Angela Wambugu is the proprietor of Lavender Limited, a professional cleaning and pest control company based in Nairobi. Lavender Limited is licensed by the Pest Control Board of Kenya and offers both commercial and domestic services both on contractual and one-off basis.
Getting into the market and gaining clients’ trust has been my greatest entrepreneurial milestone. Our services sometimes require us to be in the client’s home and for a client to be comfortable enough to work with you and provide you domestic referrals, you have to have earned their trust.
This is not only a milestone but a value we strive to maintain. In business, your clients are your biggest asset. Money is just the reward. The focus should be on customer relationships.
My first business office location was quite expensive and not as strategic as I had thought. There was a burden on overheads and it took time for me to make the decision to move to a more strategic location.
Today, I am a lot more decisive on how the business spends and I do not delay in making the necessary financial and operational changes. I have come to learn that in business, losses should be dealt with swiftly as opposed to dwelling on them.
It is also important to seek advice where you feel inadequate because there is a lot you can learn from others.
I use mutual funds, particularly the money market fund. This has been an effective mode of saving money because of accessibility and the compounded interest that the fund generates.
The interest has been better than what I previously earned from saving through the fixed bank deposit account. On business funds, 2020 was a tough year.
My biggest mistake was not having saved enough money that could have helped me run the business amidst an economy battered by the pandemic.
I learnt that you need to have a kitty to allow the business to run for at least 1 year with poor sales, and avoid taking credit as much as possible.
If you have a practical business idea, get up and implement it. I have come to learn that over analyzing business and life issues or ‘analysis paralysis’ ultimately kills a lot of great ideas.
If you have a good idea that can translate into an income stream, endeavor to just get started from where you are and with what you have. Do not be afraid. I could have focused on business earlier than I did.
Business is a lot more fulfilling and takes time to grow. A head start would mean that I would be miles ahead by now.
Adaptability is the key to making it in entrepreneurship. You cannot be rigid when running a business. At the same time, the environment can change very easily, and you need to be able to adapt with any circumstances your enterprise may encounter in its development journey.
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I have also learnt that there is power in being consistent in service or product delivery. Let clients be sure that the service or product you are offering will always be the same if not better.
This entrenches trust and reliability. It also ensures that they will always be willing to refer you, and that’s a sure means of growing your market share.
Many times, I get third tier referrals, and half the time the client approaches us with complete confidence for a job we did well. The beauty of this is that the transaction becomes easier to close, and the client is mostly retained.
A version of this profile feature on Angela Wambugu was also published in the Saturday Magazine. The Saturday Magazine is a publication of the Nation Media Group.