Lyte Chepkemboi is the founder and managing director of Lyte The Brand, an online shop which deals with quality affordable ex-UK loungewear, pyjamas, house shoes and fleece blankets.
I started my business with Sh. 1500 in 2020. I took a step of faith and went to Gikomba market and bought second camera clothes. These are the pieces that are left behind by the people who have picked the first camera or first choice mitumba clothes. First camera clothes were too pricey and I couldn’t afford them at that time. I sold them off and reinvested the small profit I got. I went back to Gikomba and bought a second batch. I kept doing this and by February this year, I had built up a capital base of Sh. 20,000. This money was enough to buy me a full bale. Start with what you have. Put in the hard work, consistency, resilience and honesty. Learn to manage your money well. After getting started, reinvest your profits into the business so that you get to a more solid operating capital sooner.
In my mitumba business, I have learned that there is power in writing what you want to achieve down. This is what I used to do. I would write down my profit targets for every clothes I bought. These targets were aimed at getting me to my first bale. Don’t expect that once you start a business venture, it will break even immediately. You must watch and grow it for at least one to two years to determine if it will make you money or whether it’ll remain as an unprofitable hobby.
One of the biggest mistakes I made when my business started performing well was to use the business money for my personal needs. This literally made me go back and search for capital multiple times. I was only able to overcome this habit after attending a basic financial management class. Every business owner should pay themselves a salary at the end of the month. If you’re in business, it’s important to regularly enroll for financial management classes so that you learn more on how to manage your operating capital and income streams. Today, if I could go back and restart my business, I would immediately start bookkeeping, register my business, and open a business account.
I save my money in different saving vehicles depending on the goals I have. I am currently on the Money Market Fund and I love the experience so far. I used to save through the bank and the interest at the end of the day was too low compared to what I am getting from the money market fund. I also save through investments such as shares.
The world is ready for what you will offer. Strangers will always support you. You don’t know who is watching, so in whatever you do, give it your all. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Seek guidance from those that have gone ahead of you and seek to improve every day. Currently, my aim is to have a ‘Made in Kenya’ merchandise in my stock. Once the economy stabilizes, I will also consider opening physical stores. However, I am thrilled at the limitless business opportunities and over the internet business-customer interactions that have emerged since the pandemic.
I currently open bales from home. I order them and they’re delivered at my door step. I don’t have to go to the market to pick pieces as I used to do when I started. There is a challenge to this mode of business. There are times when I have opened a bale expecting one thing only to get the exact opposite. The joke that you can purchase a bale only to find it stacked up with Japanese flags nobody in Kenya wants to buy is not just a joke. It is something that actually happens in the market.
This profile on Lyte Chepkemboi was first published in the Saturday Magazine. The Saturday Magazine is a publication of the Nation Media Group.