Dupe Obiora: How to nurture your venture from little to something BIG

Success is a journey. That is exactly what the story of Royal Vet Clinics and Pet Shops is all about. The one-room vet shop, which was started then by two young graduates who had just completed their NYSC in Calabar has now grown to become a leading and notable Veterinary Clinic and Vet Service Providers in Cross Rivers State and environs.
“I started with just a one-room shop space at a corner in Webber Street”, Dr. (Mrs.) Dupe Obiora, Managing partner, Royal Vet clinics & Pet shops said retrospectively in this interview with SUCCESSTACT, as she shares on the gradual but progressive success experience of going through thick and thin, times of lack and delayed gratification in running the affairs of the outfit, which is now a notable and leading Vet service provider in Cross Rivers State and beyond.
Excerpts from the interview session with Sanmi Falobi.

How did you start with Royal Vet?
I graduated from the University of Ibadan as a Veterinary doctor and served in Calabar during the 1991/ 92 NYSC batch. In the course of the service year, I had been seeking the mind of God on what next and I knew God wanted me to remain in Calabar. With this, I knew He had me do some things so I was not really looking for a job because I knew He had a plan for me. Even while I was working in a private firm in the course of the service year, I knew it was going to be for a short time working there because my colleague then who served with me in Calabar (who is now my husband) is also a Veterinary doctor. It was with him that I started together in November 1992, and we were working together until he ventured into full time ministry.

How was it coping with your husband as your business partner?
I think starting business as husband and wife is good as this builds intimacy, companion and fellowship. It binds. We shared our limitations and challenges together.

How did you grow the business?
One thing about growing a business venture is that you have to offer a service. People value you when you give them more that what is the worth. People also like respect. One of the secret in succeeding in business or in any venture is to make your client comfortable, showing respect and attention when answering their questions. People also like honesty and also having a fixed standard price so whether it’s a rich or poor man, they pay same rate. We didn’t have different rates by class and so we treated every client the same because what we were in business to do was to offer service. I have also discovered that people also like honest people. There are some times that people want us to inflate the price so they collect more money from their masters, but we don’t allow that. So whether it is the houseboy that brings a pet to us or the owner of the pet, our rate is same. Some people would leave and go to other places where they can get the prices inflated but when the chips are down and something goes wrong, they come running to us because of the standard we have in place.

… But didn’t you want to make money?
We wanted money but we were also passionate about what we were doing and so we had to exercise a great deal of patience. The truth is that your customer will see and know when all you are after is how to get money out of them, but if you are patient, they will have trust in you because they know you are not out to cheat them. For us, it was about service.
Service should come first and then money later. If you don’t give to the society, you can’t reap from them. So from experience, we saw that you don’t put money first, but service and at the end of the day, money will come. But if you put money first, people will run away, but if you put service first, even when they go, they will come back to you because of the quality of service they get from you. So in running your business, you should not put money first. Though everyone wants to make money but if you put service first, money will come. So put service before money. It always works.

You are lucky to have had you and your husband doing business in same profession…
I don’t believe in luck, I believe in God’s blessings. I have never seen luck and don’t k now what colour it is. I don’t know how it looks. Our success is linked with having an intimacy with God and our believe in Jesus as the way, the truth and the life. To succeed in life, you have to build a day-to-day relationship with God because there is a God factor in everything. If you don’t have the God factor, you will not want to serve. You will not be honest and you will be proud. There are things you cannot do if you have a good relationship with God. There are blessings that come to you because of your relationship with God.

Beyond the God factor, what other factors enhances success?
Don’t be lazy. Work when you are supposed to work. If your working time is 8am- 6pm, be at your place of work between 8am-6pm. If it is 9am-2pm, be there. As an entrepreneur running a business of your own or providing a service, let people know when you are at work. Not that you will say you will be open 9am-4pm and then when it is 2 o’ clock or 3 o’ clock, you say you are going and close your shop. People will not take you serious. If it is only four hours you want to be putting daily in your venture, be consistent so that in those four hours, people will know you are around and can always meet you.
There is a personal touch in growing and running a business, not that when people will want to see you, they will not meet you at work but meet your sales girl. So self-discipline is very important. When your clients and customers know that they can always meet you at a particular time that you will be around, they will come and meet you, and through that, you build confidence and trust.

How do you handle challenges?
I am a Christian and when I have challenges, I go down on my knees to pray.

… What has life taught you?
Life has taught me to do my best and that my best will bring results. Life has also taught me to be knowledgeable so that you have confidence in what you do. I attend seminars and conferences to stay abreast. I also believe in mentoring and seeing what other people are doing. For example, when I go to a new city, I go to vet shops there and ask questions to know what they do.

What other interests drive you on?
I have some other passion; passion for the ministry, passion for children evangelism and I minister to the teens. We run a tuition free school for the children of the less privileged member of the society. We also run churches within Nigeria and outside of Nigeria. All of these are to impact and bless the society and despite the challenges, the joy we have is to see that we are imparting lives.

• Dr. (Mrs.) Dupe Obiora and hubby, Rev. (Dr.) Mike Obiora are based in Calabar, Cross Rivers State.

© SUCCESSTACT, Vol 2, No 1. Download digital copy here.