Background & venture
I got to Interview one young entrepreneur also a family friend by the name Wendy Robinson. A little bit about Wendy, is that she was born and raised in Kenya, she is the only girl in their family and is the eldest of two children. Upon graduating high school in November 2006, she spent most of her time searching for a job to occupy her time as she awaited to join college the following year. Most of the job offers she got were not well paying and she became frustrated job after job. It was had for her to get any meaningful job with a high school diploma. That is whe she decided to start her own business. Importing and selling kitchen utensils such as pots and cutlery. A that she owed and operated solely, this business that …show more content…
being that her mother hosted a lot of guests there were times she could hear her mother complain about there not being good enough china to present before her friends and guests. From there she decided to conduct her research and found out that actually more and more women required cutlery for different functions, be it for weddings, birthdays, parties, or just social gatherings and it was not actually easy to find these cutlery then.
Personal skills and attributes: How did you begin?
Starting any business is not easy, she tells me, especially when you have no knowledge or background on operating one. But the support she got from her family, especially her mum and grandmother, made it all possible. From an early age she had learned to be independent. Being the only girl and eldest child, she had to take on a lot of responsibilities from an early age and through this she developed a sense of leadership and independence.
Wendy began her business during her first year in college. Using a catalogue she received from the manufacturer in Dubai, she used the social gatherings as an opportunity to market her idea and business. She showed people what new designs of utensils were available, and that way those interested could place an order and she could make an order from the …show more content…
The first year of business was not easy, she says, this is because she had no car of her own and had to use a cab every time she had a delivery to make. She was in school and at the beginning could not manage her time well between working and studying. Another challenge was payment. She allowed her clients enough grace period for payment but some of them would not pay her on time, friends she had sold to ignored her and it became frustrating not being able to meet her payments. During her second year of college, her uncle gave her an old car that aided her in transporting her goods and also helped reduce her expenses for transportation. Wendy says that it is due to persistence and patience that she had the courage to continue with her business even when it seemed to head nowhere. She tell me that many young entrepreneurs quit early on because they lack the patience when they see no profits and the persistence when they keep failing. The goal is to wake up each day and try again until you finally
I got to Interview one young entrepreneur also a family friend by the name Wendy Robinson. A little bit about Wendy, is that she was born and raised in Kenya, she is the only girl in their family and is the eldest of two children. Upon graduating high school in November 2006, she spent most of her time searching for a job to occupy her time as she awaited to join college the following year. Most of the job offers she got were not well paying and she became frustrated job after job. It was had for her to get any meaningful job with a high school diploma. That is whe she decided to start her own business. Importing and selling kitchen utensils such as pots and cutlery. A that she owed and operated solely, this business that …show more content…
being that her mother hosted a lot of guests there were times she could hear her mother complain about there not being good enough china to present before her friends and guests. From there she decided to conduct her research and found out that actually more and more women required cutlery for different functions, be it for weddings, birthdays, parties, or just social gatherings and it was not actually easy to find these cutlery then.
Personal skills and attributes: How did you begin?
Starting any business is not easy, she tells me, especially when you have no knowledge or background on operating one. But the support she got from her family, especially her mum and grandmother, made it all possible. From an early age she had learned to be independent. Being the only girl and eldest child, she had to take on a lot of responsibilities from an early age and through this she developed a sense of leadership and independence.
Wendy began her business during her first year in college. Using a catalogue she received from the manufacturer in Dubai, she used the social gatherings as an opportunity to market her idea and business. She showed people what new designs of utensils were available, and that way those interested could place an order and she could make an order from the …show more content…
The first year of business was not easy, she says, this is because she had no car of her own and had to use a cab every time she had a delivery to make. She was in school and at the beginning could not manage her time well between working and studying. Another challenge was payment. She allowed her clients enough grace period for payment but some of them would not pay her on time, friends she had sold to ignored her and it became frustrating not being able to meet her payments. During her second year of college, her uncle gave her an old car that aided her in transporting her goods and also helped reduce her expenses for transportation. Wendy says that it is due to persistence and patience that she had the courage to continue with her business even when it seemed to head nowhere. She tell me that many young entrepreneurs quit early on because they lack the patience when they see no profits and the persistence when they keep failing. The goal is to wake up each day and try again until you finally