My name is Njoki and I believe my success story will help someone who intends to start charcoal business. Please share.
I didn’t manage to attend any college after losing my parents when I was in form 3, but I was able to finish KCSE and scored a C-.
Life got tough after completing my KCSE because my uncles, who were taking care of me, decided to stop caring about me.I decided to move to Nairobi in 2007 to stay with my aunt who used to live in Langata.
The first days were good until one day when her house girl left. Life started becoming tough as I was the one doing all the work. My aunt would go in the morning, leave every chore for me, by the time he was arriving at home I was tired-half dead.
I worked for her almost half a year until I decided enough is enough. I was broke, jobless and desperate but my aunt cared less as long as I took care of her home and children.
One day, a friend of mine where I was buying charcoal decided to ask me why I was so moody,I told her I was not in peace because my aunt was not in a hurry to look for a job for me.She was silent for one minute and told me, “what if you help me here when the aunt is not around”.
The suggestion was so good and I said yes. The following morning I was there selling charcoal. I did the work for one month and realized I could make a profit of Ksh 800 per sack and in a day I could sell 5 sacks.
That was the day I decided to know where she was buying the charcoal from. I interrogated the man who was delivering the charcoal and he told me he was sourcing it from either Narok or Kitui and one sack was going for Ksh250 while we were selling one at Ksh1, 200.
I worked for my friend for another one month and I managed to have Ksh 5,000.I remember telling her I was quitting, she shed tears but allowed me to have freedom.
With Ksh 5,000 I started the business. I bought the first 10 sacks and within one week I had completed the stock. The first stock motivated me to buy another one..until I managed to buy up to 50 sacks per month.
Today, though not learned I own a personal car, two pick-ups that supplies charcoal within Nairobi and my account has over Ksh 15 million. I see myself successful because even without enough education I managed to make it in life.
One thing I should warn people especially the unemployed youths is not to depend on parents and relatives to give you direct…just fight and God can open a way for you.