Ruth    Mar 11, 2014

Dear zidisha , i have been having some financial difficulties, due to the low season in my business.Kindly allow me to reschedule the loan.The business has not been doing well , as more competitors have come on board. I am trying to reorganize myself , so that i can start repaying the loan.
Further, I am in the process of introducing more products , so that i can be able to compete with other businesses which are offering the same services.This low season coupled with more competitors , believe , i will be able to sort myself in the next three months.I will keep you posted.
regards
Ruth

Ruth    Nov 26, 2013

Dear friends,
How time pauses so fast, it has been almost one month since I communicated with you all. Business has been good, a part from the small issues here and there. We are about to go yet into another festive session. Hope all goes well.
My business has been picking up well, I have been servicing my loan fairly well, hopefully, and I will finish it before the due date.
As I had indicated in my earlier correspondence, I added some new products, and currently, the business is doing well. Thank God, I have now introduced some new products which I think will make my business more attractive to my customers.
Am always thinking of other ways in which I can do so that I can attract more customers for my business to grow bigger. For the past few months I started repackaging some of my own products, mainly peanuts and simsim. They have been giving me good profit. What I do is to buy raw peanuts and simsim, them clean and roast them, eventually repackage them with my own package which has label. In a way I have been able to solve two problems. the first one , it has been a form of advertising myself , when people look at the package , and two , I have introduced a new product which has a become an attraction to my business place.
The New Year, comes with new challenges, my plan is to finish the repayment of the loan, so that I can qualify for the next one. Since this will be more than the first one, I intend to expand and if possible to start a new shop, in one of the upcoming buildings. Thanks.

Ruth    Nov 25, 2013

Dear friends ,
it has been long since i communicated with you. Business has been going on well , except small issues here and there. But in general all has been going on quite well.

• L

  ldworld    Nov 25, 2013

  good to hear that! God bless

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Ruth    Oct 13, 2013

Dear friends, it has been some time since I communicated to you friends. Business here in Nakuru, has seen some tough and good times. Initially, things were okay, but at the beginning of October, business went down. There are many factors which contributed to this, but the major one being the opening of schools and colleges. But lately things have again started to improve. We hope for the best.
My business, has been picking up well, indeed I paid my first loan bill, though there is a small balance which I intend to finish before the end of the month. Am very determined to repay the loan on time.
For a business to succeed it needs customers. Old customers if treated well will tell others to come and enjoy the services you are offering. So I have made a point of providing the best customer services so that I can maintain the old customers and also to attract the new ones. It s a challenge which I intend to accomplish.
Thank God , I have now introduced some new products which I think will make my business more attractive to my customers. Some of these products include, packaged peanuts, simsim, some products I got from an Asian friend. These products have added some new customers. This to me has been a good challenge .
I have started planning for an expansion of my business. Here , where I am operating is a small room , having added a cooler and few shelves , I have no more room . Am therefore thinking of getting another room , so that any other extra products I get , I can send to the other room. In a business some time you can reach a saturation stage. Where you do not add or remove any product from your business. Am seeing as if my business soon is going to reach that stage , thus I must be prepared to move to the next level.

Ruth    Sep 22, 2013

Dear friends. Its yet another time when, I feel it’s important to let you know how am doing in my business. It has been at least a week since I talked to you. This week has seen us, in business having a slow start in turns of sales and purchases but we are hopeful, things will improve soon.
I had earlier on , indicated that , I intend to do few things so that I can uplift my business from the current status to a better and higher level so that I can get more profits. There are a number of areas in my business I intend to change the way am operating. These I guess will, to some extend improve my business sales and profits.
The first of which I mentioned briefly the last time was to do with advertising. This I have already started doing it, by liaising with few fellow business people in the ground floor to be advertising my business through the word of mouth and also giving out small brochures of my products. This has brought some extra expenses; I had not earlier planned for. But I believe, some time you must sacrifice if ever you want to succeed.
The second thing I had planned and thank God, I have already started implementing is adding some extra products as demanded by the customers and other products which I felt I could be able to sale. This , so far is going on well and hopefully , if funds will allow I will even do better.
The last , of my short term plan to improve my business is , use social media to advertise my products. Through friends, I intend to be sending them frequent messages, talking about my business products. Then requesting them to further spread the message to their friends. Hopefully this will work. Will let you know how it will go. Bye and good time.

Ruth    Sep 12, 2013

Dear my friends, I am excited this week as business has to some extend really improved. Initially, it was slow at the beginning of the week, but now is seeing some improvement in the sales. This has happened after I did some readjustment to my business operation.
The first one was to introduce some products which I initially was not stocking. I added a variety of sweets and chocolates. This made a lot of different; I intend to still add more stock as my profits increase.
The second thing I did was to use, some one to advertisement or market my place of work and what I sale. My shop is placed on the second floor of the building, so some time it needs one to direct people where my shop is. There is a friend of mine who is on the ground floor; we came into an understanding, whereby he could market my place for a small fee. He accepted, and this has seen some people coming to my shop as a result of being sent by the gentleman.
Am seeing the power of advertisement, being very important. This is one area where many small businesses are not doing well. My intention is to get some brochures and even start advertising through face books and other social sites. Otherwise relying on people just seeing the shop and then coming in, is a very difficult undertaking.
The other area which may work to improve the business is to start branding my products. I make some cakes, which do not have any branding, but people like them so much. I want to start packaging and brand them, so that whoever gets them, can know who makes them and where to get them. But due to lack of funds this may take a while.

Ruth    Sep 7, 2013

Hello to all, am writing to you all hoping that, this comments finds you in good spirit and health. It took me some time as I was evaluating, on what I had achieved in terms of the `business. As I had indicated earlier on , I had to change the initial business I was planning into some thing else , due to unavoidable circumstances. In a nutshell, I was unable to beat the government new policies to do with sales of dairy products.
I therefore, redirected my investment into the existing business of selling snacks, sodas and cakes. This business I have been running it for the last three years, hence it was not a big challenge to think of a new business. The customers are many by the fact that, the come to play, station, and in the process of being there, they require eating and drinking. There are few issues, which am presented with and will try to rectify or improve on.
The first one has to do with, the customers wanting new products which I currently do not have. It’s a challenge which I intend d to fulfill, by using the profits to introduce the new products. The second challenge which I intend to work on is , some customers , have requested if I can be serving light meals, since , what I serve does not satisfy their hunger. It makes me go back to the basics and ask myself if I can accept the new challenge.
The bottom line, is that, I must plan, if ever I want to succeed. I intend to do just that , by doing a research on the new products I intend to introduce and then planning on how am going to execute on them .i pray that am guided by wisdom to arrive at the right decision.
Regards. Ruth

Ruth    Aug 31, 2013

Hello Friends, yet another time to have a chat with you. I will never tire to always start my comment by thanking you for the good work you are doing to help the needy. It is always not easy for one to help without knowing the other party personally.
As I had explained earlier on, in the previous comment , things have really changed from the time i asked for the loan. I had initially intended to invest in a dairy shop but it has become a difficult venture. The government has tightened the dairy business permit. At has become now very difficult for one to run a dairy shop. Also from the information which has been relayed by the authority, it will be very difficult to run this kind of a business.
I was fortunate as I had already another business running, this is selling of soda, snacks , fast foods ( but to a limited scale ) within the vicinity of my brother’s Play station shop. It had been doing well , but thought I could diverse in my business. Now I have decided to come in full time to run the business.
It meant that , I had to sell , all the equipment and shares in the dairy business so that I could invest in this second shop. Am happy to tell you that , it is doing well and am also seeing a lot of hope and encouragement in this business. I have a small cooler , but I will need a bigger one , so that I can stock more items which the customers require. I also intend to add some variety of cakes and sweets as majority of the customers who visit here are young people. So with this kind of items I guess it will be consumed by the customers

Ruth    Aug 29, 2013

Hello,
I guess , it is about two weeks since I got the Zidisha loan , though , business has been quite challenging , I am happy that I got the money and I have been able to go a few things which if I had not gotten the money , maybe I could not have achieved.
It is unfortunate that , the Kenya government just few days age , had to ban , the selling and transportation of dairy products , especially milk without , the authorization of the daily board. This kind of really shattered , me and other business people who deal in dairy products. We are forced to go into the drawing board and think of an alternative , or we shall face very severe punishment from the government.
Am thinking of now doing two things, so that , I can avoid the long arm of the law, the first thing is I will stop sending my milk to Nakuru town , and result in selling to the local dairy factory in our village . this though , will slow my money circulation as the factory pays after a month, and some time the cash delays even longer.
The second thing I will do is to diversify, I have been running another business which deals with selling sodas, snacks, cakes and bottled water to , my brothers customers , while playing play station. My brother runs a play station in town which receives very many young boys and girls . I had invested there forty thousands, I guess I will put my energy into this business.
Challenges , really happen in this field of business. When you think you have hit hard on the right track , another road block is created . But any way blocks on the way make us strong and we just have to keep on fighting.

Ruth    Aug 25, 2013

Dear lenders and friends .Am happy for God giving me another day for this I thank Him and praise Him. Further I take this opportunity again to thank all the lenders who were kind enough to give me a loan so that I can boost my business. It really needs one to have a kind heart for them to give . As I had said in my earlier comments, I promise to repay this loan so that someone else can also benefit.
Am a farmer has I had also indicated. I deal in dairy products, mainly milk. I always travel to Nakuru town every day to bring milk to the dairy shops. I own one but am able to supply to one more dairy shop. These products are very perishable, failure to reach the market on time, means that they will go bad. Time, therefore is of paramount importance in this business.
The loan which I got I improved in the packaging. That is I purchased an extra containers so that I can carry more milk to town. The second thing was the issue of transport, we have private cars which some time give us transport, but are not very reliable. One must get a permanent form of transport. This issue I have been able to sort it by hire on a kind of permanent basis one motor bike. I pay him on a monthly basis.
My future plan is to have my own transport and also to engage one more person so that work can be lessened. I have started small but progressive hopefully , I will make it.
It is argued that, a business which starts small and grows gradually and never fails. Since I have started small I believe I will grow. Thanks a lot and may God help us all.

Enrique    Aug 22, 2013

I wish you prosperity, Ruth!

Enrique    Aug 22, 2013

I wish you prosperity, Ruth!

Ruth    Aug 22, 2013

Thank you my Lenders for your kind gesture.
But first of all , let me take this opportunity to thank you, personally , for being my lender . It takes one to have a Godly heart to assist a fellow human being. Many people , though having a lot of financial resources do not give a helping hand . So for me this is a golden opportunity of which I will give it all to make sure I achieve what you lenders have invested in.

I think it is in order for me to thank the following Aunita, Chanelcinq, Enrique, ERMI, Foreclosedjapan,Investor,JJonas,Russell and water01 for giving me a helping hand. It could have been very difficult for me to make it alone without your financial help. God bless you all and add you more , so that you can assist others who are in the need. Again thank you .
It really goes along way , if one human being can help the other . But its almost a miracle for strangers to come in and give this kind of help. Thank you again. I intend to use the loan on the intended purpose. And repay it on time so that some other needy person can benefit. Since am dealing with perishable item , it requires for me to have cash at hand for transport and other logistics, with this money am sure , my business will flourish and do very well.
I intend to expand beyond Nakuru town , by getting a room so that i can start another dairy shop. Further in a near future i want to have my own transport in the form of motor bike ,

For sure I intend to use the other existing forums to comment about some of the business issues affecting our small scale business people.

jjonas    Aug 20, 2013

Good luck Ruth!