How I Made Over ₦200k in School Selling Small Chops and Kilishi (My Student Business Journey)

My name is Temi. Some people know me as Famous TEMI 🦋, an alumni OF CRAWFORD UNIVERSITY.

But it did not start that way.

🌱 How It All Began

Back in 300 level, second semester, I was just a normal student trying to survive school stress, assignments and pocket money that finishes before the month ends.

I loved kilishi so much that I would buy it anytime I saw someone selling.

One afternoon in the hostel, I met this guy that sold kilishi. I asked if I could help him sell inside the girls hostel so I could get small commission. He took a chance on me and knew I could do better than being a distributor, so he said I should also start the business and he helped me get a product. Note that on the side, I was not making my own small chops but distributing from another slupplier which made me more profit.

I went home and told my mum I wanted to start a business. I needed about fifty thousand to buy about fifty pieces of kilishi.

I told her I would pay back with a little interest. She sent it. Maybe because she believed in me, maybe because she was curious to see if I could actually do it.

I bought my first fifty pieces.

I did not even print posters or announce anything on WhatsApp. I took a small nylon bag, carried the kilishi and started going door to door in the girls hostel.

By night, everything had finished.

I was shocked. I did not even sleep. I just sat on my bed smiling. The next day I went back to buy another fifty. This time, I sold it in less than twenty four hours.

Word spread fast. Girls were telling their friends. Random people were messaging me at night, asking if I still had kilishi left.

Growth

Then something else happened.

The guy that originally refused to let me distribute for him saw how fast I was selling. He asked me if I could also help sell for the boys hostel side. I took his goods and finished them too.

One hundred pieces gone in two days. And I made two hundred percent profit.

For the first time in my life, I saw over a hundred thousand naira in my account that I made by myself.

But things changed.

Those 400 level girls I used to sell to graduated and left school. The new 400 level girls did not really know me and most of them could not afford kilishi like the former set.

I realized something important that day. Your business is not just about your product. It is about your relationships.

So I started again from the beginning. I went to 100 level girls, 200 level girls, made friends, mingled, stayed kind. I rebuilt my customer circle from scratch.

🍤 Small Chops Journey

Then came small chops.

A guy from the boys hostel asked if I could help him sell small chops for a commission of 250 naira per pack. I said yes. I did it well. People wanted more.

One day I asked myself, why not sell my own.

So I started producing mine. And I was making one thousand naira profit on each small chops pack. I could sell sixty to seventy packs in a day during peak periods. Imagine the profit.

There were days I was tired. Days I cried. Days I made losses. Days people insulted me because I didn’t deliver fast enough. But there has never been a day I regretted starting.

I became known in school not because I talked too much, but because I served people well. I was friendly, I joked a lot, I entered rooms, I was always ready to help. That is how my influence grew.

I even became president of my department. I worked with creatives, designers, business minds. Crawford shaped me.

💡 Lessons I Learned

• Your influence is your greatest currency as a student.
• Do not be shy to sell. Hunger is worse than what people will say.
• Customer relationships matter more than product sometimes.
• Start small. Grow as you go.
• Be kind. People buy from those they are comfortable with.

❤️ My Final Words

Build your brand, show up, even if it is pure water, kilishi, hair bonnet or small chops. Be consistent with it.

Be nice, be friendly and always position yourself. Your school is not just a place to get a degree. It is a place to build a story.

To be honest, I have lots of stories to tell and I will probably share more here so stay tuned and just Build a good STORY for yourself !!

If you want to reach me, follow me on Instagram↗.