No business is exclusive to the male gender or too dirty for women – Ajayi Beauty Martins

Ajayi Beauty Martins is a 400 level student of the University Of Port Harcourt in the Department of Sociology and the creative Director of Beauberry creations, the umbrella company of her signature brand “Tyniture” where she is reusing and recycling tyres into furniture with a sense of class and beauty such as sofa, coffee tables, side stools, chairs, thereby reducing waste in the environment and at the same time Creating a source of livelihood.

Beauty Martins is also a volunteer for Non profit organizations and Social Work groups within and outside Port Harcourt serving in different capacity.

The young entrepreneur shares her inspiring story in this interview and where she sees her brand in the nearest future.

Growing Up

YES it did and I can say 80% of what I do today is as a result of my growth process, I wasn’t born with a silver spoon , and we had to live at the mercy of family and friends, at some point in my life, I had to tell myself the truth about Life, because I knew I would have to emancipate myself and my family from the den of living on others and the only way out was for me to Work Hard.

At age 7 my grandad used to buy me chicks to train and sell, although most of them died (lol) and then after school hours I used to make coconut candy and ice-cream made from milk and water to sell to my mates around my area, some evenings my aunt would roast corn and sell oranges in front of the compound and I always had to join her so we could make sales, at home we also sold drinks and sachet water in small quantity to keep us running, for me it was fun and I always looked forward to getting back from school to start selling.

My mum had a salon and most evenings I and my younger sister would have to go to her shop with our ice-cream and candy to sell so we could raise money although it was little but it gave me a sense of responsibility and every step of these way I had to learn different skills to keep me going and all these indirectly prepared me for the business world.

Meet Beauty

I am the first of two girls, raised by a single Mother, born on the 4th of April 1997.Attended De-Harry International School from Nursery to Junior Secondary school and then Moved over to Government Senior Secondary school, Elekahia and currently a 400level student in the department of Sociology, University Of Port Harcourt. I am a fun loving lady and a fighter.

Inspiration behind your brand “Tyniture”

Basically for me, I had always been disgusted by the unending and indiscriminate increase in poor disposing of waste, mostly non-degradable, the rate of tyre waste has recently been on a high side, I thought to myself that I needed to do my bit and also in trying to avoid being killed by breathing bad air and the soot menace, that has clouded our beautiful city, of which a certain % comes from tyre burnt in abattoirs, tyre burnt in streets, used to burn bushes and just randomly burnt most times ,i needed to create my own little awareness by showing to my community that great and beautiful things can still be made out of waste Tyre and that birthed Tyniture for me.

Balancing school and work

I prioritize my time. I work extra hard and smart to put in as much effort as I put into my academic into my business, so I don’t flop in any area and even if I flop, I get up, balance things and continue to push.

When it’s time for School I face School strictly and When its time to get dirty and work, I give full dedication.

It’s not been easy, because it takes discipline and sometimes I get really stretched but it’s been worthwhile.

Work challenges

Restriction in getting these tyres from some locations. Restrictions and Poor Support System in Creating a Clear and Truthful Awareness about the hazards in tyre burning and misuse.

Lack of Material/Machine Support in Getting new tyre artifacts, designs and arts produced due to lack of funding.

I do more….

Aside from the Tyniture brand and Waste to Wealth Recycling.nI am involved in Handcraft using Africa Inspired Materials.

I am Currently the Primary Licensee and Organizer of TEDx University Of PortHarcourt.

Volunteer at Keeping it Real Foundation, I volunteer for center for youth entrepreneurial development.I was also Privileged to Volunteer for NBC Youth Empowered PH in 2016.

On a personal note I run an Outreach, made up of a group of friends, we do social media and crowd funding to buy gifts and foodstuffs during festive periods to visit orphanages, hospitals (children wards) and street children to have fun and share the good news of Love with them.

Reward

The greatest Reward for me has always been that I am happy with what I do and whether or not anyone rewards me, I am proud of the fact that I am making impact from my little corner.

“Tyniture” in 5 years

Growth is a process and I am sure that with continuity and sustainable work, The brand would be known far and wide for Excellence and Top notch designs in a Few Years to Come.

Giving up

When I first started I had a lot of persons who told me I was going to fail and that drained me so much that I became depressed for a while but I stepped on it and worked harder, Here I am today because I didn’t give up on my dreams.