By Agarah Bibisinoluwa Iretunde
In the dimly lit room of her cramped hostel, Grace, a 300-level student of Aquaculture, finds herself immersed in the bubbles of volumnious textbooks and frying pans. She must strike a balance, a delicate one even, between these two worlds. Her journey, marked by sizzling ambition and simmering resilience, is just a day in the life of an average student entrepreneur in the University of Ibadan. In a “Balubulu” era where escalating school fees and dwindling currency values have become the national anthem, the rise of student entrepreneurship has become more than a mere trend—it’s a lifeline. With the weight of financial burdens pressing down upon them, students like Grace, must combine these almost extreme worlds and look for a way to strike a delicate balance between them or risk losing both worlds.
Resilience in the Crucible
For these students, every day is a balancing act between the demands of academia and the hustle of entrepreneurship. For Grace, a 300l student of aquaculture, in the quiet hours of the night, amidst the steam and sizzle of her kitchen, she confronts the daunting reality of overlapping deadlines. “There was aday I had orders due and a test at the same time. Iaccepted the order and began working on it when I wastold we had tests,” she recalled, her voice tinged with the exhaustion of sleepless nights and relentless determination. “Ihad to prep the meal and fix everything over nightbecause it had to be piping hot the next day.”
“I had my book on the kitchen table,” she continued, her voicetinged with the echoes of late-night stir-fries and early-morningexams. “I was holding a book struggling to memorize termswith my lamp amidst the heat and steam; occasionallydropping my note to stir, slice, fry or boil something. After delivering the order the following morning, I went to class.I have never been so relieved and angry that a test wascancelled.”
Her journey didn’t start today; it has been there since her early days in the university. As a sophomore, she foundherself teetering on the brink of exhaustion, the weight of herambitions threatening to crush her spirit. “I barely slept,” sheadmitted, her eyes reflecting the toll of sleepless nights andendless deadlines. She had classes and assignments and still had to deliver orders, sometimes overnight. It affectedher so bad during exams that she broke down. She couldn’t do anything, she couldn’t even write some of her exams because she was sick for about a week. Yet, in thecrucible of her kitchen, in the ashes of her difficulties, she findsher mettle tested, her resolve forged in the fires of adversity.
A cramped schedule can sometimes be the least of theirworries. Most student entrepreneurs still work on getting agood customer base which means they cannot risk gettingbad reviews as word spreads in school rather quickly.Disappoint one customer and this affects the chances ofgetting another job.
When discussing the importance of finances as a businessowner, Mobisinuoyinoluwa explained how finances cansometimes be a huge deterrent and may affect the qualityof the product that is available to customers.
“Yes, I had problems with my finances when I first started.I had to put my make-up business on hold [while focusingon catering] because things are really expensive. If itweren’t for that, I would still be very active. Even afterstarting, finances are a big deal…. you have to make sureyour customers are satisfied with the quantity and qualityof your products and at the same time make a profit.”
On her part, Mobisinuoyinoluwa, the CEO of Mercy HoldsPastries, shared her experience of shuffling her course work,content creation, catering, and make-up artistry. In her own words, “Well, it’s been hard. For a few days now, Ihaven’t slept properly because I have to create content inthe middle of the night and suddenly I’ve found out that thehours of the night aren’t even enough for me anymore. Inthe daytime, I go to classes. I try to read up as much aspossible, I sleep…while doing business and academics,you have to take care of yourself. It’s a struggle.Sometimes, I’d rather do something else but I have to callmyself to order.”
Major, a 300-level student and fashion designer has the same story to share. He opened up to us on how heshuttles between two states during the school year. “Personally, the experience has been a very demandingone. One that is characterized by a lot of travelling mostweekends because I work in Lagos. This in turnsometimes affects the quality of what I do in school …. Inall cases, I dedicate my holidays to my vocation [fashiondesigning]. This is because I perceive my holidays as anopportunity to make as much money as I can tosignificantly reduce the number of times I have to travelwithin a semester/session,” he said.
Passion, Sacrifice and Balancing Acts
Starting and running a business requires hard work anddedication. Passion is crucial for every studententrepreneur because it is what fuels the drive andmotivation to persevere in times of difficulty. Whenbusiness owners are passionate about their work theyoften march to the beat of their drums; taking anunconventional approach to solve challenges as theyarise. Student entrepreneurs balance the demands ofacademia, running businesses and extracurricularactivities, because of this, sacrifices become inevitable.Time is a precious commodity and they often forgo restand relaxation, social activities and in some cases, sleep,to meet deadlines and other obligations.
To manage their time well, they draft daily schedules tostay on top of an increasing number of orders,assignments, tests, presentations, business trips, and soon. For some, it seems to work, knowing how the day willgo helps them achieve a whole lot more since they haveset clear goals for the day. Oluwajubeelo, owner ofMakilicious Cakes, revealed that making daily draft of her schedule is the magic trick she adopted to stay on top ofall her tasks as a student, an entrepreneur and avolunteer. She explained that she writes out a daily planand with this plan, she has an idea of what the day lookslike. “The services my business provides strictly being onpre-order helps me fit everything into my schedule,” she said.
Time management is extremely important because insome cases, student entrepreneurs become overwhelmedby the things their commitments and something oftensuffer for it. After all, no student can call for a halt in theacademic calendar. Sometimes their business is put onhold so they can have good grades or at least maintain their studentships. “At the end of the day, something hasto suffer for the other, and for me, it’s usually socialevents,” says Oyinoluwa. “It’s all a matter of priority. Youhave to make sacrifices.”
To adapt, Grace revealed her own balancing acts. “So, thissession, I’ve reduced the amount of work I have to do. Idon’t work overnight anymore. I am still in the business. Ionly take orders when I’ve been notified beforehand,” she said.
Lesson emerges from their stories. Self-awareness anddiscipline are indispensable to student entrepreneurs asthey help them to make informed decisions and to focusdespite being overwhelmed, as entrepreneurs often face a heightened level of stress which normal student would find extremely tasking, if not crushing. To the majority of these student entrepreneurs, this has become the norm. Theirability to balance several obligations and deliver isremarkable. Their journey through school is characterizedby sacrifices in time, academics, finances and emotionalwell-being.
