This archive report was first published on 15 January 2020.
January 15, 2020, marked four years since Kennedy Uregah started his mitumba business in Nairobi's Madaraka estate. With an initial capital of Sh1,000, he had made enough profits to transition from hawking to setting up a shop.
Uregah's journey began after completing high school, when he tried his hand in different businesses to make ends meet. A friend suggested he join him in hawking second-hand clothes, and he was excited to get into it, hopeful that he would learn everything he needed to branch off on his own.
After six months, Uregah had made enough profits to set up shop in Madaraka estate, targeting young women and men from nearby Strathmore University. However, he is now experiencing difficulties growing his business beyond what it is now.
Enter Erick Oguttu of Skyend Apparel, who has been in the second-hand clothing business for a decade. Oguttu has agreed to mentor Uregah and help him get to the next level. Here are some of the lessons Oguttu shared with us:
- Track and save your profits: The mitumba business has varying profit margins depending on the target clientele, making it essential for entrepreneurs to be diligent in tracking and saving their profits to scale and grow the business.
- Listen to customer demands, tastes, and preferences: Second-hand clothing is preferred by customers for its unique designs, making it crucial for business owners to be alert to customer demands and preferences to keep and grow the customer base.
- Seek to employ trustworthy and personable staff: A business grows when the owner can relieve themselves from day-to-day operations and focus on the business strategically, made possible when the business owner has someone they can entrust with these operations.
