Image consultants see entrepreneurial path in soft skills teaching

“It is about levelling the playing field to international standards so one is confident enough to know that cutlery to use so as to focus on the business at hand,” Mr Bhanga says.

This increased demand for these soft skills has led to Ms Waikenda investing in an etiquette full time school in the country.

After working for State protocol for over 10 years and running a consultancy that mainly works with corporates, Kenyan diplomats, civil servants and individuals, she is looking at investing Sh10 million, along with her two sons, in a school to be located in Karen.

The school will offer both full and part time programmes on diplomacy, etiquette, image and international relations among other courses.

It will boast a dinning area to train on dinning etiquette, an ampitheatre for public speaking where one can be recorded and watch themselves as well as a ballroom for dancing lessons among other facilities.

Growth strategy
The school is part of the company’s growth strategy to eventually move into neighbouring countries like Rwanda and Tanzania where she has seen business potential.

However, the slow down in the economy has meant players in this industry have to work even harder to convince companies why they should spend as they try and cut costs.
In hard economic times, budgets for training, marketing, parties and travelling among others are the first to be revised downwards as a cost cutting measure.

However, players argue this should not always be the case especially if the company hopes to continue building its brand or emerge from the economic woes with a stronger brand.

Due to the job cuts in the US there has been an increase in people investing in these soft skills as additional skills in their resume as they job hunt.