How I met my husband at the banking hall- Monique Imoni Ededuan, CEO Rentadress Nostress

Having started her business with the sum of Ten thousand naira, Monique Imoni Ededuan has proved to the society that one can succeed if you are determined and dedicated. She is the CEO of Rentadress Nostress Limited, a leading bridal shop that specializes in renting wedding outfits to women.

In her bid to encourage women, she established a Nongovernmental Organization called Independent Woman Initiative where women are been empowered and encouraged not to remain idle and be independent. In this interview with ABIMBOLA OBATAYO she spoke about her love life and also elaborated on how she scaled through and stand tall after a year of establishment.

Who is Monique?
Monique Imoni Ededuan is a Christian, an entrepreneur, a business development consultant, inspiration speaker and philanthropist. She is currently the CEO of Rentadress Nostress Limited, a fast growing bridal one stop shop that specializes in renting wedding outfits to women, saving brides to be precious money by enabling them rent their dream luxurious wedding dresses as against expending it all on a new dress. She is also the Founder of the Independent Woman Initiative, a business and entrepreneurship network and private Non-Governmental Organization that was founded in 2016. On the family side, Imoni is the fourth child of a family of six growing up in Lagos. She is a graduate of History and International Studies from the prestigious Delta State University, Abraka. She is happily married to the love of her life.

How did you come about Rentadress Nostress Limited?
I had just resigned from my job three months before marriage and as a business development manager; I thought I was going to get another job almost immediately. I applied to several organizations; I kept hearing they will get back to me. After applying and waiting for four months, I had become fully dependent on my husband for everything. This situation was not funny to me as I have never being idle since I graduated from the university. I decided to do something about my situation. I had two wedding dresses I bought for my wedding and they were just occupying space in my closet. After praying and seeking Gods face on what I should do, one morning I opened my closet and I asked myself, why don’t you start renting wedding dresses? I called two friends of mine who had just gotten married to put up their dresses for rent. They quickly jumped at the idea as long as they were going to make money from their dresses. The knowledge and experience I have, paved way for me to set up the business and by the special grace of God, Rentadress Nostress Ltd established in 2016 has rapidly grown and evolved with store outlets in Lagos, Abuja and Accra Ghana.

What gave you the impression that the business would thrive despite that you started small?
The faith and trust I have in God to bless and prosper anything I find to do have kept me successful even while I had my paid 8-5 job. It didn’t matter whether I had only N10, 000 to start the business, the most important factor is I know who I am. Everything I do prospers. Most people are amazed when they read or hear that I started the bridal store with only N10, 000 which seems almost impossible. Well what N10, 000 could do for me was to get an affordable mannequin which was about what I needed to showcase the two wedding dresses I had. I knew I could work from the comfort of my house. I turned my dining section to my show room. I took advantage of the knowledge I had with growing businesses and products and knew the fastest way to get my clients was to engage them online. With my Samsung smart phone I took pictures of the dresses, set up a Facebook and Instagram account for Rentadress Nostress and started uploading pictures. Every tool available to me was useful and today I am thankful I was not discouraged by the little capital I had.

Was your husband in support of the business in the beginning?
My husband is my greatest supporter but that is after he truly understands whatever I decide to do. When I told him I wanted to start renting dresses, he was surprised because he had expected to hear I had gotten a job. He didn’t like the idea at first and encouraged me to keep searching for a job. The first question he asked me was if the business is a lucrative one, I completely forgot what the word lucrative meant because I had hoped he will be excited to know I want to start something. I had to convince him to allow me try at least and still search for the job. He did and is also happy he did not discourage me from giving the business a try.

Why did you divert from your course of study in school?
I studied history and international studies in Delta State University Abraka. I had plans to apply for a job at the Institute of Foreign Affairs but I got job as a sales executive in a Telco Firm before I graduated from the university. It was a holiday job and my school was on strike back then. I was the best sales executive in the company which made the CEO secure my job when I came back after graduation. Then I got referred to another start up Telco Firm by a Zain manager whom I reported too. I grew and became great at sales and promoted to sales manager. I had no fore knowledge on anything bridals; I learned everything on the job. You will never know what you can do if you do not try. In the nearest future, I see myself occupying positions that involve international relations. So yes I will practice my course in future

Rentadress Nostress Ltd is over a year with branches in the country and beyond, what is your driving force and how did you attain such heights within a short period?
Yes I started in February but registered the company in August 2016. Like I mentioned earlier I have this understanding that I succeed at everything. I am a very hardworking lady. I worked under the close supervision of my former boss Otunba Abdulrahman Odunowo who groomed me to always see myself as a solution provider anywhere I find myself. I watched him work daily; he never gets disappointed if things don’t turn out well as planned. He just keeps pushing. This has helped me a lot to keep pushing no matter the setbacks or challenges I come across. The confidence I have in God who is more concerned to see me succeed also gives me strength carry on.

You started the business with ten thousand naira, what were the challenges when you started?
I faced quite a number of challenges when I started. Firstly I needed to have a minimum of 10 dresses to suit the different body sizes of ladies. Since I couldn’t afford them in the beginning I had to do a lot of convincing to get brides to patronize me. The Idea of ladies renting their wedding dresses was unwelcomed as it was a thing ladies were ashamed of. Even when they end up renting, they would request we do not upload their pictures on social media. This was to be a major setback so I started the campaign of spend less and look fabulous when you rent a wedding dress from us. Gradually the clients started to come. Also I couldn’t afford to do paid adverts back then so I had to work extra hard to be online at least 15hours daily to talk about our services. I was blocked on several platforms because I tried to advertise our bridal services. Location was another challenge, I would drive to the mainland daily to attend to bridal fittings and not all we meet patronized us. I finally convinced my Fashion Designer to allow me use a space in her office to meet my brides pending when the business can afford an office space.

Did you venture into this business because it was something you love to do or you did not want to become a liability?
I started the business because I wanted to move myself from being totally dependent to financially independent and co-dependent. I wanted to add value to my home as well. I also have other responsibilities that if I continue to remain idle I might not be able to cater to. I didn’t know anything about the Bridal business. All I knew were the basics to starting up any business. So I had to research and learn about the trends, styles, the dos and don’ts of the business. I am passionate about succeeding so I have come to love the business. The joy of meeting brides to be daily and being part of their love story is an honor.

How did you meet your husband?
This part is very interesting because we met at the entrance of a bank in 2012. I was trying to get inside but the security door would not allow me as it kept insisting I had metal object on me. While the queue was building up behind me, a guy tapped my hand and said maybe it’s the fashion ring I had on that is metal I needed to take off. I turned and started to question why he touched me and the next thing is everyone was apologizing on his behalf. He was shy and embarrassed and I was asked to use the exit door to go into the bank. Inside the bank I walked up to him to apologize for the scene while he also apologized for touching my finger. He asked for my number, which I turned down but while I left the bank I wrote my number on a sheet of paper, went through the annoying door and gave the security man at the door. I told him if the guy I had issues with earlier should pass through the same door, he should give him the paper, if he didn’t, and he should tear the piece of paper. The next day I got a call from my husband and the rest is history.
With the time spent together, what is his kind of person and how has marriage been?
The times spent with my husband have been amazing. We have our challenges and we used to quarrel a lot when we just got married. This was because we wanted to enforce our policies on each other hence we would have arguments and sometimes not talk to ourselves. With time and consistent commitment to making the marriage work, our communication and understanding of marriage has improved and we have become best friends. He is the quiet one at home while all I want to do is talk about everything. I am blessed to be his Queen while I honor him as my King.

What are your hobbies?
Whenever I have spare time, I watch movies, I also read books and articles, I love to travel and visit new places.
About the Independent Woman, what intrigued you to start such Initiative?
The independent Woman Initiative was borne out of my desire to help and empower women currently going through financial challenges and do not know or have the means to liberate themselves from their situations. I decided to use my story of how I started my business with N10, 000 to encourage women out there that they also can start a business, trade or skill with little or no help. This will help them break out from the vicious circle of financial hardship or vagueness of vision and purpose that most times threatens their marriages, self- fulfillment and happiness or all of the mentioned.

How has it been so far?
The maiden edition of the Independent Women Conference took place in Lagos on the 29th July 2017. We had in attendance over 250 women. Amongst them were nursing mothers, workers, career women, youth corpers, and graduates. We had speakers share their personal stories of how they overcame similar financial challenges. Also in attendance was the Lagos State Employment Fund team led by the Director of Programs and Coordination, Mrs Teju Abisoye. The team spoke about the current government’s initiative to empower businesses in Lagos State by providing loans to Startup businesses, Small and Medium Enterprises and MEs. We are passionately committed to the purpose of empowering women by inspiring them in birthing their dreams, unleashing their potentials and stir them to become valuable to themselves, families, communities and the world.

How have you been able to impact women’s life through this program?
At the maiden edition of the Independent Women Conference, a total of N560,000 was given to 30 women who submitted their business ideas upon registration to start their dream businesses. Three major fashion houses gave a total of fifteen ladies scholarship to learn to become fashion designers. We have a two-pronged program dedicated to raise the next generation of Independent Women tagged SHE LEARNS. SHE LEARNS School Schorlarship is an initiate that sponsors 20 young ladies to tertiary institutions. The candidates are selected across Nigeria and adequate funding is committed from their admission to graduation. SHE LEARNS Vocational Scholarship is a skill acquisition program that caters to 50 women annually. We help these candidates identify their dream careers and also fund their training in various fields. These women are selected across Nigeria; in line with our core mission to empower them to become entrepreneurs.

You are a successful business woman and beautiful, how do u handle male admirers?
Anything of value is attractive so it is normal when men pass compliments. I try to be polite as much as I can and thank them for their admiration.

Domestic violence is on the increase, what’s your take on it?
A breakdown in communication in my opinion is a major reason for abuse in marriage. I believe that a poor pattern of behavior will definitely produce abuse in a family. Domestic abuse occurs every day everywhere in the world. Women are the most victims of domestic violence while the children are the worst affected. It is my prayer that women will learn to bridle their tongues while men will learn to control their temper / fists as this is a cause of domestic violence

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