Add inventory to my small bookshop

Entrepreneur

About Me

I am Catherine wanjiku. 30 years of age.A wife and a mother of two, Oscar and Jane. I come from Muranga a small town far from the capital. I am now living in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. Being a female in my rural home is not something to be proud when you are from my rural home muranga. You have to pass many challenges ranging from, Being offered as a marriage partner early before even finishing school. Female genital mutilation is a common practice in my rural home. Thanks to my parents they protected me from these horrible thing but there came the community which looked me as being odd. My parents were not there to defend me from these My peers in school could scold me and make real fun of me. On my way to school, boys will call me soughts of names, very humiliating. The fact that i would burry my head and move on makes me a strong woman which later shaped me very much in life.
After finishing high school i came to Nairobi, the kenyan capital to find a living.If you ask anyone from my home , sincerely this is not a common practice and a rare thing a woman could do. I came to live with my uncle who owned a bookshop.
Though the payment was not good i could save some money. Sure savings give courage. Knowing i have some money in my phone could encourage me to save more and more.
I met my husband in the bookshop of my uncle and after some dating time i moved to be married by him. But this annoyed my uncle who dismissed me from the bookshop in 2008.
Thank you all lenders for your time and noble work you are doing to many Kenyans.

My Business

The experience i got from the bookshop later proofed vital in my life.The three years i have been there dint go in vain. Being young and energetic, i learnt much and was liked by customers. This was because many of them had my contact as i used to do door delivery of the books.
Also i had extensive knowledge of both lower primary and secondary high school curriculum. They would also make orders for books and i will deliver. i also had the chance of knowing a large number of wholesale book outlets.
Two months after dismissal my uncle realized the mistake he had done and wanted to re-employ me back. Sorry to him i was on a completely different page. The orders dint stop after dismissal. i was sincere to the customers and i let them know that i no longer worked in the bookshop but most insisted i take them books they needed for their children
The introduction of free primary and education in Kenya had increased the enrollment in schools and demand for academic books.
My husband being a casual laborer dint earn enough to support the family. And therefore i had to take the chance to continue supply the books from home as i knew both the wholesale supplier and the customer.
There was an initial problem with the supplier as i wasn't able to buy bulk. But the frequency of going to pick 3-5 books put me in his favor.
i did this for a year and the little i could get i could support the family and save alittle.After one and half years,in 2010 i had saved $300 dollars. Though this constituted my income and my husbands. This was enough to rent a stall and stalk a few books but my idea was to have a physical address but rely on delivery
This real thought me the spirit of hard work and dedication to my dream of once owning my bookshop.
i upgraded it little by little and after two years in 2013 i would stand and take a photo of fully packed shelves and not empty shelves that i started with.
I could now make sales of up to 400 dollars a month. After deducting rents for the shop and home including food, restocking and other essential i am left with about 25 dollars which go direct to my savings.
Getting the opportunity to borrow with Zidisha will improve my saving habits and restocking my hard earned bookshop.
Thanks for you time and noble work you are doing. Thanks too to nerbar Karani who introduced me.

Loan Proposal

I first thank you for accepting me to join this noble course of helping Kenyans.
The introduction of free primary and education in Kenya had increased the enrolment in schools and demand for academic books.Due to this i hadn't been having a continuous flow of books in my bookshop as i could sometimes experience shortages.
I will therefore invest all the Ksh. 6000 i will be loaned to add inventory to the shop
I had an initial problem with the supplier as i wasn't able to buy bulk. Getting a loan with Zidisha will enable me to add books inventory in my shop and buy bulk. This will help me negotiate for a better discount.
Getting the opportunity to borrow with Zidisha will improve my saving habits and restocking my hard earned bookshop.
Thanks for you time and noble work you are doing. Thanks too to nerbar Karani who introduced me

Kind Regards,
Catherine.

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