Eugene Wahogo is the CEO and Creative Director of Moran Apparel, a Pan-African Apparel Brand that manufactures shoes locally and sells internationally.
Building a business: There really is no secret to building a brand. It’s all about passion, hard work, sleepless nights and resilience. Did I just mention passion? Yes, you have to love what you do because that’s what keeps the fire burning even on those bad days when nothing works. If you are in it for the money then you are likely to give up easily. You must also know that as an entrepreneur, you have no time routine. There are times when I will be replying to customer needs through the night. It is not easy, but it is fun.
Biggest milestone: Being able to set up strategic partnerships that have in turn helped us build our international repute and exposed us to the international market ranks as my biggest milestone. The company has partnered with DHL to cater for all our outbound logistics. We have also partnered with Zuvaa and Afrikrea which are the largest online platforms for African fashion products to create an online e-commerce platform that gets millions of visitors weekly onto our online store.
Secret to ‘making it’: You must know and have the power of Networking. There is this rule known as the “Six Degrees of Separation” that I truly believe in and go by. It states that you can attain anything or get through to anyone through six steps or people. It will always take a friend of a friend to get by. You have to go out and sell your brand as if you are a new parent showing off their baby. I think many of us shy away from speaking about our brand because we are scared of criticism, yet, there is more to gain than lose. This is how I have met some of my best contacts, from my manufacturers to my retailers and clients.
Saving method: To be honest, I am really terrible at saving. I don’t understand why my money should remain in a bank and earn meager returns. I am not a conservative investor. I would much rather save through investing in other people’s companies either for an equity share or for higher interests on the loans I give. I am looking into money markets with the intention of diversifying my investments through them.
Biggest mistake: It is not really a mistake but a lesson learned. Start saving early and invest your money wisely no matter how little it is. All that money I spent catering for my lifestyle and all the “fun stuff” would have served me a lot better if I had save it or reinvested it into my company or into other opportunities.
Biggest loss: This has been giving up on my brand a couple of years ago. It had so much potential and familiarity but I just wasn’t as excited about it and didn’t push it as I should have. I would later feel as though I was starting from square one when I later re-launched. Nonetheless, I have come to learn that losses and bad days are inevitable. You just have to set up structures and procedures to help minimize them. Personally I have a team of employees who are able to deal with problems arising in any department. I also have very successful and knowledgeable mentors and friends who serve as great anchors and sounding boards.
If I could go back in time: Hindsight is a beautiful thing. But I believe that everything happens for a reason and it is up to us to learn from our mistakes. The only thing I would possibly do differently and which I am now practicing is resilience in entrepreneurship. I am also thinking a lot more globally and innovating a lot more in terms of designs and processes for my company.