We all use pillows in our homes to lay our heads on or to support our backs when seated. Other than acting as support for our head, neck and spine, pillows act as our cuddling buddies when it gets cold and you snuggle up with a warm blanket and a cup of hot chocolate or beverage of your choice.

This was the case for Florence Kirai as she needed pillows for her house. Being a creative and also interested in learning new skills, she thought it best to buy herself a sewing machine and get to make the pillows herself. She used Youtube to learn how to sew, highlighting that we can learn quite a lot from the Youtube tutorials. The internet has a lot to offer for an individual looking to perfect a skill or even learn a new thing, which could improve their lives and even help them earn a living.

“I  got really good with time and was finally able to make my pillows. The good work I was doing really showed, since a few weeks later my friend came  to my house to visit and was really impressed by the pillows that she wanted to carry them. I then offered to make her some pillows of her own since I could not quite part with the batch I had made for myself.”

Her company Kuddly Pillows was born from the instant she made her friend those pillows. Her family members and friends came on board and placed orders for their pillows. This came as great support and show of confidence in her product. Florence used her savings as starting capital at the beginning but later, she would use the deposit amount paid by her clients to purchase supplies she needed to work on the pillows.

Samples from Florence Kirai’s Kuddly Pillows

“Kuddly Pillows are not only fit  for households but are also custom made for the hospitality sector and  office set up to be used in lounge areas. The pillows are custom made throw or toss pillows which are beautiful and exquisite that you can even gift to friends, family or clients. The pillows are made from pure and soft fiber making them very comfy. The bed pillows are customized to the type of  sleeper the client is whether they sleep mostly on their side or on their back.”

For Florence, giving her clients the best service is her selling point. She makes sure to involve her clients in the process making of the final product, be it in ensuring the right fabric is picked, the print, pattern and size is correct. She then makes sure to personally deliver the pillows and put a smile on her clients’ face when they see the work done. As an entrepreneur Florence says she has learnt to be more patient, prayerful, persistent and flexible in her business.These values have also helped her grow the business to where it is today.

Asked what are some of the challenges she has faced running Kuddly Pillows, Florence says, “Consistency in getting orders for pillows as not everyone needs pillows as often, being able to get more clients other than my friends and family members to buy from me and also the fact that Kuddly Pillows is not very well known to some organizations and they are reluctant to place orders with me.”

Ways in which she markets Kuddly Pillows include use of Social media platforms that is Instagram and Facebook. She also gets referrals from clients she has worked with and social events that she attends where she gets to meet with fellow entrepreneurs and exchange contacts.

Word of advice Florence would like to give to the university students and anyone wanting to venture into entrepreneurship she says, “Entrepreneurship is not for the faint-hearted. It will test you before you get to enjoy the fruits of your labour. However, it is worth it.”

It is a well known fact that people like to look good and feel good and what better way to do that  than to take care of your skin? Bobotanics helps people do just that. Bobotanics is an organic skin care line that specializes in soaps, cleansers and body washes. Fresh from the farm to your doorstep, Bobotanics uses only natural ingredients in their products. As the CEO, Ms Talissa Moi believes that synthetic chemicals pollute the skin’s ecosystem, so her products contain absolutely no synthetic dyes, synthetic fragrances, parabens or sulphates.

“When I was travelling around the country last year I became awe-struck by our country’s wild and exotic plant species. Curiously, I dived deeper into the world of botanical research, only to discover the incredible bioactive compounds and properties present in our native plants.. By connecting with local farmers and communities, I gained a greater understanding of their ancient knowledge. This is in particular with how in the past, people used natural elements on their bodies to harness energy to heal and transform their skin. I started to create natural formulas for myself, family and friends. The response was so great I thought why not create a skincare line that would help improve our everyday beauty routines? This would be done by supplying our largest organ with kind and natural ingredients, instead of artificial and dangerous chemicals hidden in our everyday soaps, facial cleansers and body washes.”

Samples from Talissa’s Bobotanics products

To set up the business Talissa used the money she had been saving since her teenhood, mostly given to her by her family on special occasions such as her birthday, Christmas gifts and allowances, proving that cultivating saving habits in children early on can go a long way in impacting children’s lives later.

The biggest challenge she has had is cutting wholesale supply costs with her non-indigenous imported products, such as the virgin olive oil used in our recipes. She had to constantly monitor these costs, looking for discounts and exploring alternate sources. For any business, getting the best deal on supplies can make a massive difference to the bottom line. And as they say, ‘every penny saved is a penny earned’.

So what sets her apart from other similar ventures?

“I see my customers as partners in my mission so I try my best to get to know them on a deeper level.” She tries to understand what works and doesn’t work on their skin, working in collaboration with them to create a perfect and personalized skin care routine for them. I also reach out to them on a regular basis, asking them for feedback on my products. This can feel daunting at times, but at the end of the day my most unhappy customers are my foremost source of learning.

As Sam Walton put it, “There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his or her money somewhere else.

Talissa attributes her success to resilience. She tries to turn hard times into motivators for self-improvement and does her best not to let bumps, challenges and disappointments along her journey define who she is.

It is a journey that has taught her lot.

“Entrepreneurship has changed my life in many ways. In particular, it has made me accountable for both my time and actions. If I don’t get things done, no one else will. At the end of the day I am primarily in charge and responsible of my business destiny. This has helped me realize that I am responsible for my personal destiny too! I have to make lifestyle choices that are in line with this!”

This is the story of Mkamboi Mwakale a lady who is passionate about natural beauty and keeping it real. She is the founder of Saru Organics a company that aims at changing the Afrocentric narrative encouraging africans to embrace their nappy kinky hair unapologetically!

“What that means  is, we translate any hair related challenges be it hair loss, weak thinning hair, dry brittle hair, damaged or no hairline, super tangled ends, frizzy ends and offer a proven working solution. It’s not just about flossing our fluffy twist outs, but are your friends asking you how you got it going? That’s what Saru does for you.”

She got into the business by accident. Several events that she believes were well calculated by God led her to begin this venture. She is a mother to a 6 year old daughter and in 2015 her daughter had just started school when she kept on contacting serious flu viruses. Mkamboi tried antibiotics prescriptions but realized it was not working. Then a Nigerian friend introduced her to Moringa tea and her problem was solved. Her baby could now fight the virus and more importantly stay in school. This inspired her to look more into this moringa plant and that is when she discovered it could do more than just cure a flu virus

“My research into the plant led me to discover it’s potent abilities on beauty care and to cut a long story short I knew I had to come up with a hair product from the seeds. Using my savings from a previous business I bought a few Moringa seeds, looked for a machine to extract the oil, and booked an appointment with a chemical engineer.”

The mother of one says her venture is not yet profitable as It will take some time to break even because of high startup costs involved in a manufacturing but she states that they are in a positive trajectory.

When it comes to challenges Mkamboi says there are quite many!

“I think only the dedication to see lives impacted kept me going. We met hurdles such as very high minimum order quantity for everything we needed to purchase. Ingredients were being sold in very large quantities this would mean tying so much money in raw materials that would take time to be used up bearing in mind we were testing the market then and yet to carve a niche. But what won’t break you, makes you stronger. I must say I had to learn how to negotiate as much as I could with some suppliers and striking a balance.”

Saru organics keeps their clients coming back by taking time to treat a customer like the only customer they have and this builds a bond that not only sees them coming back for a refill but also let’s their circle know about their brand. Their growth is highly backed by customer oriented approach.

“We are not just a beauty care line but one that meets the very needs of our target clientele and surpassing their expectations. We answer the very questions that may make a customer think managing natural hair is hard work Truth is, it’s not you just have to find the right products that will make you go aha!  “

Mkamboi attributes her success to God, “He ordains my steps and equipped me. Anything that I am or will ever be I owe it to God, even the people I meet and get to work with, I believe He had that in His plans for my good.”

Advice to upcoming entrepreneurs she says is for them to not be afraid

“Make mistakes as early as in your twenties because you can afford them, then learn from the mistakes and no matter what keep going and focus on the vision it becomes clearer as you make those steps. Every new dawn is another chance!”

Meet Riba Wangare, the CEO of Petals Fashion a boutique that sells both men and ladies wear. She has always loved fashion but just needed a little push to take it seriously and transform her passion into a business. That nudge came but just not the way she was expecting it.

“My former employer closed shop and with my love for fashion, I decided not to look for employment and instead venture into entrepreneurship and in the process at least create jobs.”

Riba used her savings to venture into entrepreneurship and deal with the challenges as they came.

“As a new business, it’s very hard to get clients because you are not known and there are other similar ventures that are established so you have to get creative. So I started with family and friends and sold them outfits on credit. Some were a bit slow in paying back but I didn’t let that discourage me as I was determined to see my business take off.”

Petals Fashion mostly does online sales and usually clients have to send cash before the items are dispatched. The challenge comes in when a new client finds it hard to trust them seeing that many people have been duped online where memes have even been created on what you order versus what you get. This is where social media came in handy for her. She always encourages her  potential clients to check for reviews on her online pages and when most see that there are no complaints it becomes a little easier for them to trust her.

Samples from Riba’s Petals Collection

“Social media that is facebook and instagram has not only helped us with building trust but also marketing. The other form of marketing I use is referrals.”

Riba builds a successful customer base by doing three things. The first thing is being honest with her customers. “I like to be honest on the exact specific item they inquire about or order in terms of the fabric and availability. I don’t promise to sell what I don’t have.  Secondly, I try to sell unique products. Third, I ensure that my prices are affordable.”

With similar businesses in the market what sets the young entrepreneur apart is she follows up with her customers to know how they liked the products. Often times she posts clients pictures on her facebook page and thanks them for shopping with Petals Fashion.

The young entrepreneur emphasizes the fact that being self-employed is so fulfilling. When asked what skill she thinks one needs to have in order to be a successful entrepreneur Riba adds, “Well,I am still young in this business so wouldn’t say am all that successful but I know patience and hardwork are key.”

Pollucare Cleaners provides access to a clean and healthy environment by offering innovative solid waste management solutions. Their services include proper garbage collection and disposal for families and businesses living in urban center in Mombasa, Kenya.

So how did its founder, Michael, start all this?

“I was born and raised in Mombasa. I have witnessed an increased number of health cases caused by poor garbage disposal in the region. This tends to get worse during the rainy season where we have the garbage blocking the drainage system and therefore exposing the residents to  diseases such as malaria and even cholera.”

Michael quit his job in freight and forwarding industry to bring a long-lasting solution to his town. In 2017, he started Pollucare Cleaners which offers door-to-door garbage collection services to help the county government of Mombasa to effectively deal with the menace. He collects the garbage while the government  provides them with transportation of the waste to Mwakirunge dumpsite.

Starting out, Michael used his savings as capital but along the way he realized it was not enough.

“I had to turn to my family for financial support. Once I had some profit I used to plough it back to the business since it was young and not self-sustaining. It’s over one year since Pollucare Cleaners was born and I can say it is now profitable. We started with only five clients and now we have over 40 houses that we are offering our services to. In a day we are handling over 500kgs of waste in Ganjoni and Liwatoni areas.”

As new entrants in the industry, they faced stiff competition from existing businesses which were experienced and had built their brand. Pollucare Cleaners had to stick to their vision of providing quality services that are reliable and affordable to the local mwananchi. Unlike other businesses that are just into collecting and disposing, Pollucare Cleaners offer more than that.

“We provide our clients with free bins and we give them solutions like on how to handle different types of waste. Our charges are customized so that everyone enjoys a clean and healthy environment. We also partner with waste recycles like Takaz organization and Garb tech so that out of waste useful products like building materials and charcoal are manufactured and consumed locally at an affordable price.”

Michael Kiwo

When it comes to marketing, Pollucare Cleaners base it on digital marketing. They have a website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn pages. They also do door-to-door marketing, attending a lot of networking events, as well as advertising in magazines and sharing fliers. Despite the variety in their marketing channels, most of their clients are derived from social media and referrals.

When asked how entrepreneurship has impacted his life Michael has only positive things to say.

“First of all, I am impacting the community around me in a positive way doing what I love and I have employed two youths. I was part of Governors startup challenge which was organised by Youth Empowerment Programme Initiative (YEPI) an organization in Mombasa which trains social entrepreneurs on how to start and run a business profitably. Apart from that, I have become a role model to many as I mentor young people who want to come into the industry and those who want to start their businesses.”

The founder of Pollucare Cleaners attributes his success to God and his family who have supported him in every move in his venture. Then to Youth Empowerment Programme Initiative (YEPI) team where he learnt businesses skills.

As a parting shot Michael urges follow entrepreneurs to always think positive. “Challenges in business never end. They are our daily bread so one should always be willing to solve one and expect another one very soon. Never give up no matter what because today will be hard tomorrow it will be harder but the day after tomorrow you will win.”

So what happens when you get pregnant and suddenly you can see the telltale signs that you will not be coming back to work after having your baby. Your boss knowing the uncertainties that come with getting pregnant tells you that you will need enough rest so you may only work up to the eighth month and thereafter take as much time as you need. It may come of as a long maternity leave but not always, sometimes it could mean it’s time to move on.

Those are the circumstances that pushed Sophy Osano to open her own shop. She had been doing the business for some time but only as a side hustle. She didn’t have a shop so most of the time she would run her business online and do deliveries on weekends or after working hours. The impending loss of her job meant that she had to take her side hustle seriously because soon it would be her main hustle.

“I knew I had to find a way to make my ends meet especially now that I was expecting a baby. Also as women we have very strong intuition and my intuition was telling me I was going to be a single parent to this baby so it was either I swim or drown bringing along my baby I just couldn’t see myself doing that so I swam.”

The mother of one found a shop in town along Moi Avenue and used her savings to set it up. She also hired someone to sell for her as she continued working awaiting the eighth month that her boss had given her. She sells a variety of female products from bags to womens clothes. This is a market she discovered when she was still in college selling clothes to students in hostels. She sells second hand clothes well known as mtumba because she feels they are affordable and unique making it easier for her to meet the needs of many clients.

In terms of a support system, her family members have been very supportive even though her mother up to date still asks her when she is going to get a job.

“I come from a place where they believe that for someone to be successful they need to be having a job and a corner office so they don’t understand how I can be content with what I do. I don’t let that get to me, I channel all my energy to my business and clients hopefully they will get on board eventually. They just might realize that business works and this is where am supposed to be and not at some corner office.”

The very talkative lady says that she may be doing well now but she has also faced her fair share of challenges. “There was a time things got so tough for me to an extent where I almost went into depression. The 2017 elections and repeat elections. They affected my business in that I had to close the shop during the most part of those days. I was not making money but then still had bills to pay. From the hospital bill since I gave birth at around that time to rent for the shop. All in all am greatful I got back on my feet and I forges on because of the passion I have for my business.

Sophy has the business to thank for some of the attributes she has gained over the years. She states that one of the impact entrepreneurship has had in her life is that she has grown. The maturity with which she handles her clients is something she could only get through experience. Another would be that she has always been a jovial and talkative person but with her business she has had to take it a notch higher.

“Customer care is my selling point. I have clients that I have never even met. Some are out of Nairobi. They order through our facebook page Sophy wa Mtumba Collections. I talk to my clients like they are my friends. You wouldn’t want your friend looking funny so I also make a point of advising clients on what looks best on them and I believe that this is what sets me apart.”

Her advice to people who want to be entrepreneurs and look up to other entrepreneurs who have already made it is that they should remember that their idols also started from scratch. They should be willing to put in the work and do something they are passionate about.It may seem so hard but it’s doable.

“Entrepreneurship is a very difficult journey but very fulfilling. I wake up every morning knowing I am building my own empire and I can pay my own bills, what could be better than that”

Are artists made or born? That is a question you may have asked yourself at some point. This amazing talent that some people have, is it innate or something they worked hard to achieve? The athletes, the footballers, the artists etc. Can anyone do all these things if they put their mind to it? Well one artist by the name Sylvenus Semo believes that artists are made.

“To be able to be good at what you do, you have to practice and work hard at it,” he says.

Growing up Sylvenus always liked to draw. He would scribble on the floor and his book covers. He made sure to join a high school that offered art and design to better his talent. Becoming better with each year it was only natural that he would join an institution of higher learning and continue with a course in art. This is when things changed. Sylvenus had a light bulb moment and realized he didn’t want a career in arts and so after 3 years into it he finally dropped out.

“I loved drawing and was good at it but I just realized I had been doing this my whole life i needed to do something else. I needed to learn something new to sustain me and if it didn’t work out then art could be my back up plan, so I took up Media studies”

A content man at this point completed his course in media studies and started looking for a job. This is a part that is all too familiar with the Kenyan youth, the jobs were just not forthcoming. He ended up working in real estate something he had not studied. The hours were not flexible and as a creative person he found that to be confining and he just couldn’t do it anymore so he quit. It was time to go back to what he did best.

“I started drawing again mainly focusing on portraits. Getting my footing was a bit of a struggle. It is very hard to convince people that you are good at something without proof. I needed a better strategy. I started drawing my friends for free and they would refer me to their friends who referred me to their friends and that is how KymKym arts picked up. Besides referrals I also use social media to market my work and it has been equally good at bringing in clients.

Sylvenus making final touches on a portrait

The entrepreneur says although the entrepreneurship journey has been fair to him there is still a challenge of getting clients up to date.

“Art is a tertiary service when someone lets you do a portrait of them this month you can be sure it will take a while before they come back. Despite these challenges am just glad I get to do something am good at and enjoy. The hours are flexible and am able to manage my own time. Am also able to pay my bills from this work and this motivates me every time to pick up my pencil and get to work.”

Lastly I ask if the young artist has a favourite artwork, “I have done more than a thousand pieces as we speak and I believe that i’m defined by my latest work,art work gets better with time so my next portrait is my favourite.”

It is a well known fact that one’s appearance can tell quite a lot about the person. This is not just limited to their attire but also includes their accessories such as a handbag. Most ladies never leave the house without a handbag. They have so many things to carry ranging from phone, notebook, makeup kit, umbrella, snacks, keys, toiletries etc. A lady’s handbag has to match her outfit and most ladies have a variety of bags to go with their different outfits.

Drucilla Msinga is one such lady. The type of bags she carries can tell you she is a true African at heart as she carries Viondos – an African bag made out of sisal. She loves African bags and wherever she goes people seem to be in love with them so she decided to exploit this venture. At some point, she realized that she was getting multiple enquiries about her bags and an idea came to her,

“Why not buy these bags and sell them instead?”

That was the genesis of Drix Classic Viondos.

First, she had to figure out where she would get her merchandise from. African bags are quite expensive and if she bought them from the market, she would not be able to make substantial profit. She had to go to the source and that meant traveling to the rural parts of Kenya to find the women who specialised in making these bags. She did not want middlemen. Lucky for her, she found an older woman who made beautiful Viondos and a partnership developed.

“This lady makes the bags and I pick them once they are done. The bags come in different designs depending on the client’s preference.”

Sample Bags from the Drix Classic Viondos collection

The partnership has been working well despite a few challenges that she faced at the beginning. For one, the lady who made the bags didn’t own a phone and so getting in touch with her used to be tricky. Drucilla would just visit her hoping the orders are ready but sometimes she would get there and the orders would not be ready and it became a waste of time and transport money. The woman, also being elderly didn’t understand the current trends and Drucilla did her best to explain the kind of designs she required her to make but sometimes it would get lost in translation. There has been improvement though and there is better communication in their partnership.

“I have come a long way even with the lady who makes the bags for me. I started with two bags but now as we speak I have sold so many. My greatest support is my friends and family. My sisters have all bought bags from me with one sister having bought up to eight bags! They have also done some marketing for me. I tell them for each bag they buy they should tell people about Drix classic viondos.’

Drucilla is very passionate about African bags among other artifacts. She says it fills her heart with pride to see ladies carrying them and that is what motivates her everyday to keep on doing what she does. “I thank God for my clients and the doors He has opened for me and for the other entrepreneurs out there, keep pressing on.”

It started out as two friends experimenting in the kitchen. One had the knack for doing things with his hands and the other was just trying to find something to fill up his schedule since he was relatively free during the week.

They prepared mandazis at first then they decided those were common in most households so they tried something else, Donuts. They thought their donuts tasted pretty good but then that view might have been biased so they tested them with their neighbour who loved the donuts. That was the validation they needed to turn that experiment into a business.

“Once our neighbor loved the donuts to a point of thinking that we had been doing this for awhile we knew it was time. We immediately opened an instagram page that evening and came up with Grub donuts. There was no time to waste. Grub is a term commonly used by high school students to refer to snacks.”

Michael Ndung’u and Wilson Mwaniki started Grub donuts without even the basic tools like a cooking pan and they would use utensils from their own kitchens. When asked about capital, the business partners can’t say for sure how much they started with. They were so excited to start a business they found a way to get whatever they needed without really keeping track of how much they spent.

“We actually started without a strategy. At that moment what mattered to us was making donuts and getting clients. We have learnt so much since then and we are working on so many details that we had overlooked in the first instance.”

It is an online based business therefore they mostly use their online platforms to market their business but the most effective form of marketing for them has been word of mouth. “Our donuts speak for themselves and that is what we wanted from the start so we do not use our personal online pages to market the business or to influence buyers. We want people to buy the donuts because they are good and not because they are our friends.”

If their appearance don’t grab your attention, their taste will
Image Credit – Grub Donuts Instagram

The partners state that what makes them different is that they do not compromise on the quality of their donuts. Their product is their representation and so they ensure their clients have a good image of them by providing a good product as well as good service in terms of delivery.

“For instance, if our delivery guy  gets into an accident when delivering an order we make sure to contact the client and inform them on what has happened then we deliver their order later with some complementaries to make it up to them.”

They have also had their fair share of challenges especially having started without a plan. Sometimes demand would outweigh supply. They had to figure a way to satisfy all their clients. Just when they thought they had handled that challenge another one emerged where clients were requesting for additional packaging on top of what they are already providing. They say they are still working on that one.

“What we have realized is that everyday we get a different kind of challenge and this business has been a learning process for us. For anyone out there who has a business idea and is waiting for everything to be perfect before they can start, you are already late! Start and work out some of the details as you go.”

In addition to that, they also advise entrepreneurs that whatever they do they should do it to their level best. It’s a monkey see monkey do world so if someone copies their idea they would not do it the same way so they should not let that discourage them as long as they give it their all. Finally the partners agree that business is not easy. Most of the things are not taught in school so it’s not a solace for people who are tired of their jobs. They urge people to start a business because they are passionate about it and not because they are running away from something.