Zahrah counts down the minutes until 5:00 PM. TGIF. Today has been a particularly stressful day; the workload was heavier than usual because of an ongoing campaign, then her boss called her into his office for a thirty-minute talk on what working in a rising women’s fashion brand actually means, and what they expect from her.
All that talk because I said I could not stay past 6:30 PM yesterday when he tried scheduling an ‘emergency’ meeting for 6:00 PM, she thinks.
She checks the time on her laptop taskbar: two minutes left. Whatever he has to say, she is not going to close late just to ‘show’ that she is working. Besides, she and the girls have agreed to try out that new restaurant on Adeniran Ogunsanya, so she wants to get a good night’s sleep before their hangout tomorrow. They will all probably head to Chinwe’s house from the restaurant and spend the day together.
The Girls. She hopes Eunice will not spend the entire time complaining about how hard it is to find a job in Lagos, and that Tola will not complain about the toxicity of the law firm where she works. Chinwe seems to be the only one of the girls not complaining of late. Zahrah has to admit that even she is guilty of complaining about how low her salary is: 120,000 in this economy!
There I go again, she thinks.
Complainers or not, she loves her girls and she is looking forward to their hangout.
5:03 PM
She shuts down her laptop, packs her bags, and heads out.
Next day, 12:30 PM
The girls are all sipping mocktails and making videos for the gram.
“Eunice, any luck with the job hunt?” Chinwe asks as she puts her phone down.
Eunice signals with her hands for Chinwe to hold on, then stops her video.
“My sister, nothing yet ooo. I’m getting interviews, I even got an offer from two companies, but what they are offering me is ridiculous.”
“What do you mean by ridiculous? So, you rejected both offers?” Tola interjects with a judgy tone. “Are you not the one that still told me on the phone today that your savings from your last job is remaining 300k? And you’re being picky?”
“Wow Tola! And did I ask you to broadcast it?”
“Broadcast? Do we now keep secrets here?”
Zahrah puts her hands to her face and shakes her head. The complaints are finally becoming a real issue between all of them.
“Girls, please let’s not bicker.” Chinwe mediates, she chuckles as Zahrah, Tola, and Eunice throw withering looks her way.
She continues speaking, “Eunice, have you thought about starting a business? Something that isn’t capital intensive?” Eunice looks at her reflectively as she continues, “I also think you should either change the calibre of organisations you’re applying to for a job or find a way to set your CV apart and reinforce it during the interviews to get better offers.”
“The issue with the offers is that they are either offering exactly what I was earning at my last job, or even less. For business, it didn’t occur to me; I really have always imagined myself in corporate spaces.”
“It doesn’t mean you can’t excel at running a business,” Zahrah chimes in with an encouraging smile. Eunice nods.
“I get you. I’ve always done business, and I can’t picture myself in a typical 9-5. However, if you choose to start a business while you keep applying, I’ll be willing to walk you through the basic systems and structures needed, so you can still do your 9-5 if you desire.”
“Aww, so sweet of you Chinwe,” chirps Tola. “Abeg, let’s brainstorm on the business thing together; we can even partner if you don’t mind. Me, I need another source of income ooo.”
“Yes, you do. 180k cannot fund the lifestyle in your head,” Eunice half-teases.
Everyone laughs, but everyone agrees. They all need to up their financial game. Chinwe is the only one doing really well financially with her modest-fashion brand; the rest of them can only guess at her revenue, but they all know it is miles apart from what they all currently earn.
But the question on all their minds now is: was business the best way to the increase they wanted, and would the potential partnership between Eunice and Tola ruin the friendship they’ve all nurtured since their secondary school days?
