For over 15 years, Ms Nancy Gwaro Nyambane tried her hand in many jobs, but she is now an interior décor expert specialising in elegant furniture, eyeing the lucrative export market. After hawking fresh juice, doing data entry at Steadman Group (now Ipsos Synnovate) and working as an accountant at Securicor (now G4S) among other jobs, she decided to invest in creativity.
“As I tried all these businesses, I was equipped with my master in commerce and business management degree from India. I had a constant nagging thought about investing in living space that was fascinating even to my friends,” Ms Nyambane said.
In her house, she frequently kept changing furniture positions and painting the walls in different colours. She also offered at some point to decorate her friends’ houses at a fee. Her passion was so intense that between 2008 and 2009 Ms Nyambane was motivated to take an online course in interior design.
“My husband advised me to follow my passion. I started painting houses and helping people re-arrange their houses and landscape exteriors,” she told says. She has never turned back on her decision to fully venture into interior décor. It was during the painting and landscaping tours at peoples’ homes that she realised how even the most expensive homes were furnished with poor quality furniture.
“I then decided to venture into the furniture business. To help solve the problem,” she said, “I had a ready business plan with the support of my spouse, I also set an initial capital requirement, which he funded.”
With the Sh100,000 she got from a support group, she received an additional Sh3 million from her husband, which was sufficient as her seed capital. The couple then widely consulted and decided to settle on Miale Furniture as the business name.
With the money, she rented a go down in Industrial Area, paying Sh130,000 upfront for three months’ rent. She also acquired wood work machine totaling Sh750,000. “The money was running out fast. Getting raw materials and quality carpenters was a challenge,” said Miale Furniture CEO.
She took in three professional carpenters and two sanding personnel from some workshops along Ngong Road, in Nairobi. Her employees also helped source for raw materials.
“It was an expensive affair. A small lorry of timber half full would cost Sh150,000” she said. In May 2012, with only a month into the business, Ms Nyambane thought of subletting the godown and even advertised in the dailies. She had seriously thought of the best way to advertise her business so that she can start getting returns. A friend introduced her to a home exhibition.
She parted with Sh30,000 for a small stand excited that the expo would market her business. The expo acted as an eye opener and she never stopped at the first one.
Ms Nyambane later booked another stand at the Kenya Homes Expo, paying Sh. 63,000 in three instalments. She had designed some dining tables, console, display unit and double deck beds, which she displayed at the exhibition.
“Our aim in the second exhibition was to raise money. And luckily we sold the dining table, console and the double deck bed all accumulating to Sh.305,000,” she added.
In addition, from the exhibition, Miale Furniture got a number of bookings and more customers kept calling for custom made designs. “Kenya Homes Expo gave us a bigger platform to showcase ourselves. It was a fantastic idea for us,” she said.
She now employs 27 workers at her furniture workshop. Miale Furniture makes about Sh300,000 in a bad month but about Sh1 million in a good one.
“We are three years old now but never the same again. We now can buy Sh1 million worth of raw materials,” says Ms Nyambane. The shop has also had its share of challenges such as frequent power blackouts, compelling employees to work overtime when there is power.