For a bride, a wedding gown is more than a gown; it is the embodiment of her childhood fantasy, the symbol of her transition to wifehood. Affiong Mgbechi is every bride’s best friend. At Brides-n-More, she lets you know, in her unassuming manner, what works for your body type and what doesn’t.
She’s patient as you try one or as many dresses as you need to, to get the right fit or until your mother and girlfriends approve. She understands your anxiety, excitement and eagerness, in this imperative search. And she helps in putting the finishing touches on your bridal train. “I love to see brides dressed up in their wedding outfit, excited to come out, looking very happy. I am very happy when a bride is satisfied with our services.”
From Banking to Entrepreneurship
Before she started providing women with their bridal gowns- her main objective, Mrs. Mgbechi spent a great deal of her working life as a banker, stifling the entrepreneurial spirit within her. “I was never the kind of child that said I wanted to be a lawyer or doctor. I think somewhere inside I knew I was going to end up in business.”
Mrs. Mgbechi’s foray into the bridal gown business came at a time in her life when she needed a change. “I attended a church service where the pastor talked about entrepreneurship, and he asked the church members who were interested in starting their own businesses to stand up. I stood up and I remember my husband asking me what business I could possibly start since I worked in a bank.”
Inspired by what she heard, she decided to look for an idea, and found one when she saw her old wedding dress in the closet. “I came home one day and saw my wedding dress in the closet. I was actually puzzled that it was still there, so I decided to sell it. I started out by putting up ads in soft sell magazines. Unfortunately the first customer that came to purchase the dress had no money at all to pay. She asked if she could borrow the dress and pay me later. Not knowing what to do, I decided to loan her the dress. I eventually had to give her my wedding shoes, gloves and neck piece, and that was how I started loaning my wedding dress.”
Brides-n-More
Regarding her startup hitches, Mrs. Mgbechi says, “If anyone is interested in starting their own business, I believe they should first look for a mentor. One of the challenges I encountered when I first started my business was not having any mentors. At the time, I found out that the few people that were in the bridal business were not willing to help and offer advice.” In addition, she had too few wedding dresses for her growing customers.
“In the beginning, I spent a lot of my bank salary on adverts and very little on purchasing the dresses. I remember when a client walked into my shop and, after looking around, she asked me, ‘Is this all you have? And yet you are making all this noise,’ and she walked away.” Today, Mrs. Mgbechi runs a manufacturing plant that produces an assortment of clothes for bridesmaids and flower girls, in addition to a large shop. Her passion for her business coupled with her deep faith in God made Mrs. Mgbechi resilient in those initial trying times. “You have to be passionate about whatever business you are interested in. Be passionate about it because you find it is very helpful especially during challenging times.”
Attack of the Bridezillas
Few things can turn a calm woman wild like the stress of an impending wedding, and Mrs. Mgbechi knows this all too well. “I try as best as I can to make them happy even though some of them are bridezillas at the time, which is understandable. But I try to tell them that you have to really like your wedding dress, pick something that suits you and flatters your figure; don’t chose something because your friends picked them. I also advise my clients to wait till at least four months before the wedding to start searching for a wedding dress, and no earlier, because sometimes the wedding never holds.”
Once a bride has decided on her wedding dress, after browsing through the Brides-N-More catalog, Mrs. Mgbechi sets to work bringing that bride’s vision to reality. She appears to be doing quite well at that, since 70 percent of her clients turn out to be referrals from other satisfied clients.
Home Life
Running a business can be particularly challenging for a mother. Fortunately for Mrs. Mgbechi, she has figured out a routine that works for her. “My husband and I have come up with a schedule to balance both our work and family lives. We have a set time when we drop them up and pick them up, and luckily for me, my kids understand that mummy has a stressful job that takes up a lot of her time.” Mrs. Mgbechi looks up to her own mother, and credits her with passing on the entrepreneurial spirit. “I lost my dad when I was young, so she was responsible for my siblings and I. She worked so hard that we never lacked.”
Hopefully, Mrs. Mgbechi’s own kids will be inspired by their mother’s entrepreneurial spirit and passion.