KQ Jobs: Angela Wambui is the owner of interior designers business 3 Anchors.
Most interior designers own shops around towns but you decided to go online. Why, and didn’t you fear to fail?
By the time I lost my job with Kenya Airways, I had saved a little cash but it was not enough to start a shop and buy stock so I decided to start an online page where I could sell my designs.
Why I will never use KQ’s direct flight to and from US again
I decided to go online since most people can now access these platforms easily. I was doing interior design before but as a side hustle, so I just decided to do it full time. For one to succeed, you should be ready to take risks. My business deals with orders and so we have no stock but we have designs from which our customers can choose from.
What are some of the projects you undertake?
We do residential, hotels, and offices (corporate and commercial) spaces. Our services involve consultation, space planning, furnishing, soft furnishings and room arrangements, decorating bars and restaurants, 3D visualisation (artistic impressions) and designing.
What is the greatest need in the industry?
Just like architects and lawyers have their own associations, interior designers need one where they’ll be able to device ways of educating citizens on the importance of space planning, interior architectural functionality and use of colour which is one of the main principles in interior design.
Many clients are willing to spend so much money to have great interiors but they are skeptical on spending it because they have encountered too many dishonest interior designers in the industry; they cannot trust anybody who poses as a legit interior designer. We therefore need to educate the citizens on how to tell a professional from a quack.
What are some of the challenges are you facing and how do you deal with them?
Though most Kenyans are accepting the reality of shopping online, it still hasn’t been embraced fully. Also, if you haven’t patented your idea and designs, there is high possibility of them being stolen by others designers.
These are just some of the challenges; getting clients is one of the hardest things in this industry as they do not understand why they should pay for consultancy and interior design services. Most shoppers fear online services because of concerns that they may be conned. We are making sure that our customers pay us after delivery so that we can have their feedback and also make them trust us.