Liz Kitua, the owner of Kidosho at her Shop in Kilimani, Nairobi on June 23, 2015. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL
Liz Kitua didn’t plan on becoming a stylist or
a designer. It wasn’t an itch that refused to go away, neither was it
in protest to a career she would later feel uncut for. Design, to Liz,
was the path she was chosen to pursue, one where she flourished. So it
doesn’t surprise her that she is here.
We
meet Liz at her boutique, Kidosho, on a Friday afternoon. It’s a quiet
day. Five tailors work in the space opposite where we are – they do the
stitching, Liz designs. Before us, her designs spread out in a montage
of fabrics and mannequins. Save for Liz and I, the only other person to
walk in is one of her tailors; she needs a consult on a fabric she’s
working on. Liz tells me that business has been slow for the last
several weeks.
Before this, Liz
worked as a commercial pilot for five years. “I attended flying school
here for two years then transferred to a flight academy in South Africa
to complete the course. I relocated in July 2008,” she says. “I loved it
at flying school.”
BROOM CLOSET
Liz
graduated and returned home in January 2009 to start her life as a
pilot, but the jobs weren’t waiting for her at the airport. She
freelanced for two years on no pay, building her flying hours, a
necessity for the trade, and saved any money she got. In mid-2010 Liz
started Kidosho. It was a side-hustle to pay the bills while she built
her hours.
The focus of Kidosho was
kitenge – Liz played around with this traditional mum-associated fabric
to design modern and funky attire for women her age. Her designs caught
on quick. In January 2013, Liz landed a job that paid. “The working
hours were intense, though. My schedule had several short local flights
with few breaks in between.
And the
pay didn’t match the hours,” she says. She adds that the working
environment conflicted with her personal values. Liz was unhappy; she
had neither the fulfilment nor the sense of purpose she had with
Kidosho. She was unsettled.
Kidosho
by this time was taking shape – Liz had a clientele (one she would later
outgrow); she had a location (a rental space in Nairobi West no bigger
than a broom closet) and she had a team of tailors (three ladies she
poached from the kibandas of Umoja market).
Liz
constantly contemplated the idea she had battled with for over two
years: “Should I leave my ‘prestigious’ job as a pilot to pursue my
passion in Kidosho?” Liz consulted no one because she knew what she
wanted for herself. In December 2013 – as part of her New Year’s
resolution – Liz jumped ship.
What did her support system have to say about her decision?
“My
mum was very supportive. She said that she hoped I knew what I was
doing. All my brother said was ‘Do you’. My friends cheered me on
because they knew how passionate I was about this. The only person who
didn’t give me his nod was my dad, it hurt me a lot. He’s also a pilot.
He wondered why he would spend over Sh9 million in flying school only
for me to quit to run a kiosk as a fundi,” recalls Liz. “He is now
coming to terms, though.”
BEST FABRICS
Liz
relocated her boutique to Ngong Road and expanded her team of tailors
to five. She managed all operations including her books. She later
attended a school of design: “I was there for one semester only. I
wasn’t learning anything new.”
Liz
had been sourcing her fabric from the backstreets of River Road. But she
realised it no longer fit the standard and quality her new clientele
demanded. “Most of these fabrics were imitations.” Liz upped her game –
she now takes the trouble of flying to West Africa to ship in the
fabrics herself.
Dressing women is
hectic business, says Liz. It takes a special kind of patience to
mollify a woman who isn’t happy with your product, or with how it makes
her feel/look. It’s a skill Liz has had to sharpen.
Cash
flows were not consistent – the good months were good, the bad ones
were horrid. “There were those when I’d pay all what I needed but had
nothing for myself to take home.” In these dry months Liz would wonder
if she had made a mistake: “But even on those bad days you know at the
back of your mind that it’s going to be OK.”
Liz
is a one-woman powerhouse. Kidosho lives and breathes on her shoulders,
she isn’t open to partnering just yet. She plans to return to school
for her management and entrepreneurship skills. Her plan for her
business is to start exporting her designs and growing a men’s line
called Ume.
HOW SHE DID IT:
- Liz expected failure: she was aware that all what was planned would not happen as she wanted. Things went wrong but she remained focused.
- Liz prayed and focused on the positive: even if she was struggling she was happy to be in.
- Liz had a strong support system that believed in her.
- Liz put in the hard work to get her business to where she wanted it.
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