Errand runners: The new hustle in town

Picture this: you have been invited to a friend’s wedding, birthday party or other significant event, or you have an event of your own. You go through your wardrobe and you realise you need to buy new clothing! Suddenly, you start scrolling through social media and going through store catalogues to see what best suits your needs. You are short on time, and between earning a living and balancing the never-ending task you have to do, you find yourself rushing at the last possible minute and end up with an attire you are not fully satisfied with.

The question is: what if you could delegate all this hassle to someone else and just wait to be dressed for the event? You just give your vision to someone, and they help you with the styling. You give your measurements, budget, and just sit and wait for your ultimate look to be delivered to you.

We asked a few people one key element for them when it comes to shopping, and a recurring answer was convenience. The modern-day shopper is looking for value, quality, uniqueness and, most importantly, ease of access to whatever they are after. 

Without a doubt, technology has revolutionised this, with access to millions of products from any corner of the globe. However, despite all this, looking for these products and going through catalogues of endless retailers can be time-consuming and challenging. This is exactly where personal shoppers come in.

Whether it is a piece of clothing, electronics, home décor, or any other product, these resourceful individuals will do the scratching and searching for you, and deliver the product as you asked, even custom- made products. And it does not end there, as you can also get a closely related group of those running errands, who will do anything from banking, general tasks, delivering parcels or mail, cakes, flowers, gifts, or any other service tailored to your needs. In short, they are businesses bridging the gap and removing the hassle of connecting you with products and services.

MyNetwork had a conversation with some of these individuals to shed light on their craft. How does one start? What sets a personal shopper apart from any other merchant? Is it a profitable gig? And is there a market gap for this after all? What of errand services? Is there a shilling to be made there? Among those we interviewed is a young man trying to create his brand; who identifies as an economist, personal shopper and stylist.

Diana Rose 
The Stylish Essence
Looking back, Diana says the seed that birthed her business was planted back in her university days, where she was pursuing a degree in international relations and diplomacy. Having a nose for fashion, she would get requests from her friends to purchase for them clothing items and accessories whenever they would see her with something unique. So in 2016, she had the idea of starting an online thrift store.

“However, due to challenges faced by many businesses in 2020, I had to rethink my strategy. I realised I had this huge stock of clothing that I was not selling, and if I needed to continue making a profit, I had to customise shopping for my clients, as well as add value, for instance through fashion tips. I started with making videos and advertising my services as a personal shopper, but I had a slow start.”

She says because this was a new venture and she was yet to create confidence with possible clientele, it would take till June 2022 for her to secure her first client.

“I was fortunate to get recommended to a client by a friend. The client, who happens to be a public figure, was looking for maternity clothing at the time.  She wanted to make a bulk purchase. I was a little bit overwhelmed when she invited me to her place to make plans for the order, but I knew I had to be confident if I wanted my business to succeed.”

Diana says one of the first things she did when she was setting up The Stylish Essence was to create a structured process and pricing model.

“As a personal shopper, you need a proper understanding of your client’s needs and style. So, the first thing I do is send a questionnaire to my client, just to get a basic understanding of what they are looking for. After this, I will create a mood board using Canva or Microsoft Word that I present to the client, whether meeting in person or virtually. Through this, the client is able to see a physical representation of their idea, and I am also able to offer some insights where needed. It is only after the client has approved this that I start the shopping process.”

As a basic consultation and finder’s fee, Diana charges Sh7,500. Sh7,500 is also the lowest shopping budget. The amount a client spends will then be determined by the product they want — whether it is brand new, high-quality thrift, or a custom piece. For custom pieces, however, where she has to look for the materials, she says the charges tend to vary. On the question of pricing, she says, “Some people do not understand the consultation and finder’s fee, but this is how I make a profit. I invest a lot of time and energy to ensure my clients get what they pay for, and that convenience is what they are paying for. I will listen to a client who feels the fee is too high and can adjust accordingly based on their needs. If it does not make economic sense to me, I do not do it.”

Diana says social media has helped her grow her business a lot, both as an advertising platform and a learning tool.

She notes: “As a personal shopper, you need to have a vast understanding of fashion trends and (terminologies), understand different materials and how to match them. This is information available online and you need to keep yourself updated always. I also realised a lot of resilience is required. When I was starting off, I would feel discouraged at times, but now I get clients who tell me they saw my business as far back as 2022. Do not be afraid to market your business. Attend fashion shows and other social gatherings, give people your cards, create your network. The worst that can happen is getting a ‘no’.”

She says that it is also important to respect confidentiality as a personal shopper, as sometimes she will get invited to people’s homes, noting that her first client allowed her to share her details on social media, which boosted her business significantly.

“I also believe it is important to promote sustainability in the fashion industry. So, despite the fact that I make more profit the more a client buys, I encourage clients to repurpose some of their clothes that are still fit for wear.”

As a parting shot, she says: “Just start where you are. This is not a capital-intensive business. What you need most is to be proactive and very purposeful in marketing yourself.”

Chris Karanja 
Drip by Karanja
He begins by noting that even though his college major was in economics and statistics, fashion has always been his passion. 

“That is the only way to succeed in this field.”

Chris’s journey began in 2018 after graduating. He got a job at a local bank, but his time there was short-lived and he found himself without a means of earning a living.

“It is at this point that I decided to go back to what I loved. I had saved Sh20,000, and this was the starting capital for my business. I rented a small stall at Roysambu and bought a small stock of ‘camera’ thrifts. I would hang the clothes outside and go inside my stall and hide. I could not believe how fast my life had taken a turn,” he says.

Chris says he was challenged again during the Covid-19 lockdowns, leading up to the closure of his stall. It is at this point that he turned to marketing his thrifts online. He had at this point managed to build a client base.

“I also quickly realised I could do much more than just sell clothes to my customers. I could customise some of the pieces I was getting, as well as offer styling services to my clients for events. That’s how I crossed the thin line between just another retailer and a personal shopper. Unlike in my earlier business where clients would come and pick from what I had, I now made it my business to go the extra mile and fill the gap of clients having to come to me. It is more work, but it is more rewarding.”

He also notes that the reason why he started making custom pieces is because sometimes you cannot get the exact product a client is looking for, whether brand new or thrift.

“Part of the job is making connections with other businesses like tailors or leather tanners. 

So, if a client wants a suit or a leather bag with certain details, they will share that information with me, then I will make sure I deliver the product to them and look for the people to make it, if I cannot make it myself. Another good example would be clothes for themed events, like the recent Barbie movie where people would go wearing Barbie or Ken-themed attire. If a client doesn’t know where to start, or can’t find a perfect fit, then it’s an opportunity for me as a personal shopper for me to address the customer’s needs.”

Chris acknowledges the competition that exists in the fashion industry, and opines that the way to keep growing is by being consistent and being dependable.

“Shadowing established stylists and learning from them is also a good opportunity to learn from as well, as they can also expose you to higher level clientele. This is the dream for me, and to even open an even bigger shop,” he says.

The fashion industry keeps evolving, and I am taking advantage of this to make a living.”

Karanja Wainaina 
Ashara Errand Services
For this errands runner, his business started as a favour to a friend almost 10 years ago. Karanja, who has a background in IT, got a job as an intern at a shop that sold and repaired computers.

“One day, a lady who was dealing in procurement services with several government and private entities wanted someone to send for an errand since her go-to messenger was unwell. She asked me and as I was not very busy, I agreed to do it. Later, she just paid me a small fee as ‘lunch’. Then the next time she needed to deposit a cheque and she asked me if I could do it for her and I did,” he says.

Karanja says at the time, the business where he was employed was performing poorly and he was looking for an exit strategy. He realised he was getting more and more requests every day from other tenants who had businesses and offices in the same building, and it’s at this point that he decided to make it a professional undertaking.

“I started my errands business in 2015. The good thing about this kind of work is that it requires very little capital to set up. My expenditure was mostly on sponsored ads which I was running mostly on Facebook back then. A friend with whom I was working at the old business helped me set up and was focused on marketing, while I focused on running the errands. All I had to do was come up with a structure and pricing. I also chose the target area and clientele.”

Karanja notes that because he is not fond of motorbikes, he wanted to limit his scope to just within the CBD where he could just walk from one point to the other. He also notes this is where the gap was, as there were many other businesses offering out-of-town delivery and errand services.

“I also knew that to be profitable and to have constant dependable work, I had to target the corporate world and other big institutions. Such organisations usually ask for quotations, so I came up with a price list ranging from Sh200 to Sh1,000, depending on factors such as distance and weight of the parcel. I also limited the maximum parcel weight to five kilogrammes then later lowered it to the current three kilogrammes.”

He also notes that waiting time is a very important factor to consider while pricing errand services, such as banking errands where there might be a long waiting time, therefore taking up time for other errands.

When it comes to selecting the type of errand services, Karanja notes that it is up to a person to choose. He says errand services can range from shopping, banking or general errands, parcel, mail and documents delivery, and gifts, flowers and cakes.

“Banking errands include cheques collection and depositing, valuation documents and reports for motor vehicles and land, collection of security documents and processing, collection of contracts from suppliers to banks, mortgage documents, and title document search. General errands range from laundry delivery and collection...to attending tender opening ceremonies and other related errands services.”

While choosing the kind of services to offer, he notes, it is good to be conscious of issues such as security, especially before taking on high-value deliveries, adding that usually he will only accept such from well-trusted clients.

“Integrity is also key as that is how you are able to grow your business. When your people trust you, they will become repeat clients and recommend to others, and you will grow your client base, which means you will never go without work.

It is also advisable to have several packages especially when you’re dealing with large organisations.”