After heading the communications department of an investment bank for many years, Boachie-Yiadom felt she’d reached the ceiling in her field. She wanted to branch out and be her own boss.
While discussing this with her husband Papa, an actuarial science graduate who’d worked in the banking sector for 10 years, they both realised how monotonous their jobs had become and yearned to go the entrepreneurial route.
“The idea of starting a fashion boutique specialising in African print came to us when we were looking for traditional outfits to wear to a wedding, where we were going to be MCs,” recalls Boachie-Yiadom. “The tailor we hired to design our outfits messed them up. I fixed the clothes myself at the last minute.”
She was shocked at how difficult it was to find good-quality, ready-made traditional clothes. “The market was untapped and neglected. We wanted to change that experience for people.”
In 2012, P&H Boutique was launched as an online store operating from the couple’s home. They continued with their jobs in banking while running the venture and enrolled in business and marketing courses on the side. Only once they felt confident that their products were selling did they resign and go into business full time.
The Boachie-Yiadoms used their savings to fund the boutique and social media to market it. In 2016, they opened a bricks-and-mortar shop and today they have five outlets in award-winning malls in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Gauteng’s East Rand and Nelspruit.
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