is guidance, and there is wisdom in the things that we enjoy. To be honest, I think that it's very clear, in the Bible, and even in life, too much of anything is not good for you. So in moderation, obviously. But I think even just looking at the things that you enjoy, you will pick up one of the things and it may not make sense just yet, but I think even write it down or just give it a chance, give opportunities that don't really make sense a chance, interview for jobs that you don't really know if you want to have but even for the experience, You never know what you might come across. I think in trying to understand where you're creative or your strengths, or where your purpose could be, it can feel a bit like trial and error, but it’s not really trial and error, it's just the journey. I believe God has given us free will, so we need to believe that we're making these decisions by ourselves, obviously, guided by Him. But also believing it’s our decision, because we are not robots, He has given us a mind for a reason.
Rhieme: One take-away point from all you’ve shared is the importance of leaning into things.Sometimes people feel they need to get a massive word or something before they take action but sometimes God is leading you in the smallest of ways, or you may not even realise.I love how you mentioned it was actually in your final year of uni, where you had a better idea of what you wanted to do. I've had conversations with different people where they speak about how they want to do something now and be known for something and I struggled with that as well. It’s definitely not an invalid feeling because who wouldn’t want to be known for something? But I always say,it’s about who you’re becoming and discovering the person you’ve been created to be. Rather than being known for something. As you said it's in the smallest interests and sometimes we overlook our interests as we wonder where could this possibly lead to? But I've found that God expresses himself in such unique ways and everyone's expression is meant to be so different. You may have the craziest idea and you don't want to take action because you haven’t seen it done before. But the truth is, you may actually be rejecting your design.
I also believe it’s important to think of timing, and ask yourself, is this the right time for this to come into physical fruition? Because it's already within you, God has already placed what you need to birth from the beginning of time. Thank you so much for sharing, because I feel like that would help people who feel under pressure to know what is next. You’ve already been made to be someone of value.
It's literally being aligned with God and letting him unravel you to yourself. And also, knowing everyone's timing is different. There might be some people who are producing so much, but it’s important to remember, they went through the underground process too. What you see is the product of the process.
Rhieme: What has the journey been like in ensuring that your products are consistent in the value and quality over time?
Ore: I think that for me, quality has always been very important and maintaining that has been important, but it's very hard. I don't want to go on about quality as if it’s something that can be done overnight. It's still something we're trying to get right but from a branding point of view, quality and consistency has been key. I think that's very important in terms of building the brand. Consistency is all about what is needed to maintain the quality. I think the key point for me is that old saying of quality over quantity. So I think it’s actually to decide on, as a brand, who are we? What are our products? What is the quality process? What is the standard we’re trying to uphold within our products? Once you have that as a blueprint, everything can then flow from there.
I think it's really important for young business owners and people that are thinking of starting businesses and startups to really crystallise those things, write it down, make it plain, read it every week. So everytime you’re taking a step, you are saying to yourself, does this align with what I am meant to be doing? Does this align with want I’ve said I want this to be? It’s easier said than done, don't get me wrong, because things will come up. But the details matter, what separates a mediocre brand from a good brand, or a great brand is the details we like Apple because of the details of it. The other day, I was looking at my phone, and I was in the Photos app, and one of the tabs recommended something. For me I said to myself, wow the technology and the algorithm that has gone into this is incredible. That level of detail is why we rate good brands the way that we do because it's just so incredible that they're able to have that kind of detail. And for me that is what I'm aspiring to have, something that flows right through the DNA not trying to be anything but what it is and just giving customers exactly that.So making sure the experience from the branding aspect is the same as the experience in the actual product. Because there is no point having a good brand with products that don't work or products that do not have a high quality. And there's no point having high quality products that don't have a good brand. It goes hand in hand. There are lots of beauty products that are similar to Arami Essentials, but of course the quality of the ingredients, the efficacy, the potency of what we're doing with ours may be slightly different. You can have the same raw ingredients, but different experiences. And I think it just goes back, right back to the beginning of what am I trying to build? Who is my what is my business? Who is that business? What message am I trying to pass across to my audience? Who is my community? What do they want to see? How can I better resonate with them?
Rhieme: Yes, thank you so much. That just highlights the importance of not rushing groundwork, because a lot of people's foundations can be rushed, because they want to put a product out there. But as you were speaking, I was just thinking about how once it's out there you can't take it back.
Ore: Exactly.
Rhieme: You never know where that product will go. Someone could use it and because you've rushed a process when you could have been more diligent, someone can end up using the products and they get a terrible reaction based on the lack of quality control. it's so important you added that because a lot of people rush on the ground work. I remember in a previous interview I had with someone, they just spoke about how once you finish planning, all there is to do is execution.
Ore: Yes, 100% I like that even makes me think about the fact that it's so important not to minimise the importance of anything. When people start in brands, some say they’ll simply do their logos themselves or build templates and there’s nothing wrong with that. But it’s very likely that within a year, or so you're going to have to start revamping the brand. Whereas maybe if you do it once properly with a professional, you may not have to do it again, for a long time.
Rhieme: Yes and just not feeling bad when you're just starting. The investments might be a bit costly, but you know the return will come because you've put in the work. What you give is what you get.If you rush something to simply put it out there, the results would only match. As you said, quality over quantity all the time and constantly asking yourself, what's the message we're trying to get across? For businesses that are just starting, it's even more important in my opinion, because most of the time whenever we see a new business, or l a new page, what actually attracts me to them and pushes me to engage, is the quality and how they've presented the message.
Rhieme: Okay, so most of the time, when people build brands and businesses, it's easy to get lost and lose yourself in the process. Is this something that you struggled with? And how have you been able to navigate this?
Ore: I actually feel that for me, Arami has helped me to discover who I am in more detail. I almost look back who I was prior to Arami and I don't even really recognise myself. There’s nothing wrong with that, I feel I've just evolved and I'm operating at a higher frequency to be honest, I'm more intentional. I'm awake, alive and I'm not just aimlessly walking through life.There's a scripture that says God wants us to be circumspect about what we're doing and actually know what he wants us to do. I feel that for me it was around the time when I started Arami, I really started taking my walk with God more seriously. I don't think that's a coincidence, I think it's just God's beautiful plan working well. Maybe Arami could have started earlier, if I was close to God, I don't know. But I don't focus on that, I focus on what's happened and where I'm going. I'm grateful for that and I feel that starting a business will awaken you because you'll see what you're really made of, you will see whether you really care about what you're saying you really care about. A very long time ago, someone asked me if my business had passed a sleep test. And I was like the sleep test, what is that? She said, the sleep test is basically can you go a night without sleeping, because you're working on your business, because I had a full time job at this time. And I was like, I mean Arami has definitely pass that test. I've definitely not sat and gone to work the next day because I had to. And I'm not saying give me a medal for that or anything, there are no trophies for not sleeping.. But in the early days of starting a business, it will be tasking, it will require a lot of you a lot from you and it will show you what you're made of. It's important to even pay attention to yourself in this time. thoroughly enjoyed the process. I feel it's still a journey and it might be different for everyone. So I will say, my business awakened me and led me to a whole different time in my life. It's like, I'm really living, to be very honest. Yes some people can get lost, I can see how you can get lost in starting a business for sure. But I had the backing of God with me, so it helped me and I think I was on the right path in starting the business and everything. But even if you're on the wrong path, there's still a lot of self discovery. I wouldn't say start a business to find who you are, but it can be a good catalyst for understanding yourself.
Rhieme:Thank you so much for adding that. You mentioned how the difference for you was, you had God's backing. I’ve noticed that whenever God asks you to do something, He’s doing it for your good and to stretch you further. Thank you for your time, do you have any last words, anything on your mind that you've been meaning to share?
Ore: I think I just want to encourage anybody out there that reads this, to really go for what they believe in their heart they're meant to do.For anybody who doesn't really know what they're meant to be doing, I just encourage you to rebuild a relationship with God. Because the peace, the security and the assuredness, you get from it is unparalleled, it's not comparable to anything and I would want that for anybody.. I was reading my Bible in quiet time and I thought to myself, we're not designed to worry. I want to encourage anyone who has a lot on their mind, turn your worry into prayer. It’s just really saying the word out loud and telling God, this is how I feel, please help me. There’s nothing really more to it than that, in my opinion.
How did you find this conversation? Any key-takeaways? Please share them below! Make sure you check out Arami Essentials and we'll see you next week!