Expanding my client potential

Simon

Limuru, Kenya

Expired

$15 to go

0% funded of $15 goal

0

days left

Entrepreneur

Name

Simon

Member since

November 2017

On-time repayments

25 installments  •  56%

About Me

Hi, my name is Simon Muiru, 35 years of age, born and raised, and currently reside in Nairobi, Kenya. I am a firm believer in doing whatever it takes to achieve you goals and desires, despite your circumstances.

I am professionally trained in basic Information Technology, and have a Diploma certificate in this field of study. I was raised in a family of six, four siblings and my parents, being the only son much was and is expected of me. I have a beautiful wife and son who is eight years old. My wife and son are my world. My mom also lives with us, after my dad passed on three years ago. In my country, a man is meant to take care of his family irregardless of circumstances, and there being little to no employment most men end up doing menial work, and or turn to crime to be able to fulfill their role as society deems it.

I wasn't so unfortunate as I landed an employment opportunity in 2008 at KenCall EPZ (the first call center in the BPO industy in Kenya), where I went through training and got employed as a Customer Service Representative. Outsourcing was instantly absorbed into me. Working for people and organizations in an entirely different continent made me feel like the world was a little smaller.

I never looked back since and begun looking for opportunities online. I have since then worked as an Independent Online freelance service provider starting with part time and then on to full time since 2013. In 2015 I was able to get a financial partner whom together we bought a few desktop machines, and set up shop. Where we employed four individuals and continued working online as an Audio Video transcription service provider. This has been fulfilling despite it's setbacks.

My son wants to grow up and be a lawyer. He is totally engulfed with lawyer TV shows and movies, and argues a lot with conflicting ideas. For unwinding purposes, my favorite hobby is driving fast cars. Whenever I have a chance I rent fast cars for the weekend and drive out to various places within the country. This helps me get some unwind time and relax my mind. I also enjoy adventure.

My Business

My business is basically within the BPO industry as an Online Independent service provider, specifically dealing with Audio and Video transcription. This basically refers to converting audio into text. We deal with various recordings as provided by our online employers, from one on one interviews, research focus groups, court stenography, medical transcription, webinars etc. I currently work with various online online freelancer sites who offer me work, these include upwork.com, rev.com, iscribed.com among others.

Transcribing services have fast become a required service almost everywhere especially with the rise of smart phone use. Where a person can just record whatever they need and have it transcribed for them instead of taking notes. I enjoy doing this so much as I get to learn a lot with the various topics and issues that I have to type out for people. Everyday I learn something new. Also it makes me feel like I travel as I get to know a lot about various places.

My setup typically costs me rent, employee remuneration, electricity and internet service and office miscellaneous expenses. This can typically run between KES 35,000 - 50,000 ($350-500) per month. This basically covers itself as the work model we have sees the income earned by an employee, half of it cater for his/her remuneration and leave half of it as income. Typically we are able to raise about $20 per individual per day, giving around $80 a week. Roughly we are able to generate $1,000 a month. Leaving us with an income after expenditure of about $400-500 per month.

This money once we divide it up with my financial partner, I use to raise my family, invest in my son's education, and cater to my wife, and mother's needs. I also invest in farming and currently own a flock of chicken that I raise for selling of eggs. I would love to expand that more, and maybe get into land farming too. I am therefore requesting a loan of $1000 of which I aim to repay in three phases. My loan will be used to expand my set up to include more employees. For this I require four extra PC's, @ going for about $60, which will cost me $240, and the rest will be used to set up the computers as well as goodwill, deposit and rent for a new premises.

Loan Proposal

This loan request is to assist me in my business to be able to reach out to different clientele. My business runs mostly online, and depends on online freelance clients to perform. I am trying to get more stable flow of work, as the industry is getting quite congested with service providers. I need to create a brand for my business to get an extra niche within the industry.

I am therefore requesting for this loan to help in creating an online website, as well as a brand logo for my business (shanescribe transcripts). This normally costs between $35-60. Once this is done, I will be able to reach out with a more professional touch to my new clients. This will go a long way in marketing my brand to the online clientele.

Thank you for your consideration.

Feedback

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Loan Info

Project Type

Classic Loan

Amount requested

$15.00

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  • Simon    Mar 20, 2019

    First of all thank you so much for your loan. It really went a long way in catering for payment of my yearly business permit. Thank you so much. I am now working happily to see that I reach my expected quarterly targets. May you be blessed abundantly.

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  • Simon    Mar 7, 2019

    Wanted to share this photo of the office, it has grown slowly, I am very much enjoying my work and the opportunity.

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  • Simon    Mar 7, 2019

    I am really enjoying your services. Thank you so much to my lenders, as well as my sponsor, who follows my growth. I am having a smoother time now growing my business thanks to you all. I appreciate you beyond words.

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  • Simon    Jan 30, 2019

    I wish to raise the installment amount that I can pay weekly, this is so as to be able to raise my loan limit and clear my loan quicker. Thanks.

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  • J    Aug 29, 2018

    Dear Simon,

    Because it’s your first loan above 10$ you will have to pay a one time membership fee. This is deducted from your current loan. More info about this can be found on the Borrowers FAQ (www.zidisha.org/faq#borrowe...)

    You can find an overview with the calculations on your “your credit limit” page. (www.zidisha.org/current-credit). Before taking out a large loan, you must first build creditworthiness by repaying small test loans over a period of time.

    If you accept this loan then you should go to your dashboard and confirm acceptance by following the instructions on your dashboard (www.zidisha.org/borrower/da...)

    If you don’t accept this loan then please wait 3 days and it will expire automatically.

    If you already accepted the loan and this was a mistake then please cancel the loan by following the instructions on your dashboard (www.zidisha.org/borrower/da...).

    Kind regards,
    Joost
    Team Zidisha

    Ps. This is a place to communicate with lenders. If you need help from Zidisha staff about your account then you should always create a support ticket using the help menu (www.zidisha.org/borrower/help).

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  • Simon    Aug 29, 2018

    Hi, I noticed on my account there was a discrepancy on Aug 29th, 2018. There is an amount of KES 1,020 which I never requested nor received and then it's then stated as membership fee which I am expected to pay back? I do not understand that.

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  • Simon    May 16, 2018

    I repaid my loan from last time, but unfortunately I used a different phone to pay my loan, but I indicated at the account number portion it was for 0797780782. The Safaricom Transaction number was MEC7DHLG9B paid in on 12/5/18 at 07:04 pm. Kindly confirm please.

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    • Francis    May 17, 2018

      Hae simon sorry for the incidence, although the rules are to pay using the same phone number,click on your profile and create a support ticket to the management with a screenshot photo of the images

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      • Simon    May 18, 2018

        I did, they told me to contact you. I don't understand why. They asked me for information on the payment ID, the date, and time etc, and I sent them the same information I did to you.

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  • Simon    May 4, 2018

    I received my requested loan amount, I am heading out to purchase the room fan that I needed for my office. Thank you immensely for your continued support. It means a lot to me and the growth of my business.

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  • Simon    May 1, 2018

    Thanks Zidisha, your services go a long long way in growing my business.

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  • Francis    Apr 13, 2018

    Have talked with simon through SMS and have assured me he will repay

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    • Simon    Apr 21, 2018

      I did repay my loan but it doesn't seem to have registered on the site. Thanks.

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  • Simon    Mar 22, 2018

    Greetings. I have so far managed to meet my projections. I am humbly appealing for your support as I continue to raise my data plan needs in my online business. Internet data plans and 4G speeds have greatly improved my deadlines.

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  • Simon    Mar 20, 2018

    Thank you. I received the loan, and I was able to update my data plan. My goals are being realized every day. Thank you for your assistance.

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  • Simon    Feb 27, 2018

    Thank you so much for the last loan received. I was able to add it on to pay for my internet data plan. Nairobi is diversifying daily and with it the growth in technology and internet, where my business is solely based. I was able to access the 4G network for my business from Faiba and now continue to provide my services successfully. Thank you most graciously.

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  • Simon    Jan 20, 2018

    Thanks for the loan. I was able to add a PC to my workplace as an extra station. I also gained credibility in order to access a larger amount for further expansion.

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  • Simon    Jan 19, 2018

    Thank you for the loan. It went a long way in growing my business as well as helped me gain credibility in accessing larger amounts. I have so far added one PC to my workstation and believe this will help increase my output as well as profits.

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  • Simon    Jan 19, 2018

    Thanks a lot for the loan, it went a long a way in helping me achieve my goals of building up my business and also created trust for me to access larger amounts.

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  • Simon    Jan 19, 2018

    Thanks for your continued support as I build and continue to grow my business. The loan helped in building and raising my credit limits in order to access larger amounts.

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  • Simon    Dec 5, 2017

    Thanks for the loan, the amount was received. I aim to increase my credit limit in order to get an amount that can play a bigger part. I received the money, and it goes a long way in assisting with the plans for expanding my business.

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