“I’ve always wanted to own a factory and have my own products.” -Christabel Ofori Darko

Her company, Flocarebeauty was inspired by her mom whose name is Florence. Having her first son in 2016 also initiated the idea and product launch, Mrs Ofori Darko revealed in an interview. Narrating the early stages of her business, the business woman said she noticed that the shea butter on our local markets were not well branded and sometimes had dust all over it.

During her market research, she realised that most of the mothercare shops in Ghana were only pointing her to foreign brands which were not healthy for her son’s skin. His skin was getting dry and he had diaper rash. “Shea butter had all the things I needed for my baby’s skin and so I started using it,” she further explained.

Business idea

On her part, Mrs Ofori Darko started using Shea butter on her skin and hair and later decided to make natural and organic skin care products to help other mothers like herself who found it difficult to get quality skincare products for their babies.

“We want to make our products affordable and accessible to all, unlike the other skin care products on the market which are quite expensive,” the Flocarebeauty boss lady revealed.

Challenges

Some of the challenges with the business is struggling to find suppliers, high cost packaging materials, inadequate access to loans, and meeting high standards of the regulatory authorities. There are also little or no subsidies for SMEs and start ups, the female entrepreneur went on to disclose.

Mentorship and inspiration

Asked how she keeps herself inspired and whether she has mentors, she said, “I read the stories of different brands and how the owners maintained their businesses. I also have some business books that I pick inspiration from such, ‘Breaking the Jewish Code’.”

Admonishing

Her advise for people who want to own a business is to start with what they have. Also, she advised people to take feedback in good faith while having perseverance and a never-give-up spirit. “If you really want to excel in business, don’t disappoint your customers, let them know if you can or cannot deliver,” she concluded. You can follow @flocarebeauty on all social media platforms to shop for some of her authentic products.

The Thriving in Ghana Series is an initiative by www.justicaanima.com that features Ghanaian business owners who have successfully built and maintained a career, business, or developmental project in Ghana.