I Can Take A Pause, But I Can’t Stop; – Siya George Batubo

By Kennedy Eberechi.

She comes across as a very modest, may be even plain – a plain beautiful woman. And then she begins to talk, and the plainness about her dissolves and you catch your breath at her eloquence, her debt, her vision.

Siya George Batubo; the Creative Director of Seeyaa’s Clothings (SYC) is a perfect example of a youth persona, who has broken free from imposed and self-imposed blockades that usually dragged behind, most individual youths from achieving their dreams.

Very assiduous, focused and result oriented, Mrs. Batubo has for the last five years carved a niche for herself and her brand in the already over saturated fashion and clothing industry of Nigeria and beyond, and has overtime demonstrated her relevance and passion.

These she was able to demonstrate when The World Satellite Online Magazine encountered her not too long ago in Abuja, Nigeria.  During our chat with her, she took us on a voyage around the Fashion and Clothing Industry of Nigeria and beyond as well as how she has been able to penetrate the industry and sustained her brand for the past five years together with her aspirations for the years ahead.

Excerpts:

Seeyaa’s Clothings Celebrated 5 Years in November 2020; What Does This Mean To You As A Person?

As a person, five years in this business is actually a very big deal for me because I have been through a lot of challenges. So having stayed five years, I am super grateful to God. Again my determination has kept me, I have always believed that I can take a pause, but I cannot stop, I can’t quit; that is one thing that has kept me till now because I know that quitting is not an option, stopping is not an option.

Nonetheless, there where times within these last five years when I actually paused for a while; I didn’t have any staff as it was just me. However, I would say that my determination and passion for fashion kept me and God too has been my source.

So, though it has not been easy, it is something that I am really proud to say that I have been in this business for five years and I am looking forward to even being in this business for up to 40 years and even pass it down to my children.

How Where You Able to Penetrate The Industry and Sustained Your Brand Over These Five Years?

Though I have people I look up to, I am not trying to be like anybody. Hence, am not under any form of pressure to do it like any person. So what has kept me is the fact that I am able to create my own designs.

Although the kind of fashion I do is fast fashion (ready to wear); something people can just pick up and go, which would be easy for me to copy someone’s style and make it sell,  I still try as much as possible to create my own designs myself and put it out there.

I think design, I breathe design and I sleep design. Anywhere I am I am seeing something to create in my head. I have so many ideas. Infact the Holy Spirit guides me, shows me what to do and I have so many ideas in my head.

Another thing that has kept me is our good customer service. I am not the kind of entrepreneur who would say no refund. For instance, if a customer has a problem with her clothes, she can always come and we will amend it for free. But, if it is something we cannot solve, we can refund.

We do not have strict policy of non-refund if the fault is from us; we have a very flexible return policy and we treat our customers very well.

Noticeably, within these five years, 85 percent of our customers are returning customers. Though we have new customers, but a larger percentage of our customers are those who have been buying from us for like two to three years now.

Some have even been there for five years and they are still buying from us. So I would say that our customer service is one of the things that have kept us in business as well because we spend so much in taking care of our customers.

What Are The Motivating Factors Behind This Your Passion?

My motivation is that fact that I love to see women look good. Seeing women look good makes me so happy beyond any explanation. Then seeing women look god in Seeyaa’s Clothings is another level of motivation.

It is so fulfilling to the extent that if I am having a bad day and someone sends me a picture of her wearing my dress, my heart will just melt and I will forget about the annoying day.

Another major motivation is in knowing that these clothes I am making make people look good and happy. Therefore, when I see women and children look that way, it’s fulfilling to me. More so, this is a business that I spoke to God about and how long I want to stay in it being what I want to do.

Thus, stopping because of one challenge or the other, or not doing the business anymore would be like me not accepting what God has done for me. This is because I always feel like God has kept me till now so there is no challenge I cannot face and I so much trust in God.

Consequently, no matter what I face, my motivation is that God and the Holy Spirit are there to guide me and so I really don’t have any issues.

What Do We Expect From You and Seeyaa’s Clothings In Five Years From Now?

In the next five years we are going to be a global brand. The plans we have is that within the next five years, every retail store that sells clothes; the way one sees the likes of  Zara, H&M in every retail store all over the world, that’s how Seeyaa’s Clothings (SYC)  will be seen.

Whether one is in US, Turkey, Australia, Canada, she will be able to see SYC off the rack in any retail shop and will be able to get it. So that is our aspiration for the next five years and I know we are going to get there, because we already have some wholesalers; people who buy from us and sell in the US. Hopefully we are going to get more of them.

We could not agree more! Describing Siya George Batubo as an epitome of resilience, innovativeness and hardwork could be an overstatement. A humble, respectable, and passionate individual; she remains a role model and source of inspiration to young and aspiring entrepreneurs.