Uzo Orimalade worked in the financial and marketing industry in the US for a number of years before moving back to Nigeria. In Nigeria, Uzo continued with her career by working in the Management and Investment banking industry before she made the switch to entrepreneurship.
One would have thought that Uzo would start her own finance or investment company with so many years of experience but that was not the case, Uzo started Cupcake Couture Lagos, an organisation which provides retail and corporate clients with premium baked goods. She later added Uzo’s Food Labs which provides consulting services to the food, beverage & hospitality industry, cooking classes and demos to individuals and corporate organizations.
The food entrepreneur admits that the switch from the corporate industry to food entrepreneurship was not an over night decision. According to her, she would go to work in the day and bake overnight and deliver to clients before getting to work the next day. Uzo did this for a year and a half while saving aggressively (in order to have a financial buffer) and made the leap into full time self – employment.
Now, Uzo has turned her passion into a thriving business and is an inspiration to several women.
Her advice to anyone who is also seeking to make the big switch from paid employment to entrepreneurship is to have a plan and of course a financial buffer that would help when the cash flow stops for a while.
