NOBODY IS COMING TO SAVE YOU

 

Photo by AI

Yes, nobody is coming to save you. This is a truth I have learnt. 

When I was sitting in the house, watching movies and disconnecting from the outside world, time was flying, my daughter was growing so fast and so were the demands.

Nobody asked how I was planning to take her to school, nobody asked how I got her clothes,there was absolutely no one.

People watched but never asked

With time I realized that nobody was coming to get me out of my ditch, I could not continue living that life, I had to step up , but how?

There are moments in life that you will only have you and those are the moments when you will discover your full potential.

How do I start? I asked myself?

When you reach a point in life when you feel you have nothing, that's the time you will realize that you have everything you need.

I had a smartphone and a laptop, I had access to the Internet.

Now what do I do with the resources I have to get money, because that's what I needed.

Because I had passion in fashion and design especially African designs, I settled for Ankara Earrings and bead work. 

The good thing with Internet is that you can learn anything through it. 

I made earrings,bracelets,necklaces and other jewellery pieces using Ankara and african beads and then I started selling.

For me I had passion, the Internet and my laptop. But you might ask yourself, 'What if I don't have these?' 

You have you! and that's the best thing, you only have yourself. In life you will always be the first solution to your problems, you have to take charge of your life and get moving, you have your abilities and strengths, start with that. Ask yourself what is your passion, what are your skills and what would you like to achieve.  The moment you answer these questions, that's when you get out of the comfort zone, that's when you explore your full potential.

Decide on what you want to do, focus on the available resources within your reach, strategise how you want to do it and whatever you decide to do, own it and have a positive mindset. Be ready to fail, many of us are afraid of failing, not knowing that when you fail, you learn. You have to be ready to fail and embrace the lessons, then adjust the weak points. As long as you never give up.

There are moments when you will feel like giving up,there are moments when you will be stuck along the process but calculate your moves, take a break, re-strategize then continue. Never ever give up!

At first I used to sell in our local market but the profit margin was too small, sometimes I would go for a whole week without making any sale. I realized that my strategy needed a strategy.

In business you need to have your main target customers. Coming from the village people do not really embrace art or jewellery so I decided to look deeper and I saw an opportunity. 

I come from a place called Daraja mbili near Maseno and right there is Maseno University. That's how I started selling to the Maseno University Students.

It was a whole hustle,walking in the sun, moving from hostel to hostel. The only advantage I had was that I schooled there so I knew which hostel to target.

Sales started to flow, I decided to start online marketing, I had to start connecting back with the outside world, making friends, building connections indeed, no man is an Island as John Donne said.

Some took my business positive but others came with rejection and criticism, some wondered why a university graduate would sell jewellery instead of looking for white collar jobs but I kept pushing. When you are doing something you need to have a vision,something that you would want to achieve and promise yourself to never give up along the way until you achieve it, avoid the distractions and focus on the end game.

From the business I got money to save myself but it came with rejection,perseverance and resilience. I remember one time when I was tired from the walk, passed by my cousin's place to take drinking water and she was like 'Umechapa,you can't even make your nails, look at you!'  I will never forget the criticism. I mean people will watch you suffer but still criticize your efforts when you try, but what doesn't kill you make you stronger...