Hi, I’m Sam,
Welcome to another interview, this time with Airneh, a Foodpreneur and the Founder of ChowTribe – A food hangout group in Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja. Through her Food Brand TokyosBite, Airneh is able to cater to small and large events. She also makes food in liters and lunch packages. With more than 30k followers on her X page, Airneh shares photos of her well prepared meals (if we are lucky we get BTS pictures and videos of her preparing the meals), recipes and she is not scared to share her takes on interesting topics.
How
are you doing lately?
I’m doing okay
Do
you remember the first job you ever had？
A teaching job, was paid 10k. This was
after secondary school.
What
made you decide to start a business?
There’s always a need to eat, hunger is
a problem and I was willing to solve that for a fee. Why I started the food
business basically was because of my aunt who manages a restaurant in Abuja,
she said one time “there’s money in food business”. I already loved to cook, I
like to see food business owners, and I can literally sleep on a food page all
day just admiring the dishes and all.
Do
you remember the first business idea you ever had？
Yes. Cake baking. I tried it, it wasn’t
so fun. People weren’t always ordering cakes except on special occasions and my
cakes were terrible. So I discarded that.
How
long have you been in your current business?
Since 2021 ending.
What
has been the most difficult thing about keeping the business going?
Delivery. Dispatch guys can be frustrating.
For
some reason I thought your first mention would be the shattering economy
That too, But delivery, yeah. Today, I
added extra 2k to everything on the menu and the two clients I had didn’t
complain, one returning client and a new one who says he understands the
situation
I've
attended “Chow with Airneh” and I know how fun it can be, when did you first
get the idea to do something like that？
2022, I saw a vendor who did something
like that in Lagos. She cooked, sold tickets to families and friends and they
all gathered to eat, give reviews and play games. So I thought to myself that
if I did that my friends would come through and my family would support as
well.
How
many Editions of “Chow with Airneh” have you had so far and do you think it has
in any way promoted your business？
About 10. Not exactly, because people
who attend don’t really patronize but they’re excited to come out that day to
eat and meet new people. So I’d say “chow with Airneh” is another source of
income to the business.
Should
we be expecting more “chow with Airneh” in the future?
Of course, there’s one happening soon.
Do
you have plans of opening a restaurant in the future or do you solely plan to
stick to online?
Both. Have a walk in restaurant and
still operate online
Social
media or referrals, which has been more helpful to your business？
Social media
What
would you consider to be the biggest risk you've taken so far in your business?
Paying for vendor’s slot at an event In
September or October last year. It was a mess, I knew it was a 50/50 chance but
I still tried. It didn’t come out well, cos the event planners didn’t try at
all, they were after making profit off the slots. They had so many vendors, and
most of us had the same products to sell, the turnout too was poor. So they had
plenty vendors with same products and few turnouts, it was a big loss. The
biggest risk I’ve taken in my business.
RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS
Do
you see your glass half full or half empty?
Half full.
Would
you rather lose all the money you've made in the past 5 years or all the
memories you've made in the past 5 years?
All the memories in the past 5 years
What
3 apps do you use the most on your phone?
Twitter. Bolt. Instagram
Would
you rather smell like poop and not know it or constantly smell like poop that
no one else can smell?
Constantly smell like poop that no one
else can smell, a problem known is a problem half solved. I’ll find a solution
to it.
Would
you rather someone be honest and hurt your feelings or lie to protect your
feeling?
I’d rather they be honest and hurt my
feelings
Would
you rather win a lottery or work at your perfect job?
Win a lottery and go on a vacation.
I’ll work remotely from there
One has to go, Movies, Music, Reading
Movies
Thank you so much for obliging me. I really appreciate and thank you for your time
You’re welcome
P.S: This interview has been edited and condensed
for length and clarity