Enterprise

Nail artist hits on lucrative home-grown idea after stint abroad

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God’s Favour Beauty Parlour founder Martin Ng’ang’a (right) doing a client’s nails at the beauty shop in Nairobi. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

When Martin Ng’ang’a got an opportunity to work abroad, he thought he had earned his ticket to success. But he would later find his fortune back home when he returned to operate a makeshift beauty parlour located at Bus Station in Nairobi.

Martin’s story is not unique but one narrated by thousands of Kenyans made to believe that prosperity lies abroad. Filled with the desire to better his life, he travelled to Dubai in 2011 to work as a security guard. At the time, he had more reason to believe that his life had reached a turning point. But he says this was not the case.

Although he earned a fat salary, life abroad was expensive, forcing him to live on a shoe-string budget.

“Most of the people who leave the country to work abroad can’t quiet admit it, but they are suffering. I used to rent a bed for Sh13,000 a month,” he says. Other than the high cost of living, he says he was frustrated with the fact that he could barely support his family.

“It pained me that the money I sent home wasn’t enough to transform my family’s life. My children were also growing up without me.” It was at this point that Mr Ng’ang’a made a decision to return home, amid opposition from his family and friends.

“I remember nobody came to receive me at the airport. They all thought I was insane. They couldn’t understand why I left a nice job to come home and wallow in poverty.”

Cash-strapped, depressed, jobless and hanging onto his meagre savings, Mr Ng’ang’a stumbled upon an idea that would later transform into a lucrative business.

“The idea (beauty parlour) came about in 2011 while I was taking a routine walk around Huruma in Nairobi. I saw young men doing manicure by the roadside,” he says.

It was then that he thought of venturing into the business. But instead of hawking around Huruma, he opted to find a shop in town. He linked up with one of the freelance nail artists operating from Huruma and rented a makeshift structure in the city centre at the bus station. This would mark his turning point.

Capital in hand, Mr Ng’ang’a rented the temporary stall for Sh10,000 but paid five-months rent upfront. He furnished the structure with Sh5,000 and invested Sh1,000 on nail polish.

“Nobody thought my idea was viable. Most people were surprised that a mature man like me would wash women’s feet and apply nail polish. But that didn’t bother me,” he recalls.

Today, his business called God Favour Beauty Parlour has grown beyond his imagination. From an initial eight clients, he now attends to 150 to 200 women daily.

Good client service, past experience from a second-hand clothes business he operated in Ngara before leaving for Dubai and innovation, he says, are the three key ingredients that have helped him thrive.

“We wanted to be different. So we started offering additional services like washing clients’ feet and offering massages for free before applying nail vanish.” This won him more clients, forcing him to increase the number of employees.

“In the beginning, I lost a lot of business because I had only one employee. I never wanted to hire more staff because I didn’t want to share the profits. But I realised I was wrong. Since I added more staff, we began to get more clients and the business grew exponentially.

“In this business time is of the essence. Clients don’t like to wait,” he says.

God Favour Beauty Parlour now has 10 employees. Mr Ng’ang’a operates three stalls in the city centre, although he still maintains his makeshift structure. Looking back at his journey and success, he advises youth opting for business to be patient and respectful to clients.

Cash flow

“Any business takes time before it grows. There is often a time where the business goes down and it’s at this point that it later springs up. But most people give up early. They should run the business for at least two years, observing and learning from mistakes, before they opt to quit.”

He also advises entrepreneurs to learn how to manage cash flow.

Mr Ng’ang’a pays his staff a 30 per cent commission per client. God Favour charges Sh100 for a re-varnish. From time to time, he can be found working.

He says that although he enrolled for a short training in beauty, he has learnt most of his skills hands-on.

Like any business, the father of four says, high employee turnover is his biggest challenge. But he has learnt to cope.

Since he opened his stall, he has seen more people open the same business next to his. But he says competition has only served to bring more clients to his doorstep.

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