Enterprise

Building a decent income from carpentry

bett

Some of the products made by Little Cribs Limited. photo | Florence Bett

After working as a designer in an advertising agency for seven years to 2012, Mary Gatabaki decided to jump into the world of entrepreneurship, choosing to go into carpentry to produce children’s furniture.

The first pieces of furniture she had ever made before fully going into business were a bed for her daughter and several storage units for herself and friends to much praise.

Ms Gatabaki, who is a mother of two, initially treated carpentry as a hobby while still working at the agency. Her husband however saw a business opportunity and prodded her to pursue it.

“He pushed me to quit my job and get into this fulltime. He also got me the starting capital of Sh500,000. The capital included rent and other overheads for six months,” she told Enterprise in an interview.

“My work at the agency exposed me to a space where I learned about materials and designs.”

And just like that Little Cribs Limited was born, with the workshop situated in Ruaka and a showroom in Kilimani.

The business produces convertible cribs, regular beds and bunk beds, storage units and dressers, study tables and chairs and wall art, such as name boards and message boards, among several other items.

Ms Gatabaki, 35, hired two employees when she opened shop, both of them on contract. One of the challenges she faced was that, since the business had two bases, it was inconveniencing especially when clients asked for some adjustments.

Another hiccup the young business faced — and one the business is still dealing with — is the “fundi mentality” where carpenters deliver the goods later than usual or do not meet the clients’ specifications.

“We now have 12 carpenters and we have to constantly do quality control to ensure that they produce the same standard of products,” she said.
Two years ago, her elder sister Teresia Gachie also quit her sales and marketing job in the hospitality and joined the fledgling family business.

Little Cribs sells its convertible cribs at Sh30,000 while storage units cost Sh3,0000. Study table and chairs go for Sh18,500 and Sh8,500 respectively.  Name boards cost Sh2,900, message boards Sh4,500 while beds are priced at Sh30,000 and above.

Ms Gatabaki is the creative of the pair. She designs the products and supervises their production while her sister manages the client portfolio and markets the brand.

Ms Gachie set up internal systems for accounting and marketing, including definitive strategies on social media and other platforms to push their products into the market. It is here that the sisters undeniably complement each other’s skills.

Last year, the duo received a Sh2 million interest free loan from her family members to expand the business, enabling them relocate their workshop from Ruaka to Ngong Road.

The duo warns that family-owned business. Other than falling out, they have sometimes made”emotional decisions”, something they advise others in their position to resist.