Ololade Adeyanju/
Entrepreneur and Managing Director of Sixth Sense Interiors, Mrs Tope Olagbegi, has narrated how a fire incident which consumed her multi-million naira showroom on highbrow Victoria Island turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Olagbegi narrated her experience in a post on her Facebook page, describing her turnaround story as sheer miracle which only God could have made possible.
According to her, despite the fact that the devastating incident left her hugely indebted to the banks that lent her money to finance her business, she did not only pay back her debts but got much more than she lost in return.
Read her post, titled, ‘Only Me?’, below:
“I had started taking loans from the bank . I would fly around the world bringing in home accessories, upholstery, curtain fabrics and furniture etc. My gift had always been my eyes. If I saw it could sell, it would sell.
I had just recieved a container full of Italian leather furniture designed to my taste into my Ozumba Mbadiwe showroom.
It had taken 2 months to design them all , 1 month to fabricate and 2 months to ship and clear.
I had them in different shapes and colours.
A major investment of time and resources it had been. And when they finally arrived, it had been worth the wait.
I had spent the night before sending text messages to my customers on the arrival of new stock.
I think I got to the showroom around 9am that morning to arrange the space. My first customer that day @bettychidi had come in to purchase one of the sofas.
As I was instructing my staff to rearrange some items, I heard an AC explosion. FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! my staff screamed.
Looking up, the AC area had been engulfed in smoke as the fire caught a throw cushion; it hit a sofa and that was the beginning of the end.
I ran out without my shoes and cell phone as well as the money I had just recieved. I was speechless! My coffee tables had their glass exploding from the heat. My show glass windows were cracking and shattering.
Jesu, ibo ni oju re wa? (Jesus, where are you?) ….. as tears rolled down my face.
The first fire truck arrived. No water. The second came 40 mins later, however, it was far too late.
My husband arrived to stand my my side, as all we had worked for had charred before our eyes.
Traffic that day was BAAAD. Ozumba traffic had affected everywhere in VI as all the radio stations announced that SIXTH SENSE interiors was on fire. It was on the network news that evening and in newspapers the next day! Bad news travels way faster than good news.
One of my lowest points in my life was this season. I just couldnt see how this could ever work for my good. It seemed my life was always taking 5 steps forward and 8 backwards.
I felt God had left and disgraced me!!
Few weeks later, I summoned the courage to start going out again for work. And strangest things started happening. Everywhere I went, once I introduced myself and my company, a flash of recognition will hit them. Aaaaah!!
Was it your shop that caught fire? If yes, you’re getting the job.
And thats all it took. No more long proposals …… Jobs were coming in for me.
You know I had prayed to God earnestly to make my biz a household name Hmmm!! Be careful what you wish for. The fire incident had made my biz just that.
I didn’t pay for all the publicity, I couldn’t pay for all the news agencies that had been talking about SIXTH SENSE interiors as well as calling for interviews.
What seemed like a colossal loss, was another way of God bringing me out of fire unscathed.
Wo ni, ohun ti o fe be ni lori; to si ni fila (What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger).
The set back was shortlived! However, my biz life had changed from that moment on.”
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