Ruth Mwanzia is the founder and director of Koola Waters, a company that specializes in manufacturing, distribution, treatment and packaging of pure drinking water, and also the founder of AfriBiz, a startup coaching platform.
Starting a business: Raising capital for a new business is the biggest hurdle you will face. Before you think of going after loans to fund your start-up, try and exhaust the resources around you. Personally, when I started Koola, I tried as much as possible to avoid loans. Eventually, I was able to raise the Sh. 2 million capital I needed for the machinery, delivery vehicle and operational costs. However, over time, I have found chamas to be a great source of funding, especially due to their low interest rates.
Building a business: Never be scared to invest simply because you are afraid of making losses. Good business is all about risk. Take the risk and invest in the business you believe in. However, you must have a vision board that will help you envision where you want your business to take you. I have also found that networking long before you venture out is a good step to founding a successful enterprise.
Biggest milestone: There is nothing that beats building my business from scratch to where it is today. When I started, I had only three employees. I was only managing to package about 100 cartons per week. However, as my business grew, I was able to purchase a bigger machine from Davis and Shirtliff, and my numbers have grown to as high as 500 packaged cartons every week. I have also broken even and expanded to different regions in the country.
Entrepreneurship vs Employment: Entrepreneurship is king because it provides you with the opportunity to get rich while pursuing your passion. On the other hand, though, employment will always give you the requisite skills of running a business. Personally, transitioning from employment to entrepreneurship wasn’t too hard. I had founded my business as side hustle. My primary reason was because I needed to raise adequate cash to cover my operational costs. I only quit when the business started to pick up and run on its own.
Secret to making it: Boldness is the secret. I am afraid that as young women, we fail to be bold enough and end up trusting others on face value. In the end, what we end up with are bad choices. For instance, I remember when I was starting, I loaned someone money I couldn’t afford to lend out. The person wasn’t able to repay me and I ended up taking a hit. Learn to be bold with your money, whether in your business or in your relationships. Say no when no is necessary.
On saving: You will never grow if you don’t have a good money saving habit. However, never save just for the sake of pooling lots of liquid cash alone. Save and invest your money for it to grow. Currently, I am saving and investing through businesses, saccos and banks.
