Raheem Akingbolu
5 November 2009
analysis
Lagos — In what looks like a step ahead of her usual terrain, the nation's queen of body enhancement, Modupe Ozolua, has begun what may be termed as an excursion into another market. She recently unveiled the 'Indulge Spot,' an unusual beauty spa in Lekki, which she said was an extension of her foundation.
To Ms. Modupe Ozolua, nothing should gladden the heart of a woman than the inner feeling that all is well with her look and health. According to her, nature itself is happy with that man or woman, who makes an extra effort to add to his or her beauty. Because of this conviction, Ozolua, for close to a decade has continued to champion the cause of enhancing the beauty of Nigerians who buy into her vision of body enhancement, thus her veering into cosmetic surgery. This was what led to her decision to set up a non-governmental organisation called "Body Enhancement Annual Reconstructive Surgery" simply known as BEARS Foundation, through which she is making her beauty statement.
"Knowing fully well the mindset of our people as a very conscious when it comes to looking good, I don't need anybody to tell me that there was a vacuum that needed to be filled when I begun cosmetic surgery, hence the decision to establish BEARS foundation.
"The foundation is the first non government organisation founded in Nigeria and dedicated to using plastic surgery and other specialties in medicine to treat and correct deformities of less privileged men, women and children in West, Central and Southern Africa at no cost to them or their families," she said.
Through the activities of BEARS, she disclosed that she has organised surgeries
and corrected many patients with various deformities ranging from cleft lip, cleft palate and correcting deformities of victims of contaminated kerosene explosions in Nigeria. Again with government and its agencies' support, the foundation has been able to assist poor patients of kerosene explosion and other related deformities, undergo expensive surgery within and outside the country.
Having been in the business of body enhancement, cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery for years, Ozolua's dream of expanding the business has given birth to Indulge Spot, which takes care of face, body, hands and feet. According to her, "the services include computerised skin analysis, indulge signature facial treatment, body scrubs and pedicure therapy, among others."
"After eight years of pioneering cosmetic surgery and introducing aesthetic lasers to Nigeria, I have watched the evolution of aesthetic needs in both men and women. You will agree with me that business is all about growth and expansion. As you grow, you can decide to expand and go into other areas. Setting up a spa wasn't' necessary eight years ago, but today our sophistication as a people naturally calls for it. Then, the focus was strictly on cosmetic surgery, which is body enhancement. Spa is a different entity. I didn't intend to go into it initially, but with clients requesting for it, I decided to open one," she said.
She doesn't like to be told that she could be caged by competitions. According to her, if an entrepreneur bothers his or head too much about the presence of competitors in the market, he or she could lose focus.
"In my own view, one can only grow a business by being focused with clear vision, not by trying to look at competitions. One undisputable fact is that competitive market aids business growth, if the handlers of the brand know how to turn it to opportunity. For this reason, we have gone an extra mile to bring down the latest technology in the world and we have experts to render services to our clients. This I think has influenced the perception of those who patronise us and we are getting the expected responses everyday.
"Competition is a good thing. I would not be the one to get scared. I am new in the market of spa, so it is actually the people that were there before me that should be scared. I pioneered cosmetic surgery in Nigeria and someone else started offering the same service. When you are confident in yourself and the service you can provide, you don't have to be scared. Competition is great. The market is huge. Whoever wants to jump in should do. It is not a big deal to me," she emphasised.
Another thing Ozolua does not agree with is the erroneous notion that her cosmetic surgery is rebellious against God's principle of creation. "Most challenges we faced at the early stage was caused by a section of the fourth realm of the estate, who wrote out of ignorance and sent bad signals to prospective clients. Today, an average person on the street is well informed and knows that what we do is not unusual in today's market. Don't forget, God in His mercy creates us to be dynamic and progressive that is why we witness new scientific and technological improvements everyday.
"Come to think of it, what we do at the Indulge Spot are those essential beauty tips that people take for granted. We do manicure, pedicure, massaging and offer gymnastic services that would make one fit and healthy. At a time I wondered why nobody seems to talk about the stomach or other parts of the body but breasts enlargement.
"In the real sense of it, there are some people who come to me and say they don't talk about the chest; they are more interested in the stomach, it all depends on which part of their body they feel like walking on. If the so-called critics felt it was vain for a woman to invest money in herself and have a part of other body redone, then that is there problem. The woman who wants to do it is the one who knows that she needs it; I really don't care about some people's primitive opinions and views. If you listen to all the things that people say, you will not have a mind of your own and you will not achieve anything in life.
"I am only interested in the person that comes to me. If the person needs it, I ask if she can afford it. If they can afford it, fine. That is step two. Step three is the most crucial, and that is passing the medical exam. I have client that have all the money but didn't pass the medical exam. I don't touch them. If they pass, then we proceed. My interest is my client. I am not interested in what other any person says.
"What might be affordable to you might not be affordable to me. It is not everything that we like in life that we can get. I feel my charges are more than reasonable. My doors are open to everybody that can afford it. It doesn't make sense to say that spa is strictly for the elite. It is simply for people that appreciate good service and want quality treatment," she further explained.
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