Innovation is critical to the success of interior design business. The Chief Executive, Blue Mahogany, an interior design outfit, Omon Anenih-Mordi, is aware of this. The entrepreneur is, therefore, riding the crest of innovative ideas and skills to delight her customers and change the face of interior design business. DANIEL ESSIET reports.
THE has become a household name in the interior design business. Among the rich and famous, the Chief Executive of Blue Mahogany, an upscale interior design outfit, Omon Anenih-Mordi (a.k.a OaM), has carved a niche for herself in the interior design business.
With an increasing clientele, sustained over the years with innovation and quality service delivery, Anenih-Mordi has become an entrepreneurial sensation, and she appears determined to remain in the driving seat of interior design business in the country.
Her customers are mostly celebrities who engage her services to transform their homes. They are drawn mostly by her exquisite, eye-popping designs and professional advice.
But Anenih-Mordi’s rise to fame and fortune in the interior decor busniess was not instant; she had always loved the business right from her young age. This was why after her degree, she decided to home her skills by enrolling for a design training in the United Kingdom (UK).
Since the completion of the training, she has never looked back. The innovation and skills she acquired from the training, which she has brought to bear on the business, has made her one of the most sought after in the crowded market for interior designers.
With a rare combination of beauty, brain and brawn, Anenih-Mordi has since incorporated Blue Mahogany Ltd. That was in 2006. She has been dedicated to the team ever since. Her international training and experience as well as her local knowledge has made her an invaluable asset to numerous project teams and a sought after expert in design, lifestyle and luxury.
Interestingly, the budding entrepreneur wanted to be a lawyer. Hear her: “Everyone told me I would be great at it (Law) and in theory, I was. I remember being in the university and negotiating an agreement with my landlady that involved a small discount if she would let me wallpaper my bedroom myself. Up until my mid-20s I still didn’t consider the possibility of design as a career. It wasn’t an option on my radar. For years I spent my days watching grand designs, and various home make-over shows. At some point, I read a book that planted a question in my head, one that I was never able to shake off. If I could do anything, what would I do? I knew then I wouldn’t be a lawyer.”
She said although, in her vision of herself as a petroleum lawyer, she was successful, but not fulfilled. “So I took some time to explore my passions, hobbies, and consider the things I would do for a living. Eventually the penny dropped and the rest is history, “ she said.
She had her challenges though. Like other start-ups, Anenih-Mordi said she started the business with nothing. Hear her: “I started with little to nothing really. Just as much as it took to register with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Eventually I had to sell my car to pay rent, but that is a whole other story.”
Despite the initial challenges, her rare ambition to succeed paid off. With 16 full time staff, a team of free lancers and other consultants and professionals who collaborate with her from time to time, Anenih-Mordi has hit it big.
Today, she is in the position to mentor and counsel young entrepreneurs. Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs: “Keep on learning. To be a game-changer you need to read, explore, experience, inquire, ask questions, experiment. Go through magazines, journals, books, blogs, exhibitions, everyday situations… anywhere you can learn, be inspired, challenged or given a question to ponder or a problem to solve.”
She also advised them not to be passive observers, but solution providers. She said she had made sacrifices to become a successful entrepreneur. “There are many choices I have made and continue to make. Nights I had to work late or mornings I had set out extra early. Holidays I haven’t gone on,“ she said.
She however, said despite all these, each day still brings a new satisfaction. “Sometimes it is just enough that I have gotten through the day and crossed a few things off my ‘to do’ list. Other times it is getting an email from an aspiring designer or hopeful entrepreneur who wants to know how I did it and then I think to myself, I did it,” she stated.
She also said in her rise to fame and fortune, one of the biggest things she detested was mediocrity. “To be successful you have to give up ‘ok’ in exchange for ‘excellent’ or at the very least, ‘better’,” she said.
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