This self-starting woman began a trucking operation known as Workmanship Ltd, a freight and transport company in Kenya. As a sensible and practical entrepreneur Monica took her time to build the business she wanted. Not one to rush in unprepared, she considered her options, did thorough market research and carefully planned her steps.
She covered all the business basics by speaking to people already in the industry, learning how trucks operate, discovering what it’s like to be a driver – everything and anything to get a thorough sense of what it would be like to manage a company and all its aspects in the transport trade.
In fact, it took two years before Monica was ready to register her company because she wanted to make sure she could establish a sustainable business venture.
Today, that is exactly what she has done. Monica heads up a successful and competitive business that has grown quickly in recent years. From initially servicing only the Kenyan market Workmanship Ltd has expanded to Southern and Eastern Africa.
Despite managing to develop her business into a profitable position, Monica explains that business is never a ‘breeze’. It is a matter of consistent effort and hard work. Monica says running a business is a constant challenge in order to manage every angle of the venture, but she is passionate about what she does.
Her advice to start up entrepreneurs is to do thorough research. She believes that if you don’t fully understand the business that you are going into then you will not be able to support it. In her own words, Monica says;
“Don’t just jump into it, get to understand it. Never invest in a business that you do not understand. Because when the challenges come you will not know how to overcome them when the difficulties come you will not know how to mitigate. So take time, research, understand the business before putting your money in.”
Adopted from the Africa Report