With the current tough economic times, everyone wants a little bit of
extra money to cushion them from ever-increasing costs of living.As a
result, many Kenyan women have tried their hands at side gigs to augment
their salaries. PHOTO | FILE
With the current tough economic times, everyone wants a little
bit of extra money to cushion them from ever-increasing costs of living.
As a result, many Kenyan women have tried their hands
at side gigs to augment their salaries. We caught up with four such
women who started part-time business from their hobbies and passions or
to meet a need that they had seen in society, who shared all about their
side hustles with us.
Barbara Cynthia Amondi prepares cake at their home in Argwins Kodhek Estate in Kisumu. PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI
Barbara Cynthia Amondi, full-time events planner and part-time baker
Kisumu-based
Barbara Amondi, grew up watching the women in her life baking, but she
never once imagined that it would be the solution to her financial woes.
“My
grandmother, mother sisters and aunts are master bakers … we all grew
up doing it and I used to take it for granted. Moreover, I noticed that I
only enjoyed eating my own cakes as cakes from other people were always
either too sugary or salty … buying other people’s cakes always made me
feel as if I had wasted money,” she recalls.
And
so her hobby began. This hobby soon turned into a side hustle when she
got her first client while working her first job as a research assistant
in 2011. It was a birthday cake for a colleague that soon gave birth to
more requests for more birthday cakes. She charged Sh1, 200 for the
first cake and this became her working capital. When she began, she had
no sophisticated equipment, and used an improvised oven in form of a
jiko.
Her first big client was a
colleague who asked her to bake a friend’s wedding cake. New to wedding
cakes, Barbara would enlist the help of her mother to bake the wedding
cake, improvising equipment as usual.
“We
heated sand in a large cooking pot and baked the cake on it, covering
it with a metal lid with charcoal on top. It was hard,” she laughs.
Barbara
was almost certain that her handiwork would get negative feedback, but
to her surprise, she was given a pat on the back and a tip.
It
was after the wedding cake in 2012 that she sat down to chart a
business plan. She thought about the tools of trade she needed, a
pricelist for her cakes, the cost of running the business and the
marketing. She resolved to save half the profit she made from her sales
to buy an electric oven and other equipment.
The
good thing about the baking business, is that it grows from the
referrals from happy clients. Barbara’s outgoing personality, online and
offline, also helps.
“Whenever I
meet people, I greet them with ‘hello, I’m Barb, a fine baker and events
planner,’” she says. Her Facebook page is awash with photos of her
cakes, including the modern electronic equipment she just acquired.
Occasionally
she is lucky to have “the whole package”: her clients seeking her event
organisation services also enlist her for cakes. Barbara’s main
challenge is that there are sometimes too few or no customers, while
other times there are more clients than she can serve alone.
Capital: Sh1, 200 in 2011
Monthly income: Sh100, 000
Tip: Be
patient. The culinary field is competitive and it takes time before you
are trusted enough with someone’s wedding or birthday cake. Kisumu
alone has 4 million people and once people know you, you will have a
good number of regular clients.
**********
Wendy Malinda is an account manager at a tech
multi-national in Nairobi who runs a side hustle as a coach for blended
families. PHOTO | COURTESY
Wendy Malinda, full-time accounts manager at a multinational and part-time family coach
When
Wendy Malinda became a stepmother, she went in search of knowledge that
would help her get along with her stepchildren, but her quest was an
endless chain of disappointments.
“There
was no material, no classes and no counselling tailored for members of
blended families, so I gave up on the search,” she shares.
However,
Wendy read widely and learnt from her own experience, and realising
that there were other people who might be facing the same challenges she
faced as a stepmother, she set out to help such people at a fee. Wendy
founded Living in Step Africa (LISA), a company that offers coaching to
blended families.
“Every family that I
meet is different, and each has different challenges. It could be
challenges with money, emotional challenges or even difficulties
handling an ex-spouse.
After founding
LISA, Wendy went as far as getting certification for her craft. Then
she set up a website with a blog where she posts periodical articles on
the subject.
She charges Sh2, 500 an
hour with an individual seeking to see her just that once while a group
sessions that is a six-week programme cost Sh30, 000. An individual
seeking long-term intervention on a four-week programme pays Sh10, 000.
Her
sessions can be a physical meeting or one held online through Skype.
Because of the negative connotations associated with being part of a
stepfamily, Wendy has had to exercise patience in watching her clientele
grow.
“People are open to general
coaching but it is much harder for them to open up about the issues they
face in these manner of families and seek help because the word ‘step’
alone already has a negative connotation,” she says.
Capital: Money for setting up the website and registering LISA.
Income from part-time activity: varies
Tip: Patience. This requires a long term goal and a desire to actually help people.
*********
Dorothy Gakii, a full time barber who dabbles as a makeup artist at the Nation Centre on June 25, 2015. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU
Dorothy Gakii, a full time barber who dabbles as a makeup artist
Dorothy Gakii describes herself as a tomboy and that is why she is a barber.
“But there are days when I want to tap into my feminine side and that is how I started doing makeup on the side,” she says.
After
college, Dorothy discovered that the beauty industry is not only wide,
but one that offers her a chance to become financially stable if only
she puts a little effort and creativity in her work.
While
she had basic skills in makeup application, Dorothy would tag along
established beauticians and makeup artists like Suzie Wokabi and Rose
Ntong’ondu to learn from them.
“I
learnt a lot watching the masters, and after sometime I had gathered
courage to venture out on my own,” she tells Saturday Magazine.
In
2013, Dorothy founded Daughty Artistry, her professional makeup company
that attends to brides and bridesmaids as well as TV anchors such as
those on K24’s Alfajiri show.
She
bought a few brushes and relied on her clients to provide their own
makeup before she had saved enough money to buy her own kit.
For
brides she charges Sh6,000, which includes trials on what brand of
makeup is best fit for the bride’s skin a week before the wedding day.
Capital: Money for a few “proper” brushes. A good brush costs Sh1, 000
Income from part-time activity: Sh30, 000 to Sh50, 000
Tip: Invest in good brushes from time to time. They may be expensive but do not use a brush with hardened bristles on a client.
**********
Phenny Ochieng is a full-time administrator at an NGO IN Kakamega who runs a boutique on the side. PHOTO | COURTESY
Phenny Ochieng’, afulltime administrator at an NGO and boutique owner on the side
The
love for community is what drove Phenny Ochieng to study to be a
teacher at the university, skills she applies at her administrative job
at a non-governmental organisation in Kakamega. Her love for fashion on
the other hand, is the foundation on which her part-time job as a
boutique owner is laid.
Her
Kisumu-based boutique, Klaide Kollections, is two years old and fetches
her as much as Sh60,000 a month. From a capital of Sh30,000 which she
borrowed form a savings group in 2013, Phenny’s first stock was brought
into the country from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
Her
stock, a collection of bags and African print material, was sold out in
just three weeks. That was sooner than she had expected as she had seen
the boutiques around her struggle.
“I
guess I know my clients and their needs”, she says, explaining that:
“they are the women who want unique dresses and accessories that they
will not see with another person on the streets, and if they can achieve
that exclusivity without denting their pockets then you have them as
permanent clients.”
“I usually send my clients pictures of new stock and they make orders even before they get to the shop,” she says.
Most
of the transactions are negotiated on SMS and WhatsApp, after which
clients send her money via M-pesa and then she sends the clothes to them
using a courier.
When
she started out, it was rather taxing because she gets her goods from
Uganda, Dubai and Tanzania, and she had to travel to source for stock,
but now she relies on her network of suppliers to send her images of
what is available. After she has selected the goods she likes, they are
shipped to her. Nevertheless, Phenny is still pressed for time, juggling
her master’s degree studies, her fulltime job and her side hustle, and
this has meant that she wakes up as early as 3am to get everything done.
Phenny relied on her social capital to build her business.
“My friends and colleagues were my first clients and they are the ones who spread the word about how good my products are.”
The
mother of one is aware of the challenges that come with running a
business such as hers which is not a basic need and makes exceptions for
modes of payment.
“I
allow credit with conditions but only for the people whom I am sure
will pay. Otherwise, I do not allow credit,” she states emphatically.
Capital: Sh30,000 in 2012
Income from part-time activity: Sh25,000 to Sh60,000
Tip: Know your clientele’s needs and meet them.
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