JIB Crafts: Mmayen Makeovers....The Gains of True Friendship

Most times, the influence on our lives make or mar us. The positive influence of family and great friends geared our entrepreneur today into business. Ms Ashley Agbara had the strong support of her

This piece is about her friends as much as it is about her business. Even though, she used her skill on them free of charge, they still encouraged her to start her venture.

Great friends, yeah?!

Read and be inspired...

My name is Ashley Agbara, CEO of Mmayen Makeovers. I am a 300 level Microbiology student of the prestigious University of Benin. I am from Cross River, the 2nd of four kids and I was born on the 14th of June.

Mmayen is actually my Calabar name, it means "Mother of Children". Mmayen  Makeovers is a company which does makeup, hairmaking, hair styling and beadmaking  for all kinds of events and occassions.

My friends encouraged me to go pro because I always made them up. I totally enjoy making people look all glammed up and pretty so it was not so difficult to convince me to turn my passion to a venture. 

Like I stated earlier, I actually got a lot of support from my friends when I was starting this business. My very amazing friends saw what I did and encouraged me to start the business. My sisters, mom, friends(long list of amazing people), Amah Afadameh (May 16th Photography) and Ighoxotu Onobrakpo (XO2 Photography) also helped with my photo shoots, and my sister Stepheny is my graphic designer.

So it has been smooth sailing basically because of all the positive influence around me. My friend, Vanessa 'Chu-Chu' Okolie, gave me a book which inspired and influenced me along the line. Another friend, Ehita Omoike is actually the Manager of Mmayen Makeovers.

With the help of these amazing people, the journey has been worth all the hassles and struggles.

As a student, my academics tops the list of my priorities right now. So during exams or tests, I have had to forgo some jobs. Also, some people ask to pay ridiculous prices as low as #500, while some are considerate and others pay very well. 

So it's not been easy to get a steady flow of jobs because of my school schedule and most times I have to do the jobs for students that pay meager fees.

My motivation is to make people look good and I always love to do that. I have great friends and family that support me, especially my mom Mrs Ebun Agbara.