With her new status, Lola Udu, the brain behind popular hair brand Lo’Lavita, who recently got engaged, now has her man and business to attend to, writes Ferdinand Ekechukwu
Self-professed entrepreneur from birth, Lola Udu, the founder of popular hair brand, Lo’Lavita, is engaged. The human hair merchant shared the good news on her Instagram page: ‘’My caramel latte proposed yesterday morning and his chocolate buttercup said yes.” With her new status, the business woman now has her man and her business to attend to. Lola’s journey to live out her passion for quality luxury hair range makes a fascinating tale.
From once selling hair from her car and her dad’s office, the hair expert has come a long way from that now; poised to give hair care in Nigeria a 360 degree spin since returning to Nigeria to establish her brand. Interestingly, in partnership with a Breast Cancer Awareness organisation, COPE Foundation, a percentage of her sales goes towards contributing to women who are diagnosed or undergoing treatment for breast cancer and have lost their hair as a result of the negative effect of chemotherapy. Lola had noted, “This is really important to us because we know that every woman’s hair is her crown and glory.”
An accountant by profession, the CEO of Lavita Life Limited gained her undergraduate degree from Wayne State University. She worked for KPMG in Michigan before heading back to get an MBA in International Business and Advertising Marketing, also from Wayne State. Lola also held a role at Wayne County Community College before deciding that it was time to dive into the world of hair. Her clientele cuts across celebrities and socialites.
It appears Lola possesses innate business calling from birth, selling for as long as she can remember. In an interview, she had revealed that she had been selling since she was born. When she was at Queen’s College, she sold food to the boarding school students. She would look for other things that she could buy from the outside and sell on the inside. She was always looking for a way to get money. She can’t really pinpoint when she felt she became a full-fledged sales person but she could sell any and everything.
From a business angle, the first thing the soon-to-be-wife sold was hair. When she got into the business, she thought she could make something out of it. “I got into hair while I was studying for the CPA, a professional accounting qualification. At that point, I thought I could put in my best into the things I do. I started the web store and I was still working full-time. As it grew and the demand became too much, I decided to quit my job and venture into hair full-time. Lo’Lavita is now a full blown company and corporation. I registered it in 2009 but we really started operation in 2010.”
But why sell hair? Why not sell some other things like shoes? She said, “Hair is exciting. It’s something that women want to change. With hair, once you get started, you don’t get satisfied. We as women are just not content with our hair or maybe we are just not boring people. Aside from the product itself, I work on establishing relationships with buyers and suppliers. I also contribute to changes in the industry by looking for new ways to add value by reconstructing the product or modifying it. We just don’t want to sell a product; we want to solve problems for customers too even if that means inventing a new product. Then, there’s the marketing aspect of things which involves a lot of creativity.”
