Designer learnt fabrics business the hard way

By Hellen Miseda

Business is a game, and like the rest, it has tricks. To reap maximum profit one must learn the rules of the game.

However, when one looks closely at investors who are making it, it looks like as long as you have the ball (capital), you can score.

Fashion designer Agatha Oturi, the proprietor of Intrinsic Falconry, is a testimony that it takes more than money to score in business.

She has risen from a naive designer with no vision to a master of the game.

"There are no coaches in business, which is why most people learn the hard way. Nobody will tell you what to do and what not to do. You learn as you play along. But some lessons are painful," she says.

Not prepared

She tells her story: "After finishing my design studies, and still jobless, I ventured into business. I was lucky I had the capital."

Agatha Oturi: "If you want to venture into business go for something you love, so that when the storm comes, you will stand." Photo: Jenipher Wachie/Standard

With the enthusiasm and expectation of a fresh graduate, she ventured into the fabrics business. But, the hiccups and shocks woke her up to reality. "I secured a stall at Komarock Estate ready for the business.

"Though am a good designer and I had "sufficient" capital to run the place, I was not prepared for the shocks," she says. In her first year, she attracted clients who came to make inquiries.

"They would come in, complement my work and express interest.

Because of the thirst I had for customers, I would make clothes for them without any deposit. I almost closed shop from such blunders," says Oturi.

Her clients either disappeared without clearing their bills, leaving her with finished cloth, or paid half and went with the finished attire.

From such encounters, she learnt vital lessons and became smarter in her dealings.

Big blow

She tells of her lessons: "With time, I made sure customers paid more than half the price, before releasing the finished product."

Oturi improved her skills in business management, which saw her expand and register good profit.

Consequently, she employed more staff and moved her business to Nairobi Central Business District at Kenya Cinema plaza, which was more spacious.

"When we moved to the city centre, I maintained my high standards to keep my clients and attract more," she explains.

In the new environment she managed to open a salon and a hairdressing school besides increasing her staff.

But, while riding on ‘cloud nine’, another blow struck her.

"I came to work one day, excited and ready for the day’s challenges, only to be met with ten resignation letters. A new player had poached them.

This was a big blow for me because I had invested so much in my staff training and mentoring them," she explains. But as they say, life goes on. Although it was not easy, she gathered herself and moved on.

She came to learn that poaching was part of the game in the fashion business.

New strategy

When a new player joins the field, they go "fishing" for new staff in well-established enterprises. "Once bitten twice shy", she says.

"I learnt that staff in this business do not last because they know that their input is what is attracting the clients.

She overcame this hurdle: "I no longer employ permanent staff. I treat my workers as my business associates.

I bring them on board but at the end of the month they pay me Sh10, 000, which excludes the equipment I offer them and materials they buy for use." To ensure they own the work, she has allowed them to their own masters: they report at their "appropriate" time and leave at their own pleasure.

Oturi has employed this strategy for two years and from her account books, it is clear the strategy is bearing fruit.

To cushion herself from other shocks, she has decided to go back to school to hone her skills.

Education, she empasises is critical for one to stay on top of the game.

She is now pursuing a Masters degree in Entrepreneurship at Kenyatta University.

But most importantly, it takes passion to make the difference in the world of business, she says.

"Go for something you love in any business venture, so that when the storm comes, you will withstand it," she quips.