Young and In Charge: Susan Kukah and Kunle Bello

The person that came up with the line about not mixing business with pleasure must have been really heart broken and short of a hefty sum of money. Who says love and business does not mix? Then you have to meet Susan and Kunle, who took their relationship from just a lovey dovey one to include business.

Tell us a little about yourself?
Susan: My name is Susan Florence Iye Kukah and am from Kaduna state! I was born on the 16th day of December. Am d first girl out of 3 girls and am d finest (lol).

Kunle: My name is Adekunle Bello,born on May 9th, 1st of two boys, I hail from Kwara State. 5ft9in tall, chocolate in complexion. Studied Business Administration at Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic Zaria,worked at Sterling Bank, Lagos before delving into business.

What was growing up like?
Susan: Growing up for me was really really hard I must confess considering the fact that my parents didn't have enough but to the glory of God,tins are a lot better than they used to and I bless God for everything.

Kunle:  I was born into an average loving family so all I can say is that growing up was fun for me and I give God all d glory.

Tell us a little about your educational background?

Susan: I was born in Zaria. I attended Montessori nursery and primary school in Zaria,proceeded to Jabi primary school Abuja and then our lady of Fatima girls secondary school Kaduna where I obtained my Secondary school leaving certificate and then proceeded to Uniabuja where I studied law.

Kunle: I started my Nursery and primary school at Montesorri in Zaria Kaduna State,then proceeded for my Senior Secondary School at Demonstration Secondary School, ABU Zaria. I Applied for admission into ABU but it wasn't forthcoming so I Decided to run an ND and HND programme at Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic. Graduated and got a Job with sterling bank where I worked for two years. I left to Joined Susan in this business.

So what is Don$u$ all about? What does it mean and how did the name come about?

Susan: Don$u$ is basically all about buying and selling! What I basically do is order stuffs for young girls who want to go into serious business from the UK,Malaysia and Dubai! You pay me 50% of the total amount charged, I place your order, you get it in 14 days max. Truth is I and my Fiancée Kunle are together in dis business cos he has indeed been a source of inspiration to me. He does most of the marketing while I do the ordering so that actually inspired our working together but I am the CEO of this great company. Friends call him Donte and some friends call me Sus or Susan or SK so we thought of a name for dis biz and we decided to call it Don$u$ with d dollar sign! That's basically what we do at Don$u$!

Kunle: Don$u$ is simply all about buying and selling of goods,products and even promoting other firms and individual products. What Don$u$ is basically into is buying goods for people who want to venture into business and once an order is made,we supply within 14 working days. We buy goods from Dubai,Malaysia and the UK. The name Don$u$ came from our names.My friends call me DONTE and my lady is called SUSAN,so we removed the first 3 alphabets of each name and we got Don$u$. That's how the name came about. You may be wondering what the Dollar sign means right? The Dollar sign($) simply means that we don't only deal with Naira but other foreign currencies (lol).

How did you get into it?

Susan: I started doing this early this year but business is something I and mum love to do but she started before me. So what I do is I put everything she sells in my car and go to offices where I have friends and I sell for her. She gives me an opportunity to add say #500 or #1000 on every item sold and that way I was able to gather some money. When I graduated and law school wasn't forth coming I decided to confront my dad for a loan of #100000. My Dad didn't buy the idea but I was determined and with the help of Donte, I was able to order six Indian gowns which cost me about #100000 and I sold them. That was d beginning of Don$u$! So when my dad realised how serious I was he gave me the money I asked for and I ordered a lot of boxes from Dubai and sold them to brides who were preparing to get married.

Kunle: Susan and her Mum have been selling for a long time even before we met so she started with Six Indian gowns from Dubai. Sold it and that was the starting point. She mentioned it to me that she wanted to go into buying and selling, I encouraged her and told her I would join her in the business. We went into full time business early this year and to the glory of God, we are headed to the top.

What is your typical day like?

Susan: My typical day in Abuja is all about hustling! If am not home,am in the bank doing one or two transactions, after that am already too exhausted to go out. I must mention That I went out last week Friday with some girlfriends and stayed out until 11 pm since its been a while.

Kunle: My typical day is all business, but not over the weekend, love to rest and hangout with friends over the weekend.

What do you love most about you and what you do?

Susan: What I love most about what I do is  when I order stuffs and they arrive just in time as promised to a customer and the goods ordered are in perfect shape, that feeling gives me so much joy and satisfaction.

Kunle: Every individual would want to be alone after attaining a particular age. I love the hustling spirit, there is no relenting from the business we do.

What are the difficulties involved? What are the difficulties involved?

Susan: Difficulties I have faced in this business is having to deal with very bad debtors who make promises to pay when I order their goods and fail to fulfil such a promise,it slows me down. But I must say that I won't let it deter me from focusing on my business.

Kunle: BAD DEBTORS: some customers make promises and end up not fulfilling their promise after the deal has been sealed. It's always an issue in this line of business but with the help of God everything is falling in place?PROXIMITY TO CUSTOMER: not being close to some particular customers also pose a difficulty. This is because when goods arrive, those customers who are far will always want their goods sent to them via road,which is dangerous to both of us but we have particular transport companies we work with now and so delivery isn't an issue any more. PACKAGING;when the goods arrive at the airport it is sometimes been manhandled by d security agents and that way we have issues with customers, but in the past few months,we haven't experienced such.

If you weren't doing this, what would you have been doing?

Susan: Lol! If I wasn't doing this I would be doing this my dear, I've got so much passion for buying and selling. It just keeps you focused and makes you remember that you have a future ahead of you.

Kunle: Ah !!! If I wasn't doing this, I'll still be doing this, because this is what am trained to do..*smiles*.

Have you ever felt like giving up on Don$u$?

Susan: Yes I have, it was just a few months after I started the business, I had to deal with some very personal stuff and it really tried my patience, I thought about giving up but I decided against it. I thank God I didn't give up.

Kunle: Nah !!! Not at all.

Who or what inspires you?

Susan: What inspires me the most is the fact that am independent. My Mum  is also my inspiration. She is a hustler to the core. And I thank God for her honestly. I love independent women who don't always have to wait for the men to do everything for them. That is who Susan is!

Kunle: My inspiration comes from God,my mother and SK (Susan)

Considering the level of success you have attained, youths out there would be itching to know how old you are.

Susan: Am not young and am not old. Just 26!

Kunle: I am 29 years old.

Asides work, what do you do for fun?

Susan:  I hang out once in a while,watch movies at the cinema. That is all.

Kunle: Well,I chill out with SK(Susan)and friends,play Scrabble,Chess and sports.

Where do you see yourself and Don$u$ in the next five years.

Susan: In the next five years, I see myself grown and more matured, married with beautiful kids and a proud owner of a big plaza with so many things to buy and sell by the special grace of God, Amen.

Advice to youths that wish to follow in your footsteps.

Susan: There may be set backs, but all you need is Determination and Prayers. Without God you honestly won't make it. Be focused, please don't rob God of his own! Pay your tithe always and leave the rest to him to handle.

Kunle: My advice for youths out there is to be focused, determined, plan,and be ready to serve people(customers),its not all about the profit but the satisfaction which you'v provided to someone. MOST of all, be prayerful and pay your TITHE, its works..God bless you.

As usual, pictures speak a thousand words.

Susan and Bello can be reached on:

BB pin: 2A48F725 (Susan)

BB pin: 2957A1B9 (Kunle)

Phone: 07065507326, 08062122150