The image that comes to mind at the mention of a carpenter is always that of a man dressed in an overall, handling different tools to carve one item or another. But Dayo Tukuru has defied this. A carpenter with great style, she told Chibuzo Ihegboro the story about her sojourn and exploits in this masculine world.
As far as many are concerned, carpentry still remains largely a man’s beat. What with the screwing, nailing and the wood-littered floor that defined their workshops? But this never discouraged Dayo Tukuru. She takes delight in trying her hands on carving images from plain woods and making a lot of money from her chosen endeavour.
Fondly called Lady Carpenter by friends and associates, Tukuru, a self-made entrepreneur, is today the Chief Executive Officer of Doda Interiors, a carpentry and interior decoration firm based in Lagos. She is described by those who know her as someone who knows her mettle.
When asked what attracted her to this vocation, the young entrepreneur attributed her journey into the carpentry world to fate. Going down memory lane, Tukuru said, “I was made to live with my uncle after the death of my dad at a very young age. My uncle then had a hotel. After school hours, I’d go to the hotel to assist him. Starting off as a sales representative, I had become the manager of the place by the time I was 15. This made my uncle happy because, according to him, it was a sign that I had a leadership trait.”
This feat, she said did not get into her head, as she proceeded to the university for a degree course. After graduating from university, she spent five years with LG Electronics, as a marketer and thereafter started an electronics business. But that was not the choice of fate for her because the business collapsed after some time and she was challenged to make a re-direction. That, she said, was the turning point for her.
“At that point in my life, I had no money and I was wondering how I would continue living my life. I wasn’t interested in working for anyone. I wanted to be on my own, to be a problem-solver. I started thinking of what I could do that wouldn’t involve a huge start-up capital. I fasted because I wanted God to show me what to do next. One day while sleeping, the word ‘carpentry’ came to me and I was stunned. Before that time, I knew I loved doing things with my hands and wood always got my attention. I started asking the Holy Spirit what it all meant and one day, while walking down my street, I saw a carpentry shop and a voice came to me saying, ‘this is what I am telling you to do.’
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Despising what people might say and the fact that her master was once her own subordinate at her former office, Tukuru braced up to her choice in humility.
“I summoned courage and went to a workshop but the man refused, saying he couldn’t allow me to be an apprentice; that it was below me, as he had worked for me in the past. He told me it wasn’t a job for a woman.”
Against all odds, she learnt the vocation for six months and became an employer of labour after all.
Telling her success story for the past five years, Tukuru said it had been a journey of self-discipline, endurance and creativity. “I started this business with next to nothing but I thank God for how far He has helped me. I always sat down and estimated how much it would cost to do a job with profit. So, I collect 80 per cent upfront, and with this, I carried out the job. I followed my plan, disciplined myself not to spend customers’ money and thought outside the box.”
Nonetheless, her business odyssey is not totally smooth sailing. Recalling some of the turbulent times, Tukuru noted: “One of the first jobs I did for a couple, a set of chairs they said they loved, but they refused to pay my balance after delivering the chairs to them. I needed to pay the people that worked with me on that project but I never got the money from them. Another moment I cannot forget was when there were no jobs or sales for six months and NEPA cut off my power supply. I suffered during that time, crying, praying and believing, but I thank God that I didn’t lose hope, as things turned around.”
But all had turned out well as she gladly told The Nigerian Xpress of applied and won Lagos Business School scholarship for women in business as well as when she won a You Win grant. “This really helped me in ways I cannot begin to explain,” she enthused.
Encouraging Nigerians and women especially to embrace entrepreneurship, she opined that entrepreneurship is the only way out of recession. No matter how small a business is.
“Entrepreneurship is something every woman should try. It gives you a sense of belonging; it emboldens you, especially when you know what you’re doing. You’re also an extension of blessing to people because it affords you the opportunity to provide employment to people. It has been of help to me because people that would want to import furniture into the country can’t do so due to lack of forex. This is a plus for me, as it is helping those who manufacture locally to showcase their products. And now people are realising that we can compete very well with imported furniture.
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Observing that government has several options, which people are not taking advantage of, she enjoins government to also encourage entrepreneurs by giving them grants, training and scholarships aside from ensuring steady power supply and putting under check government agencies that are currently frustrating business men and women in the country.
“Power supply is one of the greatest problems hindering so many businesses, and depending on generators is no way to run a business. LASAA is also another problem, with regard to my branded bus. Every year, I pay N40, 000 to them because the bus is branded. This still doesn’t mean that they will even allow you to have a flex banner, they will pull it down and you have to pay fresh charges. Double and sometimes triple taxation is another problem we face from every quarter. But even with all these, the greatest problem for me is staffing. I don’t like changing staff every couple of months but that is the sad reality. Sometimes, they go on their own after a few months and other times, you just have to let them go because of ineptitude and gross mismanagement.”
Meanwhile, Tukuru is excited about the changing attitude of women towards entrepreneurship.
“Before now, women preferred to stay at home but I am happy that is changing now, as more women are big business owners. This is proving to everyone that there is no weak woman in Nigeria.”
For those who would like to venture into her kind of business, Tukuru counseled: “Discipline matters. Be self-motivated as well. And also, never think negatively. Have a can-do spirit that doesn’t see failure or impossibility.”
