Toritse Joy Orighoye is young and very intelligent, she’s also quite innovative with her talents. She speaks to Elora’s Blog in this interview.

Please tell us about your background?
My name is Toritse Joy Orighoye, or simply TJ. I am from Delta State, warri precisely. I am the first of five children and a graduate of Accountancy. I am also a Certified National Accountant with the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN ), a writer,Public Speaker and Badass foodie.

You’re an Entrepreneur, what’s your line of business?
I run an online fruits and vegetables market (teejveggies). We are into bulk supplies of varieties of fruits and vegetables like strawberry, tomatoes, passionfruit,Cauliflower, brocolli, Chinese cabbage, red cabbage, green cabbage, eggplant, horned melon, fresh pepper, shombo, carrot, onion and many more. We also supply for home use as well.

Photos of Teejveggies

What inspired you to start up your business?
My inspiration is my love for food. I have always nursed the dream of owning a big grocery outlet and restaurant too. When I visited the city of Jos and saw just how blessed we were agriculturally, I got the instant nudge to start immediately and continue building as I go.

How were you able to raise fund for your business?
This is the funny one. Dan Lok said, if you cannot start a business without money, you cannot sustain with money. I pondered on this for weeks ,trying to get the hidden meaning behind it and the word LEVERAGE hit me.
I leveraged on people’s need to start up. I started with Zero capital…..all I needed was a problem and I found a solution, then found a way to sell this solution and got my customers to pay for it.

How do you advertise your business?

I advertise for now on Facebook and instagram.

What are the challenges you’ve faced while runnning your business?
Prompt delivery is one of the challenges we face. And also the inconsistent delivery prices from logistic companies. We also face the challenges of irregular pricing because our produce operates with season. There is season of plenty and season of lack, which invariably shoots prices up.

How does it feel being your own boss?
Hahaha. ..I’m of the opinion that I can never be my own boss. My customers are my employers and trust me, it’s more difficult satisfying them than in paid employment, because every customer comes with different style and attitude which you always have to constantly adjust to . It causes you to be bipolar, changing attitudes severally in a day.

Has it been financially rewarding?

It has been very rewarding….in less than a month, we have had over 50 orders and counting. All your customers really want is to know that their money is safe with you and you will deliver as promised.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In another five years, I would have grown my businesses way beyond what it is today and started the restaurant I talked about earlier.
Thanks for having me