Goodness Adeosun - Student By Day, Shoemaker by Night
Interviewed by Ifeoluwa A.
Juggling academics and business takes a lot of determination and requires hard work, but this lady makes it happen — a student who doubles as a shoe-maker.
Goodness is the brain behind Gudie Designs, a hand-made shoe brand and a medical student. In this interview, we talked about running a business while being a student, mental health and navigating life. Enjoy!
Ife: Please tell me a little about yourself.
Goodness: My name is Goodness Adeosun, a 500-level medical student, and I make shoes on the side. I am from Ogun state. I am a twin, and I come from a family of six, and five out of us are either working in the medical field or studying a medical course.
I: Interesting. Did you choose to study medicine, or was it expected?
G: It’s more of the latter. Since my parents and older sister are doctors, it seemed like the natural path to follow.
I: Hmmm. Do you enjoy it, though?
G: Lol. In Nigeria? Even students who are there of their choice do not enjoy it as such. It is the actual ghetto — so stressful and overwhelming.
The education system is below par here and has no respect for students’ mental health, and nobody cares. Everybody just dey does as they like. Imagine cramming courses that should take four years into one year, saying that other students have done it that way before and we have to do it too. Then, there’s the race against strike actions and all whatnot.
I: Nawa. How did your shoe business start?
G: It officially started in 2018. Then, I was waiting to resume at the university after my A-Levels and looking for things to do to keep busy. I have always been fascinated with creative activities and handwork and have made different things over the years.
My cousins (whom we had not seen for about seven years) were visiting Nigeria. We sent them a long list of things to bring for us, as is usually the case in such instances. Then I started thinking about what I could give them in return. I decided to crotchet shoes for them, but somehow, the design in my mind was not coming to life no matter how hard I tried. By coincidence, they did not come until the following year, and it took me six months to eventually figure out how to make the design I had in mind. I learnt other designs in the process though, and by the time I resumed school, I had several shoes I had made.
People saw the shoes I had made for myself and asked if I could also make for them. At first, I was not charging them for my service, I only collected enough money to cover the materials, but that changed later. With time, I started posting pictures of the shoes I made on Facebook and later on, I paid some WhatsApp influencers to advertise for me.
I: How do you combine that with starting as a medical student?
G: It was not an easy feat at all, but the feedback I was getting kept me going and sometimes the money. I loved to crotchet, but to be honest, the money was a bigger motivation.
I: On that note, let’s talk about your juggling these two things and what keeps you going.
G: Schooling and running a business at the same time is highly demanding, chaotic even, and my mental health is almost always in the mud. To describe it as stressful would be putting it mildly. It is the business itself that keeps me going. Besides the money, I have found purpose in it. I have come to form a bond of sorts with my customers. It is also important to me to continue to serve them, come what may. It is now something I want to be remembered for, a brand that will outlive me.
I had a mental breakdown once and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for a while. I even stopped going to school for some time, and that made me repeat a level. This shoe business gave me hope, something to look forward to, like a light at the end of the tunnel. Any time I catch myself contemplating some of my ordeals, and start to feel like a victim, I remind myself about how far I have come with the business and I feel better. It keeps me so busy that there is no time to think about things that make me unhappy, and I am more than grateful for that. It is always one thing or another, but we must keep going.
Entrepreneurship in Nigeria is not for the weak, with uncertainty and turbulence from time to time. I don’t think business owners have smooth sailing anywhere in the world, but it seems to be so much tasking here. If you’re not careful, the economic situation can push you over the edge, and you’ll just give it all up. At some point, I contemplated closing the business at least once a week. Those were dark times indeed, but we move.
I: With this, what can you say about balance? Can it be achieved?
G: Like 50–50? I doubt it can be achieved, and sometimes, I don’t think the whole concept even exists, to be very honest. I think it’s a myth because something always suffers. The way I see it, life is uncertain, and there will always be something that can potentially derail your focus, no matter how small.
When I’m in a class, it’s zero attention to business because the plan is to apportion some time to each thing, but it does not always work. Sometimes, I have extra classes or spend extra hours in the ward, and that eats into the allotted time to focus on my business, but it’s beyond my control. On the other hand, I may be trying to study, and customer or logistics issues come up, and I have to leave everything until the issue is solved. I try not to accept orders when I have exams so I can focus completely, but it’s a lovely cocktail I have to drink now and then. My goal is to ensure that one part of my life does not suffer extreme damage and when I fall short, I have to find ways to make up for it.
I: What do you do when you’re not studying or working?
G: I am an indoor person so, I typically prefer activities that do not require leaving the house. I like to play musical instruments, especially the piano and cook or bake, depending on the mood of the day. I also spend a considerable amount of time on Twitter.
I: Is there anything you wish you had done differently?
G: I don’t think so. So far, things seem to have gone the way they should go, except for one or two things. However, I sometimes feel some of my ordeals may have been avoided if I learnt to say no earlier. I believe people ought to learn to say no and stand by it.
I: How would you say your faith has helped you navigate life?
G: I learnt how to pray from my dad, and I’ve always wanted to emulate his prayer life. Before, I used to go to the school chapel to pray regularly. Then, I had some issues, one of which started on my way back from the chapel one evening. So, I went through a phase of doubt and asked many questions. My mum encouraged me to pray, but I honestly never felt up to it.
These days, I’m slowly getting back to how I was before, and so far, so good. Also, about two years ago, I met someone who taught me about meditation, and positive confessions. It has helped my healing process a whole lot. It also helped me see how the things we experience start in our minds and how our mindset affects every area of our lives.
I: What are your plans for the future?
G: I still have two years to go in medical school, then NYSC and housemanship. So, that’s the main focus. On the business side, it’s mainly to grow the brand and reach more people. I also want to learn how to play the piano very well while vehemently resisting the temptation to learn anything tech-related, as it seems to be the wave right now.
I: I wish you all the best with that.
G: Thank you so much.