Why I left law for real estate, fashion business –Tomilola Oyesiji

By Christy Anyanwu

Tomilola Tokunbo Oyesiji is the founder of the fashion brand Beau Et Glam Signatures that specializes in custom-made clothing and fashion styling.

Also, she is the human resources and legal manager at Ayhomes Investment Limited, Lagos.

She has spent all her life in Lagos, even though she was born in the United Kingdom, where she spent her first two years with her mother before returning to Nigeria. She spoke with Sunday Sun recently.

How would you describe your personality?

I would describe myself as kind, loyal, fashionable, attentive to details, passionate about human rights as well as justice and fairness in general. I despise people being treated unfairly and I always wish the world could be a better place. 

I love fashion styling, reading books and watching movies. 

I am from a large family and I attended all my schools in Lagos, including the University of Lagos, where I studied law.

Do you practise as a lawyer, in terms of going to court?

I don’t practise anymore, as I am an in-house counsel, but I started my legal career as a civil litigation lawyer. I spent five years of my legal career practising law and I quite enjoyed it.

Tell us about your journey into the real estate business. How did it start or who talked you into the business?

I have always been interested in real estate from a young age. I’ve always been fascinated by the process of turning bare land into beautiful houses and making so much money from the sale of the houses. I also love the fact that you can never go wrong with real estate in terms of investment so far as you dot all your i’s and cross all your t’s, do your due diligence and understand what you’re putting money into. 

To answer the question of how I got into the business, as a lawyer, I started by preparing property documents for clients and then, one day, I got a brief from a friend to help with looking for a home for him. I successfully got him what he wanted and the thrill of giving my client the satisfaction of getting him his dream home made me want more from the real estate market.

How is the business doing in Nigeria? It is alleged that some realtors are fraudulent, not delivering their promises to customers. What could be the cause of that? 

Naturally, real estate mostly involves massive paydays and people tend to get greedy. They believe that one successful scam can yield them so much more, forgetting that integrity and honesty are essential. If a realtor lacks integrity and isn’t trustworthy, when clients realise that about them, they’ll definitely not want to do business with those untrustworthy realtors anymore.

Tell us a bit of your growing up. What memories about your early days do you still find difficult to forget?

Growing up was so much fun. I am a millennial. I always played outside with my friends. We had many interesting outdoor games to play. Also, the TV shows of that time were so great and different from what we have now.  My mother always took us out for parties, amusement parks and other fun stuff. I also think my primary school played a great role in making my childhood memories beautiful. I attended Grace Children School, Gbagada, and there were always many fun activities lined up for us to do. 

Being a fashionable person, what does style mean to you?

Style is a unique way to express yourself using fashionable clothing and items. For me, I love to style myself in timeless pieces and not trendy pieces. I love elegance and class. I love to look put-together and stylish with visibly intricate details. 

Where is your favourite holiday destination? 

For now, Dubai. I still hope to travel more. Then I can decide on my favourite holiday destination.

What turns you off as a person? 

Poor mouth hygiene. Poor hygiene, generally. Lies and dishonesty. Cheating people of their rights. Uncouth people too.

How did you get into the fashion business?

I’ve always loved fashion but I started the business in 2014 when my friends encouraged me to, because I always made beautiful dresses for myself and everyone always loved them. So I started to make beautiful dresses as a business and my friends were my first clients.

Why the name, Beau Et Glam Signatures?

I chose it because it was unique, it means beautiful and glam in French.

How do you combine real estate with fashion business?

Being in a digital era has been combining two or more businesses possible. I delegate when I need to and I mostly do my real estate marketing online.

Why did you stop practising law?

I got a better offer to be a legal officer at a company years ago, and that was how my in-house practice career kicked off.