LIVING WITH ROOMIES AND THE GREAT SIDE HUSTLE — DISPELLING MYTHS WITH MARIAM

Good day and welcome to Haven.Inc, we'll be talking to a kind and gracious host, Fadahunsi Mariam Olajumoke, a student and enterpreneur.

Our chat started with a shared hatred for cockroaches, their smell, and almost everything related to their being and existence. It turns out that Mariam is a witch (lol!) Armed with a broom and a very bright torch, she goes about killing cockroaches in the dead of the night, disrupting her roommates who are trying to sleep.

This happened so much that they poked fun at her when she wasn't around, saying they enjoyed their sleep in her absence. Of course, she took it all in good grace. And that's Fadahunsi Mariam for you, a gracious host.

While chatting with her on WhatsApp, I asked her what it was like to have roommates, if it was all doom and gloom like like most say, and with her permission, I'll share a bit of what we discussed.

tokedeeliyanu: But how's it living with roomies? Don't think it's an easy thing. Cos I can't imagine, honestly.

Mariam: Oh it is [easy]. I also hated the thought of living with people. [But] we basically haven't had even one fight for the three years we've been staying together.

tokedeeliyanu: Wow! How come?

Mariam: Well, I figured it's because we don't really share things. Like we each have our own gas cylinders, plates and whatnot. We ask for permission to use each other's things and it's really easy.

 

 

 (She continues) We wash our plates together with all other dirty plates when we want to go wash ours. Cook food for everyone when we want to without asking for a dime; Anybody sweeps, no complaint. It's really not a problem. And if you see us sef, we'd be gisting and laughing and coming through for each other.

tokedeeliyanu: I see friendship, I see love, I see independence, I see care, I see respect. No pressures, nothing in return.. it's beautiful Mariam.

Mariam: Exactly how it is!

Indeed, as it always should be. Thanks most kindly for letting us share your story Mariam. We hope it helps inspire others to be better people and roommates, and also pick up lessons from your friendship.

tokedeeliyanu: And one more question. How do you combine business with your education? How did your side hustle come to be?

Mariam: My side hustle originated from my nature, I love being busy doing something that yields a good result. I hate being idle and all this bothered me during the pandemic break. I pretty much had so much time to sit around doing nothing and it felt like a disease to me (😂) Well, idleness is a disease health-wise.

(She adds) There was also the fact that I was legit broke [lol!] so I kept complaining to my family that I needed to do something to earn money. So one day, I complained again to one of my brothers and he proposed that I get into the perfume business just like my dad. Personally, I decided to add a few other segments but why not start small with perfume?

So I got to work and gathered perfume pictures, started my advert, started selling immediately the lockdown was eased. A few friends patronized me, i I decided to open an Instagram page with help from a friend, and a Facebook page as well. Had my brand logo made and my branded bag. I also pre- ordered goods from China with the money I made from selling within that short while.

tokedeeliyanu interjects: [Wow!]

Then it was resumption time, I had a considerably large amount of money and got a lot of perfumes to take with me to school.

That was really how it all started. [Not long after], my brother needed a secretary for his logistics company and hey, I have a good reputation in the family, I'm pretty much a very principled person so I'm trustworthy, not to brag.

So voila! I landed the job and started working with the company, keeping records and money, balancing up accounts and all that. I even received job offers from a few people to work as their secretary too which I turned down.

[When] school resumed and it wasn't easy to handle all that at once. So I figured I'd be at school on weekdays and resume work at the office on weekends as a part-time employee.

Of course, I also worked for the company while at school, but with my gadgets. It was stressful, it still is, especially since I have more responsibilities back home but I believe I've found a balance in between everything. [But] I'd rather be this busy than have to sit around doing nothing all day.

tokedeeliyanu: Truly truly indeed. Thank you once again Mariam.

Mariam is currently a 300-Level Physical and Health Education student of the Lagos State University, a scholar extraordinaire with an enviable business acumen. She once made a most memorable presentation on the whole-part-whole method of teaching that I didn't forget in a hurry. It was so clear to me in the exam hall more than others (lol!) I guess we can say a professor in the making. She going places, do watch out for her.