Emily Kimathi, began as a banker and a certified public accountant, and today she is thriving in the fashion space. After 8years of working in the banking industry, Emily was ready to move markets since she felt redundant in her work. She made an observation during this time, and realized that, men wear the same kind of clothes through the week, month and round the year.
There she discerned an untapped market and went for it. Only challenge at this time was finances, but this did not stop her, she took 3,000 bob and went to the market where she bought 3 blazers. Still working in the bank, she used her lunch break to sell and get more clients while at it. Surprisingly, the demand was more than she had anticipated and more customers came her way. “Since most men cannot go to the market themselves, they find it easy when you can avail products or services in their convenience and this was a plus for me.” Said Emily Kimathi. “With time, I had to leave the banking industry and get fully in the fashion industry.”
Since fashion was only a passion at this point, and not a profession, Emily says she had to learn about the market not only by observation, but by reading through online articles, books and watching informative videos. Leaving a profession for passion requires effort, dedication and commitment. “Passion alone is not enough.” Says Emily Kimathi, Co-Founder THELOCCO
Tips on Starting & Maintaining A Business
Study the market
Before joining a market, there is need to research on the market, clients and location. Before investing any money, potential business owners need to go to the ground and inquire on the climate of the business, not only locally but also internationally. Studying the market advises on a lot of things from the business plan, strategy and even the process of establishing.
Read Widely
For your business to go from one level to the other, you need to learn and move with the times and that can only be through reading and equipping yourself with information beyond your comfort zone. Emily says that your business cannot go where you have not been mentally.
Be Disciplined
Being disciplined as a business owner is important. Discipline varies from the time you get to work, punctuality in delivering goods or services to the client, as well as financial discipline. Without discipline, the business cannot be sustained. Emily emphasizes that any business owner without a reading culture is bound to crash. Expansion of the mind through acquiring knowledge helps enlarge the vision and mission of a business. She concludes by saying spending time on social media will not help match and most of the time what it does is put many under pressure to be like others in the industry.