Ijeoma Igbaji is The Founder and CEO of the DYnamic Gifts and SUrprises Company, White Rabbit Favours. White Rabbit Favours creates and delivers unique gift packages and beautiful surprises for any celebration, to WOW the Celebrant, make their day extra special and give them unforgettable memories.
After graduation, Ijeoma Igbaji dreamed of the security of Paid employment, but God had greater plans for her. Fresh out of National youth service with no dream job in sight IJeoma chose to develop the skills she had to create the type of job she wanted. So she delved into entrepreneurship and White Rabbit Concept was born. She ran a events management firm for a while, operated an upscale lounge in Abuja called Code Lounge, Published an Abuja lifestyle magazine called City Crawler Magazine, however she shut all of them down to focus on White Rabbit FAvours in 2013.
After graduation, Ijeoma Igbaji dreamed of the security of Paid employment, but God had greater plans for her. Fresh out of National youth service with no dream job in sight IJeoma chose to develop the skills she had to create the type of job she wanted. So she delved into entrepreneurship and White Rabbit Concept was born. She ran a events management firm for a while, operated an upscale lounge in Abuja called Code Lounge, Published an Abuja lifestyle magazine called City Crawler Magazine, however she shut all of them down to focus on White Rabbit FAvours in 2013.
INTERVIEW
Tell Us about White Rabbit Favours and how the idea to surprise people came about?
White Rabbit Favours was launched in 2013 and since then we have carried out over 1000 deliveries to Surprise and DElight our clients. I was running an event management company when I got the idea to start this business. My Sister who works in a bank always asked me to help her deliver cakes, or gifts to her husband or friends or colleagues on their birthdays or anniversary and I thought why not turn it into a service and charge for it. Little did i know that it would morph into something so fantastic. We Package and Deliver Cakes,Fresh Flowers, balloons, chocolates, jewelry, wine, champagne, Cars, SPa VOuchers, Shopping Vouchers, Gift Certificates etc for every occasion and celebration. We also include the WR Saxophone or violin serenade for our Classic birthday surprise. We recently added the talking drum to the CLassic surprise and its been so great.
People call us the Joy Vendors, we are all about Joy and happiness.
A business of surprises, what has The response been
The truth is every Human being has a need for Love, according to Maslow Heirachy of Needs. When people call White RAbbit favours to surprise someone They are not only showing love, appreciating or celebrating the recipient, but they also get it back in return. The Pleasure goes to both the sender and receiver. The unexpected always feels good. It meets their desire for more, so instead of mediocre celebration they get the WOW experience which is unforgettable. The novelty of it all leaves a memorable feeling and causes Joy and Happiness
How did you get the background and skill to run this Business? Beyond my University degree which is Theatre Arts, I attended the Enterprise Development Center of Pan African University. And from childhood I have always been great at decorations and gift wrapping and I give the best gifts to friends and family. I have focused on business and self development so I could innovate and always give my clients something new. I have clients who come to us every year, every birthday and anniversary and they get something new.
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| Ijeoma Igbaji |
How many employees do you have:
I currently have a team of 5. But some surprises require more people e.g Flash mobs or orchestra or Christmas day secret Santa or VAls day deliveries, so we have adhoc staff on standby which could run up to about 35 people.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years...
We want to be to go to for Surprises in Nigeria.
We have our roadmap for achieving this however you know that business is about embracing adaptability and flexibility because it shifts radically every year.
What is Your favourite part of running this business
Meeting people, sharing in their joy, being a part of their love stories and their celebrations, watching people faces light up as they receive their gifts or surprises, seeing the smiles. The impact is priceless
This Interview first appeared in Thisday Newspaper on the 1st of September 2018
