Why I closed my 10 businesses to concentrate on pet grooming

I am an entrepreneur who has been running a few businesses. Currently, I am running the pet dog care business which I started towards the end of 2022. I started this business by marketing on social media. However, it was not until 2023 that I got my first client. I got my pet care business up and running quite fast. My second client placed an order for the care of their 10 dogs. Prior to this, I had another business known as Super Wash Chemicals. It dealt with soap-making chemicals. I closed it down in April this year.

This is a delicate business that requires you to know how to handle animals. Some dogs can be really aggressive. You need to know when the pet is angry, tense and stressed. You need to know when and how to intervene; how to calm the pet down, and how to position it for beautification without raising its alarm.

There are also difficult clients who will come to you only to assume that you don’t know their pet like they do, and want to lord it all over you. I have had an experience where clients believe their dogs are well trained calm and receptive while in reality, they are aggressive and lack proper training. These can be very difficult to handle given the time frames I work with.

My biggest money mistake has been taking loans from mobile loan apps. I first took these loans in 2021. This was the start of my marathon in a circuit of debts; repaying and borrowing. Their high-interest rates, their short duration of payment their harassment, and their threats to call all the people in my contact list made me borrow more from other apps and individuals to pay when the due dates arrived. There was a day they called my father-in-law. Mark you, I had not defaulted. It was just one day before the due date. Up until today, I still get stomach pains and rumbles whenever I remember my dad calling to inquire what was going on, and telling me he thought ni wale watu wa Kamiti.

My other mistake was not separating business money from my personal money. I should have paid myself and let the business grow instead of using all the money or giving out money every time someone came to me with a financial problem. I have since learnt that you cannot save everyone if your business has to stand.

I joined so many merry-go-rounds that the business could not pay for them. To survive, I had to borrow from friends to meet my chama obligations. This meant that even if I got Sh100,000 from the chama, half of it could easily go to payment of debts. I have now learnt that there are good and bad debts and I am taking financial literacy classes to improve how I handle my money.

Just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should do it. Find your niche and be an icon. I think all along, I was doing my business in a kienyeji way. Like I was just doing it to survive. After closing my chemicals business this year, I have taken steps to improve how I start and run my ventures. These have included strategic training such as the Centonomy classes on business and investments.

If I could start all over again, I would not undercharge my package. I have realised money is not a problem, people pay if they think what you are offering is worth it. I would also invest more in knowledge and pricing models. I would choose to perfect in one area first rather than doing 10 businesses at a go and yet all of them never got past the start-up stage.