Mathias Omoragbon Shares On Managing Time Between His 9-5 Job And Printing Business

Every entrepreneur’s journey is different. Some entrepreneurs launch into their entrepreneurial journey straight out of school or after years of having no jobs. Others start their businesses while handling a 9-5 job as well.

Previously, we spoke with Ogunwo-Adeyemi Anuoluwapo on the things she wishes she knew before starting her events planning business and the lessons she learnt from them. This week, we spoke with Mathias Omoragbon on managing his time between his printing business and his 9-5 job.

Work Role: Customer care representative.

Current Laptop: Toshiba.

Current Phone: IPhone 6.

Best Work Quote: “If you can dream it; you can achieve it”.

First Thing You do Every Morning: I pray first when I wake up.

Favourite Owanbe Outfit: Kaftan or Agbada.

The Language You Speak When Angry: Pidgin.

Please tell us about yourself and your brand

My name is Mathias Omoragbon Osas. I am from Edo state and I studied Chemistry at Lagos State University. I currently work in the customer care department of a financial institution and I am also a Graphics Designer and Printer. I am a very cool person, I’m teachable and a go-getter.

My business name is Mathyl Design and Printing Company. We design creatively and also offer quality printing solutions to our customers. We print on clothes, party souvenirs, banners, and stickers. Printing letter headed papers, business cards, nylons, paper bags and so on are also some of the things we do.

What inspired you to start Mathyl Design and Printing Company? How long has it been in existence?

Printing and art have always been a passion for me right from my childhood. It was something I really loved but I procrastinated going for the training for. I just didn’t have time and I was always busy.

What made me take the bold step to start the business was the online skill acquisition classes I had at my church’s youth program. I was really motivated and everything within me told me that was the best time to take the bold step.

The pandemic also favoured me because there was time for me to still do something outside my office work. My work structure changed and I had time to do other things outside of my 9-5 job. I used to work for only 3 days a week and I had the remaining days to myself. I decided to use the time to learn a new skill to batter my life and gain a new income stream. Money is koko to me.

I trained for 3 months and then realised I could start my business while still undergoing training. The business is 8 months old now.

Read Also: 5 Best Practices To End Procrastination As A Fashion Entrepreneur

Nice. That’s the great thing about taking advantage of opportunities that come our way. Our focus today is on time management. How do you manage your time to make sure you give optimal attention to both jobs?

I try to plan my time by scheduling the various activities I intend to achieve in a day. So, when I get home after work, I try to still do my business activities. I can either go for business training or work on a client’s project.

I also utilise my off days to work on clients’ jobs. I always try my best to deliver customers’ jobs to them at the right time so it doesn’t cause issues between us.

Please tell us about a time when you were particularly pressed for time because you had a job to do but you still had to go to work.

There was a day I wanted to deliver a client’s design but I didn’t have enough time to work on it. I felt really pressed for time and like time wasn’t in my favour. So, I took my PC to work. During my lunch break, I brought out the PC, did the client’s job, and delivered it that same day.

Are there times you have had to turn down a job because you couldn’t handle it alongside your 9-5? If yes, please tell us about it.

For now, I can’t remember any time I have had to do that. What I do remember is a time I almost turned down a job because the client gave me a very short period to get the job done.

What I did for this was work with my team members to speed things up so I could deliver the job. It was a job I had to deliver on the same day I got it. I made sure the client was satisfied.

What are the major challenges you have with managing your time as both an entrepreneur and an employee?

The major challenge I have is having clients calling me or sending chat messages to me back to back while I’m at work. This really distracts me at the office and sometimes even prevents me from meeting my daily targets. There are some times I have to delay responding to my business clients requests and wait till I get home to do so.

Another challenge is that, at times, I am required to visit the organisation or the client I want to work for to seal the deal but my office work prevents me from doing that. I remember I had to take my leave for this year to visit a client to seal a deal.

Read More: 8 Things To Know When Transitioning From Full-Time Employee To Fashion Entrepreneur

How do you get customers to do business with you?

Some of my customers are my friends from work and church. The major place I get customers from is through my WhatsApp status. It is just like my shop and I usually advertise the products and services I offer there.

How do you get customers to trust you?

Hmmm… You know I’m new in this business, so how I get customers to trust me is by giving them value for their money. This is especially true when they are giving me a job for the first time. I try to do a nice job for them to make them come back any time they need a printing solution or graphics design.

What are the major time management tips you follow that guide how you do things?

Firstly, I create a daily schedule for each day, that is, I set goals for the day, what I intend to achieve. I take action by doing what is required of me to do, whether it is convenient or not. I try my best to do it.

There are times I have to sacrifice my sleep to achieve my goals. I sleep late most times to achieve my business goals.

Another thing that is working for me is discipline. I love football a lot but it has even a while I trained because I need to give my time to my job and business. What I do is now are indoor exercises most times instead of going out to play football.

What are the major lessons you have learnt so far regarding time management as an entrepreneur?

It makes me appreciate time more so any time I have, I want to utilise it well because I know I don’t have much time. For example, my work structure has gone back to normal for and I work from Monday to Friday now, so I try to utilise my weekends for business purposes. Even after church services, I still do business-related activities.

When I get back from work, I already know I want to do business-related activities, unlike before. This entrepreneurship journey had really helped me manage my time.

I believe you’ve sewn clothes with fashion designers before. What’s your opinion of the industry?

The industry is a great one because I love quality outfits and this industry carries out the task. Generally, we can’t do without them because we all wear clothes and love quality outfits.

What were your worst and best experiences with a fashion designer?

My worst experience with a fashion designer was when I needed to attend a party and my designer assured me that the outfit will be ready on the day I needed it. He didn’t make it on time and I had to wait for him to do it. I was really delayed from going to that wedding on time. It really upset me and I felt like squeezing him.

My best experience with a fashion designer was when my designer wowed me by making a good outfit for me. I really loved it and the people that saw it on me appreciated the outfit.

What is the top advice you have for other entrepreneurs on time management?

From experience, I will say, don’t procrastinate on working on a client’s job or embarking on any training that will enhance your business. Don’t over-promise customers and under deliver. Let them know if the job won’t be completed at the time you gave them. Lastly, set goals and do only the important tasks first.

There will be distractions. Most times, there are a lot of things you want to do but try to do the most important things first. The less important ones can be done later. The entrepreneurship journey is a good one I don’t regret taking. It makes you innovative and an employer of labour. With it, you can solve the economic problems around.

Thank you very much for your time.

Thank you too.