Keeping an Open mind

Lock down Story 6 : Beulah Songok

Beulah Songok is the founder of  Real for Real Foods company that works towards providing freshly produced fruit yogurt, organic vegetables, herbs, spices, fruit juice and cereals to the people in Kenya. 

Beulah shares with us how the lock down has affected her start up company: Real for Real Foods.

Corona came at a primed moment of my life. I had moved out of my parent's home into a rental house excited to start off an independent life.I was also hopeful that my business was about to thrive.

Things happened so fast, from the time the first case was announced, government directives and fear immediately started affecting my business.

I make real fruit yogurt and I needed several raw products. The first government directive was to avoid crowded places like markets which were my source of supply.

By the time , I got on my feet to stand again and still run the business, the government ordered all public vehicles to maintain social distancing by carrying a few passengers, that directly led to increased fares. It became more expensive to go and buy my supplies, delivering to clients was hard since some were not in position to pay any more.

Beulah says " Doing business in this season is hard,  some clients lost their jobs and buying things like yogurt is a luxury to many at this time. Others are hoarding money for the future, just in case the situation gets worse. Either way, my business is at a loss.

The uncertainty within creates a difficult working environment. It is hard knowing whether to stock or not, considering how perishable yogurt is, making a lot of it and then the government announces a lock down will only leave me at a bad place.

This  time has been tough for many start ups, some businesses are now moving at a slow pace depending on stock they had stored during the rainy season. For businesses like mine that have been the sole source of income, It has been tough, I have learnt my lessons and after the  pandemic is gone, I will be better.

I have learnt the hard way that my business plan is not that good. My business could neither stand the  test of time nor did it have any fall back measures. I have however learnt that it is totally okay to have a side hustle besides your start up or even employment to feed you so that you can focus on growth of business.

I have embraced the beauty in open mindedness. It is good to find an alternative source of income to back up your  business especially in its initial stages.

It is important to get your daily needs met so that you can be able to grow your business. You can never grow and save from your start up business if you are also depending on it to feed you on a daily basis, this only suffocates your business. Feed yourself, then you can save and grow. Empty stomachs don't do much.

I thank God that even through these  economic crisis;  He has been gracious enough to give me a job that has acted as my resurrection plan. I am getting back stronger and better. This time, wiser than ever.🤗

Beulah 

Kenya