Happy: Kiiza is a happy business owner after tussling it out as a sales
woman before she ventured into clothing enterprise. Her business started
with Shs2m. PHOTO BY EDGAR R. BATTE.
In 2015
Brenda Kiiza felt ready to start a new chapter in her life. Kiiza had
had it with being employed and was eager to step out of the employment
world and into self-employment.
At the time, she was employed as a sales woman with one of the road construction companies. Kiiza went into selling clothes. She liked dressing in nice outfits, with recognisable labels to go with.
Every time she walked into a fabric shop, she admired the way those who sold her clothes operated business. She developed an interest too and started focusing her energies towards saving money to start her own fabric shop.
Within months, she had saved at least Shs2m with which she felt ready to kickstart her enterprise. She identified business premises where she was to pay Shs70,000 per month.
At the time, she was employed as a sales woman with one of the road construction companies. Kiiza went into selling clothes. She liked dressing in nice outfits, with recognisable labels to go with.
Every time she walked into a fabric shop, she admired the way those who sold her clothes operated business. She developed an interest too and started focusing her energies towards saving money to start her own fabric shop.
Within months, she had saved at least Shs2m with which she felt ready to kickstart her enterprise. She identified business premises where she was to pay Shs70,000 per month.
She covered her rental fees
obligation for six months, to a tune of Shs420,000. She spent another
Shs600,000 on construction of display shelves and compartments.
With the remaining Shs1m, she acquired stock, of mainly men’s wear and footwear, from Kampala. She is born and raised in Kasese District where her business is situated too.
She runs Brenda K. Collection. “People liked my stuff. They bought the items and started making orders. I was short on money so someone advised me to get a loan. I initially got one, of Shs400,000 then later got another loan of Shs1m,” she recounts.
She sells men’s jeans, khakis, shirts, t-shirts, boxers that range from Shs30, 000 to about Shs100,000. With time, her female friends began asking her to get them dresses and shoes. Kiiza realised that women’s stock brought in quicker returns compared to men’s stuff.
With the remaining Shs1m, she acquired stock, of mainly men’s wear and footwear, from Kampala. She is born and raised in Kasese District where her business is situated too.
She runs Brenda K. Collection. “People liked my stuff. They bought the items and started making orders. I was short on money so someone advised me to get a loan. I initially got one, of Shs400,000 then later got another loan of Shs1m,” she recounts.
She sells men’s jeans, khakis, shirts, t-shirts, boxers that range from Shs30, 000 to about Shs100,000. With time, her female friends began asking her to get them dresses and shoes. Kiiza realised that women’s stock brought in quicker returns compared to men’s stuff.
She
decided to invest in items that cater to women’s demands, for example
jean trousers, bags, party dresses, and more. For the start, she didn’t
sit back and wait for customers.
“I would pack the merchandise in a bag and go around hawking it around Kasese and to as far as Mpondwe, at the border of Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I initially used to hawk jewellery. Later on, customers in offices demanded for clothes so I started I hawking clothes too,” she further recollects.
That was 2016. She had an employee who would stay behind while she went to hawk the merchandise. Her challenge in the beginning were dishonest customers who would ask to take stuff and not honour their obligation to pay for it, thereby setting her back.
Bad debtors affected her purchasing power when she had to restock. She learnt the lesson and decided to concentrate on cash transactions as well as clients who were honest.
“I would pack the merchandise in a bag and go around hawking it around Kasese and to as far as Mpondwe, at the border of Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I initially used to hawk jewellery. Later on, customers in offices demanded for clothes so I started I hawking clothes too,” she further recollects.
That was 2016. She had an employee who would stay behind while she went to hawk the merchandise. Her challenge in the beginning were dishonest customers who would ask to take stuff and not honour their obligation to pay for it, thereby setting her back.
Bad debtors affected her purchasing power when she had to restock. She learnt the lesson and decided to concentrate on cash transactions as well as clients who were honest.
“You would rather stop buying from me than not
paying for the items suppliers. This hurts business and could lead to
its collapse. I needed money to cater for my needs as well as cover rent
and pay my employee so I needed to make sure that I made and saved
money,” she explains.
In planning for every penny she made, she was able to restock items that had proved popular with the customers. Kiiza is relatively heavy-bodied and owing to that, she recounts being mocked and ridiculed by people.
“I did not mind them. At the end of the day, I made money. I would go hawking at Mpondwe on Tuesday and Friday and would make sales of between Shs1m and Shs2m which I used to help my family,” she adds.
In planning for every penny she made, she was able to restock items that had proved popular with the customers. Kiiza is relatively heavy-bodied and owing to that, she recounts being mocked and ridiculed by people.
“I did not mind them. At the end of the day, I made money. I would go hawking at Mpondwe on Tuesday and Friday and would make sales of between Shs1m and Shs2m which I used to help my family,” she adds.
With time, other women and men saw
how lucrative hawking merchandise was so they dived in and shrewdly.
Kiiza’s sales dropped so she reclined and started strategising afresh.
She opted to market her business on radio and social media and the avenues proved fairly effective so she now sits in her shop and makes sure she provides good service to customers.
“Plus, when I restock, I call up my customers to inform them about the new items so that they can come around and buy.” To advertise on radio, she spends Shs100,000 per month.
She opted to market her business on radio and social media and the avenues proved fairly effective so she now sits in her shop and makes sure she provides good service to customers.
“Plus, when I restock, I call up my customers to inform them about the new items so that they can come around and buy.” To advertise on radio, she spends Shs100,000 per month.
She
pays rent of Shs200,000. On her wish list, is growing her enterprise in
the next three years to enable her travel to China to buy customised
and non-customised merchandise as per the demands of her clientele, from
toddlers to grannies.
Her advice to someone planning on starting a business like hers is to be patient and have a plan for it. “I normally give back to my loyal customers as a way of appreciating their support towards my business. For men, I could gift them with a shirt and for women, a dress or an item that they normally buy. It is important to maintain good relations with customers since they are the reason for the existence of my business. Customer care is key in business.”
Her advice to someone planning on starting a business like hers is to be patient and have a plan for it. “I normally give back to my loyal customers as a way of appreciating their support towards my business. For men, I could gift them with a shirt and for women, a dress or an item that they normally buy. It is important to maintain good relations with customers since they are the reason for the existence of my business. Customer care is key in business.”
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