An eye for beautiful business

Miriam Njuguna, 30, quit law to pursue businesses in interior design and beauty, but it is the hard lessons she has learnt along the way that shape her vision. PHOTO| COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • I started a company called Paint and Restoration that grew through word-of-mouth to become my bread and butter for the next four years.
  • Business was good; we got a handful of interior design jobs across the country that pulled a steady stream of income throughout.

“I relocated to Australia in May 2003 to pursue my undergrad in a double major in law and politics. Family circumstances forced me to return home two years into the course, in July 2005. I worked for six months with a law firm in Westlands. I was quite disenchanted afterwards though – these six months made it clear that law wasn’t what I wanted to pursue for the rest of my life.

“I washed my hands of it then joined Daystar University for an arts degree in integrated development. I graduated with first class honours in June 2010.

“The recognition however marked the end of me and the degree. I got married soon after then ventured into interior design. Growing up, I always had an eye for colours and art. I painted as a pastime while at university. So I redid the decor and interiors of the house my husband and I had just moved into, and the landlord came around to see it. I remember his surprise when he looked around from room to room then told me,

‘You really ought to try this on a professional basis.’ And I did.

I started a company called Paint and Restoration that grew through word-of-mouth to become my bread and butter for the next four years.

Business was good; we got a handful of interior design jobs across the country that pulled a steady stream of income throughout.

MORE TO INTERIOR DESIGN

But I soon appreciated that there is more to interior design than all the soft furnishings and the pretty stuff.

Having the eye and taste for what works and what doesn’t is a basic element, but there is a science behind the designs whose knowledge I lacked. I needed to return to school for this.

“The decision to get into the salon business found me at the time I was contemplating interior design school. A businesswoman in Hurlingham was selling her rundown salon.

The salon presented an opportunity to try my hand at another business. And I had always wanted to own a salon.

“I partnered with a childhood friend to buy the property and we started Salon Elixir.

It needed plenty of rework and my interior design skills came into play yet again. We opened shop in February 2014. It has however been a challenging six months since.

“The first challenge I encountered was in my business partnerships. With my childhood friend, we trustfully didn’t enter into any written agreement. But disagreements later arose around ownership and controlling ratios, disagreements which we weren’t able to amicably settle between ourselves.

The easiest option would have been to buy her out but I didn’t have the resources at the time to do so.

After four months, I found someone who could and I forged yet another partnership.

What made this second partnership not work was the clash in our personalities, and the misalignment of our vision for the business. We attempted to mend things but the fault lines in our partnership were already showing. We eventually fell out. I am winding up on the buyout process as we speak.“

So in the space of six months, I lost a friend and an acquaintance, and became the sole owner of the salon. It was emotionally exhausting.

“Finances were another challenge. Breaking even for a start-up is usually one of its greatest challenges.

What made this challenge bite us the harder was the business model we adopted at the start: Salons operate on a commission basis – except for a few, staff are paid a percentage of the services they render.

But the model we had adopted was that all staff was on a fixed salary, irrespective of the activity in the salon for that month. Where was the money to pay salaries to come from?“ Business was slow; there were days we would close the books with as little as Sh300.

Other times we could go for an entire week without a single client. It would be six months after opening shop that I would take something tangible to the bank.

“Staffing the salon with a team that shared my vision was also a challenge. I started with a team of four. As the client numbers dwindled, so did their commitment to the salon. Understandably so.

I didn’t have the resources to poach trained people from the market. It was a matter of convincing selling my vision to those I approached in the hope that they would buy into it and join my team. And most did – I now have a dependable team of 13 who are turning my vision for the salon into a reality. That they stuck with me when there was little to show for the salon but a beautiful interior is something I am indebted for.

“The last two months of the business have been promising. I have clinched two make-up deals with international organisations which will go a long way in boosting business.

“My vision is for my salon to be a posh place where clients can relax without needing to break an arm and a leg to pay for the services. It’s what I craved for as a customer. And it’s what I am now giving to my clients.”

 

HOW SHE DID IT

  •  At the very least, try. And go for the things you are naturally good at: Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

  •  Trials are more important in building character and resilience than success is. Remember, there is nothing like failure in business. These are only experiences and lessons.

  •  In business and in pursuing your passion, never underestimate yourself, your talents or your capabilities.

  •  Don’t give up, or you will never realise anything: Fall down seven times, get up eight times.

  •  Always have your own agenda. If you don’t have one, you will one day look back to realise you have fulfilled someone else’s.