Dr. Akintomide Temilope: A Veterinary Doctor, and Entrepreneur.

Dr. Akintomide Temilope prides herself on being an esteemed inductee of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, a thriving fashion designer and a committed Christian. 

Beyond her dedication to her medical career, she is the proud founder of “Apparelsbyini” , a flourishing fashion business that specializes in crafting elegant, timeless, and modest dresses for women and children. “Apparelsbyini” is known for its unique and fashionable outfits, with a strong emphasis on high-quality products and exceptional customer service.

Dr Akintomide's fashion venture reflects her commitment to excellence and her passion for creating sustainable and stylish clothing. Her ability to balance the demands of veterinary education with running a successful fashion business is a testament to her entrepreneurial spirit and dedication. Through “Apparelsbyini”, she has built a robust brand with a growing customer base, underscoring her skills in both fashion and customer relations.

Today, we spotlight Dr. Akintomide Temilope, whose journey transcends beyond the clinic. Balancing rigorous academic demands with entrepreneurial spirit, Dr. Akintomide stands out not just for her commitment to her academics but also for her thriving fashion business. 

In this interview, we delve into her dual passions, exploring how her academic pursuits and entrepreneurial drive complemented each other.

How did you initially get involved in entrepreneurship, and what motivated you to pursue it alongside your academics?

My desire to go into entrepreneurship started in 2020 during the lockdown. I needed a lot of money at that time and I had to sit down to think of what I could to to make money because I didn’t like the situation of things.

I tried my hands on many things, such as selling bags and importing goods from China, but this didn’t work out for me. Later on, I moved to selling snacks, like buns and doughnut which worked out for some time.

Finally though, I decided to venture into tailoring (which I already learnt before coming to school) after my DVM part II examinations. 

My main motivation to pursue entrepreneurship alongside academics was “sapa”. I needed to make money and earn money, so I decided to put my skill to good use.

I started “Apparelsbyini” when I was in 500L since it is a gap year and the level where there’s a break from writing DVM professional exams. I started out by making ward coats, broiler suits and scrubs.

What were some of the challenges you faced in balancing your entrepreneurial activities with your academic responsibilities?

My major challenge was finding a balance between my two interests. At first, I didn’t know how to strike a balance, so I had to “stab” classes (I did this a lot).

There was even a point where a lecturer called me to find out why I was missing lectures and even clinics. So, I had to sit down to do some introspection because I was towing the path of failure.

Striking a balance was hard because I was getting jobs from Vet. students and non - Vet students alike. Apart from broiler suits and scrubs, I also make clothes for women and children, so the combination of this workload made things quite difficult.

In fact, I had to hire a seamstress at a point, just so that I could get helping hands but this even increased the stress. I had to work twice as hard to be able to afford her wages.

Due to all these, I was barely able to read until tests and exams were very close.

How did you prioritize tasks and make decisions when faced with competing demands from your business and academic responsibilities?

My self-introspection made me take some self-help courses and God really helped me by granting me favour and wisdom.

I took courses on how to effectively manage time and this led me to cutting out a lot of things. I even had to cut out sleep, I was always up from 12am-4am to sew clothes, then I’d say my morning prayers before sleeping a bit and then I’d wake up to go to class. I cut out my typical routine of watching movies too. 

I’d like to mention the fact that if you don’t want to fail as a Vet student while simultaneously choosing not to fail in entrepreneurship, you’ll need to cut out a lot of things from your schedule because you are already handling two big things.

Especially if your business is time-consuming. 

Tailoring for example, is something that requires lot of hours using the sewing machine, it is not something you can do virtually.

I chose to prioritize Vet school, my business and church because I am a serious Christian and church is very important to me. 

I completely cut out time for social activities, I was even using the time I could use to go for parties or events to get some sleep except on very few occasions. 

Also, I drew up a timetable and allotted time to activities like attending classes, reading, sewing clothes and the likes. This really helped me and went a long way in creating balance.

And at a point, I had to learn to say no to some jobs when the workload was getting too much. I learnt that it was better to say no to some jobs instead of disappointing customers. 

The wisdom of God kept me going all through and this is also something you need as a budding entrepreneur.

Were there any specific courses or academic subjects that you found particularly beneficial or relevant to your entrepreneurial endeavors?

Veterinary Economics. Apart from that, there are no other ones. 

Veterinary Medicine is Veterinary medicine while business is business. I’m grateful to the department of Public Health for making white broiler suits compulsory because I got a lot of orders from my classmates because of that rule.

However, in terms of teaching me principles that helped my entrepreneurial career, I can only think of Veterinary economics.

Looking back, what do you consider the most valuable lessons or takeaways from balancing entrepreneurship with academic excellence during your university years?

I learnt that the Lord is the strength of my life and I can do whatever I set my mind to do as long as I'm willing to give what it takes.

It also helped me build myself in terms of studying wide, taking courses, building relationships with people.

All in all, It really drew me out of my shell.