A story of Agnes Njoki prosperity.
Growing up in a typical rural set-up in Nyeri, Agnes Njoki worked hard in school so that she could achieve her childhood dream of becoming a professor of business management. However, her dream was shattered when, after scoring 536 in her KCPE examinations, her parents, Zakayo Ndung’u and Julia Wanuri, could not afford to take her to secondary school.
The fourth-born child in family of six children, Agnes, a former pupil of Mihuti Primary School, was admitted to two provincial secondary schools, Bishop Gatimu Girls in Murang’a and St Mary’s in Thika. But her parents, who could barely feed the family, could not afford the fees.
Aged only 13 but with a big vision, Agnes packed her few belongings and left her home in Mucharage village in Mukurwe-ini for Nairobi to look for a job as a house-girl. Her first job paid Sh800 a month. That was in 1995.
Today, Agnes, only 27, is a respected businesswoman with a well-patronised hair salon and four matatus plying the Mukurwe-ini- Nairobi route. The matatus are worth about Sh3.5 million and the salon about Sh1 million. Her monthly income is about Sh350,000. She pays herself Sh70,000 a month. She also pays Sh90,000 a semester for her only brother, Charles Kihara, who is studying in a private university in Uganda.
She employs 18 people including drivers conductors, hairdressers and a house-girl to take care of her seven-year-old daughter. She also has attendants who man her beauty products and DVD stalls. When she started working as a housegirl, her new employers, a born-again couple, Simon Nduati and his wife, Nellius, started her off on a Sh800 salary.
She worked for the Nduatis for one-and-half years then requested her employer to allow her to take a hairdressing classes at nearby salons once through with the daily routine. The couple was supportive and helped her pay the Sh1,200 fees for the next six months and encouraged her to start her own business.
When Agnes started earning from her newly acquired skills, she went into self-employment using the Sh9,000 she had saved and moved to Sh500, single room in the town.The business grew rapidly and she relocated to Nyeri town, about 20 kilometres away. Chixx Hair Salon and later Chixx Enterprises was born.
“I credit my sucess to my previous employers who were willing to help,”she told Saturday Magazine during the interview at her salon in Old Batian Building in Nyeri’s central business district last week. Agnes bought her first matatu in 2003 using her savings from the hair salon. It was relatively old and cost Sh180,000. She ploughed back the profits into business and in 2005, and bought another matatu.
She says her breakthrough came in 2006 as she worked on a client’s hair. “The client, called Catherine, happened to be a local Barclays Bank staff and she advised me to open a bank account and ensure my account was active, that with time, I could qualify for an unsecured loan.”
After sometime, her savings allowed her a maximum of Sh100,000 which she used to grow and diversify her business. The budding businesswoman, who had by then been taught debt management, qualified for another unsecured loan of Sh400,000 after she had cleared the first one. She then got separate loans of Sh500,000 each and says she feels stable enough to apply for Sh1.5 million after she repays the current loans.
Last year, Agnes was among the customers who won prizes for maintaining accounts with high turnovers. With an eager mind to learn and grow, she joined the bank’s business club and says her life has never been the same since she registered with only Sh1,100. “I have only a modest education, but I have been interacting with highly educated people, including professors of business, during seminars. I now feel at the “level” of the professor I aspired to be.
The only difference is that I am a professor of my own business,” she says with a smile. Agnes has, courtesy of the club, toured Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Dubai on business missions. “My view has been broadened in terms of business, thanks to meeting people with big ideas and dreams. But I am where I am, not because of hard work, but by the grace of God.
“When I could not further my education, I did not lose hope because I had a vision and faith in God,” she says. So, what made her venture into the much maligned matatu business? “I have never had any problems with the police or my employees. I ensure that my vehicles are always in good condition and have the necessary documents,” she explains.
And her advice to those who think the world has ended when they experience hard times? “Even if you are not educated, you can still be a millionaire. You only need to accept what you are and have confidence in what you are doing. You do not have to start a business with big money. You can still start with as little as Sh1,000 and become a millionaire. People should also not shy away from asking for help. I did not keep quiet when I needed help. Above all, trust God. Hard work without God’s blessings means nothing,” says Agnes, a staunch Christian who educates several orphans. Agnes has no plans of marrying just yet. “I don’t rule out marriage, but I have not thought about it.” Her vision is to grow her hair salon and beauty product business. “My salon has made me what I am today. I shall never leave the hair salon business even if I become a multimillionaire.”
such an inspiring story---
-do you curse the day you were born in that family?
-do you blame you family for the upkeep?
-do you blame God for the tough time you have ever had?
-have you ever blamed yourself for not realizing your potential?
-what step are you to take so that this agony comes our of your mind
