Janet Nzioka is the founder and owner of Enyce Collections and Smart Bums Baby Shop, a clothing business that deals with women and kids ’ new and thrifted clothing collections.
I started my business journey in 2017 after leaving employment. I am an accountant by profession and was working with an NGO. A friend introduced me to a lady who imported women’s clothing from China at a wholesale price. Our deal was to share costs and sell at a profit. This venture turned out to be a bad idea. The pictures of items we got and the actual items were very different. I ended up with too much dead stock.
My husband kept encouraging me to try something else. Personally, I felt like a failure. I had mixed feelings. When I decided to try my hand at business again, I started with Sh. 3,000. I went to Gikomba and bought women’s tops which were being sold at Sh. 50 to Sh. 100. I bought around 45pcs, went home, ironed them and took pictures.
I had a big challenge on how I would start selling thrifted mutumba clothing. I was afraid of sharing my mtumba pieces on my social media pages. I mean, I had a good job. How would people look at me now selling mtumba! What would my friends say? I decided to open a pseudo Facebook account. I posted the pieces and sold them all within two weeks.
I went back to Gikomba for more. This became my trend. I started selecting dresses and other types of clothing for resale. In 2018, I got a stall in Nairobi CBD and have never looked back since then.
It took me around 18 months to break even. I was able to sustain operations and make profits from my business. That was a magical moment. I could see some light at the end of the tunnel. I started opening bales and selling pieces in retail and wholesale. Then I started selling bales as well. I could afford to pay shop rent every month. I could also pay myself some small salary.
Then the pandemic happened. The ban on second hand clothes importation was announced and boom…I was back at square one. I had to think really fast. I got a wholesaler who still had some stock and I managed to buy all the knit wear bales (ponchos and sweaters) he had. Now I had stock and could open once per week which helped me stay afloat during the tough pandemic season.
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Mixing business money with personal money was something I had to overcome. I could use my business money for personal expenses only to find out later when I was unable to restock. I also learnt the art of paying myself. I have also come to embrace the mantra of having monthly targets.
I save my money through chama. I am in several chamas where we raise and save money through table banking. This has been a great source of capital for my business, especially in the high seasons. I have also taken to saving through the money market fund and the sacco.
Sometimes you have to trust your instincts in business. Don’t waste your time procrastinating. No matter how many times you fall, stand and start again. To my fellow women, go ahead and start that business. Stop playing small. But remember that your clients are the key to breaking even. Treat them equally and with maximum respect. On money, no amount is small, every penny counts.
This profile feature on Janet Nzioka was first published in the Saturday Magazine. The Saturday Magazine is a publication of the Nation Media Group.