Why I Stopped Selling Gold -Aisha Guobadia

When you talk about young and very enterprising business women then in Lagos, one of the very first names that come to mind is Aisha Guobadia, the purveyor of Gold. So much in demand was her gold that her shop was the toast of the mighty and affluent in the society, from the very top of the military hierarchy to the civil society.

Aisha was not only the Queen of gold business on Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos; she was known and respected in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirate. Aisha is one of the very few Nigerians respected on the basis of her high and sophisticated taste in the business cycle.

The society lady, who enjoys driving only SUV cars, suddenly disappeared from the social circle and for more than two years, tongues have wagged as to her whereabouts. With her absence, those who should know reasoned that business went bad for her so she had to take a break, re-strategize and re-launch herself.

Now, the very beautiful and friendly lady who is always a head tuner anywhere she goes is back and with a bang.

She speaks on what went wrong and her new line of business. “I must confess that I ran into trouble with the line of business I was well known for, that is selling gold. I was almost bankrupt due to the volume of debts my so called friends and top society ladies, as you call them, owed me.

“Most of them prefer to buy from me because of the value they get them from what I sell. They buy and when it is time to pay, they either start telling stories or you don't see them again and by nature, I am a very reserved person who will never quarrel over ephemeral things, so when the debts became too much, it affected my business, so, I shut down and put my attention on my son, Michael, who now became the centre of my life.

“At a point, I was also out of the country, when I returned, I took a very careful look at the situation of things in the country, I found out that a lot has changed in our society, to survive, you have to be smart and know the terrain very well before you delve into any business.

“My own idea of an ideal business is all about perfection. If you want to do something, please do it very well and take it to perfection. My new business line is interior decoration and I tell you, people have started knowing me for that because I put my entire mind and my soul into it.

“The name is St. Clair Ventures, the same name I used when I was dealing in gold and our corporate office is at Allen Avenue, Ikeja. We are still in the process of opening and this should come up in a matter of weeks. You can always count on my words when I tell you that I am going to make a difference with God on my side.”

March 26, 2012