When Florence Njenga had her firstborn son, she was barely out of her teens. She has spent most of her adult life fighting not to become a statistic, successfully so.
After trying her hand at employment and then business twice and failing both times Florence finally found her passion a year ago. She now runs a successful domestic cleaning services company.
“I now feel in charge,” she says.
This is the opposite of what she felt when she was unexpectedly thrust into motherhood eighteen years ago.
She started right at the bottom of the food chain doing anything she could to pay the bills.
“I started as a waitress in a small restaurant in Nakuru. For six years, I worked in different places, moving up to the position of manager.”
Finally, the repetitive nature of her job and the often late working hours got to her. Together with a friend, she left employment to start up her first business, a café.
Given that she had years of experience in the field, the business picked up but soon crumbled because she and her partner had not agreed beforehand on the terms of the partnership.
Frustrated, she packed her bags and left for Sudan. She got a job as a manager of yet another hotel.
LONGED TO START OWN BUSINESS
“It was good but inside, I still yearned to start a business. I wanted to build something of my own.”
While there, she began her second business in providing events décor. This time round, she had done her research and the business thrived.
Her client list grew through word of mouth and soon she was doing even state functions. During Valentine’s Day in 2009, she imported fresh roses from Kenya which was a first in the country and she caused quite a stir.
“I was finally building something of my own but I was still so far from home. I wanted to build something at home. When I came for Christmas at the end of 2009, I decided to stay home and put my phone off and turned off my email.”
Starting over back home wasn’t as easy as she had envisioned and she found herself going back into employment, this time in marketing.
It was very taxing for her back then but when she thinks about it now, her experience in insurance marketing has been an invaluable resource to her business.
“Insurance salesmen are relentless. Each ‘no’ is seen as just another opportunity. I have adopted the same attitude for my business.”
STARTED OWN VENTURE
Last year, she was finally ready to start a venture of her own. When there wasn’t enough money to go around from her insurance job, she would run errands for her friends and go to their homes to fix their hair and nails. While at it, she noticed how many homes had stained bathrooms and toilets.
There was a load of work to be done and yet no one was talking about it. Wanting to get it right this time, she sought training from a gentleman who runs a cleaning business.
He has also turned out to be her mentor.
“I started cleaning my neighbours’ and then friends’ bathrooms. Slowly, even strangers were letting me into their houses.”
She understands why a Kenyan might not trust easily when it comes to their personal space and has learnt to maintain a look that is both professional and welcoming.
When she started, she was doing the cleaning single handedly but she now has a permanent team of five as well as casuals whose services she contracts depending on the job. Her team specializes in cleaning bathrooms: the bathtubs, toilets and sinks and tiles.
“Initially, not everyone took it well that I was cleaning toilets but I saw the end game and I kept at it.Now, I am able to both earn a decent living and spend ample time with my two sons.” She is set to take advantage of the current favourable business climate in the country to acquire funds to expand her business.
But beyond business success, Florence dreams of being able to inspire another person. “At the end of the day, I want to be able to give back to the society in this way.”