ELAN PERSONALITY: Betty Irabor

Inspiring Minds

Being a publisher and head of an entire team is no mere walk in the park. Like every industry, publishing presents its own unique challenges.

Betty explains: “There have been days when I’ve said to myself: what if I just announce that this is my last Genevieve? How would people take it?” She has faced all sorts of issues around self-doubt, inconsistent sales, funding challenges and surviving in the particularly stressful working conditions in Nigeria.

But she has never given up, choosing rather to use them as stepping stones, and learning more and more about herself throughout the process. There were times she got it right and other times when she didn’t, “but gradually, I have evolved.”

As Genevieve evolves, Betty evolves. The story of Genevieve is really the story of Betty.

“There are endless possibilities and I hope to inspire other women who are challenged by age, because some women feel that when they turn 40 that they can’t start anything and can’t take a job. You can. It is not about the age; it is about that thing you are passionate about, bringing to life a dream you’ve always had.

"They say the graveyard is the richest place because a lot of dreams are buried with the people there. People who are always procrastinating; procrastination robs you of time. Another challenge for people is fear. What if I fail? It would be nice of people to think: what if I succeed?”

It has been seven years since the first Genevieve magazine rolled off the press and it has been an adventure ever since.

Creating Genevieve

Betty always had a love for words and written language, and as a magazine aficionado, she never really thought about piecing all three elements together. Then came her eureka moment at the age of 45, while looking through some magazines a friend had sent from Singapore.

“I just sat up and decided to start scribbling ideas down. But I didn’t know how it was going to work out, so I called up a couple of people for help and they would say, ‘Yeah, Betty, I always knew you would do a magazine.’

And I thought: ‘how come you guys knew and I didn’t?’” Having no training or experience in the realm of publishing, Betty went out on a limb and learned many lessons on the way. Since then, Genevieve magazine has become one of the most popular fashion and lifestyle magazines in the country, and fans of the ‘movement’ have continued to show their support.

Yet, she admits, “If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn’t have gone into publishing.”

The ‘Stylista’

Judging from her pink laptop, pink telephone and office decorations, she has a thing for the colour. And judging from the way the turquoise beading on the neck of her fitted ankara number perfectly matches the blue in a candy-coloured drink she so daintily sips at during the interview — and we mustn’t forget the Vivienne Westwood jelly heels and the Salvatore Ferragamo wedges — she keeps up with her fashion game.

As a stylish diva and the head of a magazine with heavy fashion content, she effortlessly cultivates relationships with some of Nigeria’s most creative minds in the fashion and beauty industries, featuring beautifully clad models on the glossy pages of the magazine.

Close Your Eyes and Jump

In her book, Morning Dew, Betty likens her journey into the heart of publishing to the plight of the tight-rope walker doing a fine job — until they look down. “Before I started Genevieve, I didn’t have any plans. I had a nine to five and it was okay. I had no ambition.

"I was one of those kids you would ask: ‘When you grow up what do you want to become?’ and I wouldn’t be able to say one thing I wanted to become. But I am proud because now I say to my daughter: what do you want to become? And she says, ‘Mummy, you have spoiled me with too many options.’ She realises that she can do anything. The world is her oyster, and that simply is the true winning mentality.”