To buy more new shoes and bags for sale

Entrepreneur

About Me

I am second-born in our family. I am 24 years old. The eldest is a girl (Jane Wanjiru) and I have two other brothers and one sister who are younger than me. Except Wanjiru and I, the other three are in school. My father and mother stay in Ngarariga in Limuru where they carry out small businesses. In particular, they run a shop where they sell shoes. My eldest sister is married.
I completed my secondary education in 2009. My parents were unable to raise money to take me to college. I worked with my parents at their shop until April 2011. I decided to use my savings and seek support from parents to start my own business. I started my own shoe-selling business which had picked well by mid 2012. I decided to add bags of different types and sizes. Until today, I sell bags and shoes at my small shop that I opened at Ngarariga center.
I decided to open the business in order to be able to support my daily expenses in the first place. Also, having experience in selling shoes, I had noted that people keep on buying shoes and demand is always there. I have an ambition to expand the shop and include new clothing. With that, I can guarantee future success of my business and myself. I want to establish the business so that the returns can help to support my own family in the future. At the moment, I use part of the returns (approximately 45%) to support my own expenses. I save around 10% of the profits and put back. Almost half of the net profit is put back to the business because I want it to grow. My vision is to expand it to make a wholesale shop of shoes, clothing and bags.

My Business

I am going to repay the loan without difficulties from the returns from the business. The business is already ongoing and already picked. I sell new shoes and bags of different sizes and types. I buy them from wholesalers in Nairobi and sell them in my retail shop. The risk of loss is low. I have been in the business for sometime and have already noted the preferences of the target consumers. I always make sure that I try to match the products with their preferences. In addition, the wholesale price for the shoes and bags at the wholesale shops is low enough to enable me to articulate my price. In other words, the likelyhood that I may sell shoe or bag at a price that is equal or lower than the wholesale price is very low. Also, we get discounts from wholesalers which help to cater for any losses that may be incurred in case of faulty shoes or bags.
Shoes and bags are always in demand bearing in mind that people always use them. There are other sellers of shoes and bags in the area, including my parents but mine are in demand because I try to look at specific preferences of different groups in the society. For instance, the youth prefer certain brands that may change anytime depending on changes in fashion preferences. The elderly want different brands from the youth. There are also brands that are suitable for school children. I always try to match with such preferences. This is why the risk of loss in my business is low. Also, this helps the business to gain a competitive edge in the area.
Recently, my business has been making monthly profit (gross profit) of around Kshs 24,000. But the profit may fluctuate up or down depending on season. I pay a rent of Kshs. 2,500. Electricity charges are around Kshs. 300. I also pay transport cost which may vary depending on the number of times I go to Nairobi to add my stock. In a month, I spend around 2500 on transport. License is paid once in a year and it costs Kshs 3,600. On average, my net profit per month is around Kshs. 19,000. It I manage to expand my business I can take advantage of discounts given by wholesalers and my profits will go up. Also, with additional capital, I can be able to add more varieties of the products (shoes and bags). People here prefer shops where they can find different varieties. Therefore, the customer turnout will go up. Also, with additional capital, I can be able to expand the business and include clothing. This will help my business to grow and hence, I will be able to achieve my dreams of opening a wholesale shop which is not available in the area. Thank you for opening an opportunity for me to achieve my dreams.

Loan Proposal

I will use the available loan in purchasing more new shoes and bags for sale. I sell both shoes and bags that are made locally and those that are imported. Since I know customer preferences, I will use the loan to buy varieties that are on demand to different customer segments. Many people prefer my products because I consider quality when purchasing them from the manufacturers. I that Zidisha and lenders for opening this opportunity. I hope that the loan and succeeding loans will steer me to achieve my dream of expanding my business to make it wholesale business since there is no wholesale for the products nearby.

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