The Passion to Meet People’s Need Drove Me into the Business” – Emily Adeagbo

His Steps Pharmaceutical and Supermarket started 15 years ago with just the pharmaceutical company, which metamorphosed into a full supermarket about five years ago, with the aim of catering to the needs of people living within the locality. Located at 64, Coker road, Ilupeju, Miss Emily Adeagbo, the CEO, shared with TS Team how the journey started.

According to her, the metamorphosis began when her elder sister, who started the pharmaceutical, relocated and could no longer do the business in the state.

The graduate of micro biology from The Polytechnic, Ibadan has this to say: “After my sister relocated, there were other issues which could not allow me continue with the business, so instead of allowing the facility to be empty, I thought of starting a supermarket. That was how I started the supermarket five years ago but with the name, His Steps.”

When she was asked why she chose the business among many other businesses, she said that the need of the people living in the area drove her. In her words; “This area is an estate, kind of, and you can hardly find provisions around. So the desire to meet the people’s need in this environment gave me the passion to go into the business.”

Definitely, one can easily predict her choice of Ilupeju. However, Adeagbo noted that asides the fact that the facility was first purchased by her sister, Ilupeju is a centralised environment.

“Ilupeju is a centralised area, easy for anyone to locate. And if you are inside Ilupeju, Coker Road is not an issue to locate. So it also makes description of the supermarket easy for anyone to locate,” she said.

The Oyo State indigene also mentioned that the business caters to the needs of every member of the family; from the father to the mother and children. According to her, “basically, we sell those things you would see in any supermarket.”

Talking about her challenges in the business, Adeagbo mentioned power supply as a major issue hindering the furtherance of the business. She has not had electricity for two years. She however mentioned that they are working it out with the PHCN.

Her advice to anyone who wants to go into business or enterprise is to first know the need of the people he or she wants to meet by studying the location before going into any business. In her words, “you need to study the environment and know what people need in that area before you start any business. You also need to count the cost and devise a way of going into the business. Yes, money is vital but it is not always the first thing in business. You can check your network and see how friends can help. But basically, entrepreneurship is you meeting the needs of others.”