The Mt Kenya Times 
Mercy Wangai, popularly known as Shiko wa Twana
By: Wanjohi. P. Mugambi
Worth Noting:
- My favorite part of being an entrepreneur is building a brand and getting to understand my client’s needs. I love kids and I am so passionate of dressing them. I also love the support I get from my social media followers who buy from me, share my business posts and refer customers.
- The hardest thing especially for an online business like Juneberry is that I have to work twice as hard to earn my client’s trust unlike people with established physical shops but I am doing it anyway.
- The main mistake that I wish I could have avoided is fear of investing in paid advertisements and not marketing my business on my personal social media accounts. With time I have learnt that people mostly buy from businesses they can put a face to.
My name is Mercy Wangai, popularly known as Shiko wa Twana.
I am a journalist by profession. I have worked with Kenya News Agency and the County Assembly of Nyeri. Mercy is also a wife, mother and an entrepreneur. I love reading books, listening to music and watching inspirational stories mostly about successful business women who have built successful brands from scratch. I am also the vision bearer of Sprout Charity Foundation, a non-governmental charity organization that alleviates poverty and gives hope to the less privileged.
I started my business in 2020 during Covid 19 pandemic when my contract with a local company that I was working with ended.
At Juneberry Kids Collection, I deal with Kids Clothing and Accessories, both brand new and mtumba for kids ages 0 to 14 years.
I wake up at 5:30AM, pray, take a bath, prepare breakfast for my family and do some house chores if there are any. Then I wake my daughter up, feed her and put her back to bed. I immediately log in to social media to check if there any orders or enquires made overnight and respond. I later on post on my business pages and on my personal account as well. After that I organize on how orders of the day will be delivered. If there are items that are out of stock, I contact my supplier and organize how they will be delivered at our pick up station and when I am less busy, I go pick them myself as I window shop for new kids items in the market to keep my customers up to date with the new fashion and trends. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I spend the better part of my days at our pickup point so that I can interact with my customers in person. On the days that I am not at the pickup station, I take my time to research, update my price list, make nice marketing posters and shopping checklists for my customers. In the evening when I get home, I shower, bath my child and get ready for the next day. I ensure I retire to bed by 10PM.
My favorite part of being an entrepreneur is building a brand and getting to understand my client’s needs. I love kids and I am so passionate of dressing them. I also love the support I get from my social media followers who buy from me, share my business posts and refer customers.
The hardest thing especially for an online business like Juneberry is that I have to work twice as hard to earn my client’s trust unlike people with established physical shops but I am doing it anyway.
The main mistake that I wish I could have avoided is fear of investing in paid advertisements and not marketing my business on my personal social media accounts. With time I have learnt that people mostly buy from businesses they can put a face to.
I foster creative ideas through research, watching and reading about successful businesses where I get ideas that help me with marketing and bridging the gap between my customers and the market.
My business is mainly dependent on social media where I generate 90% of my income. I achieve this by being consistent in advertising on facebook, Instagram and tiktok.
You can find my business on facebook and Instagram as Juneberry Kids Collection or reach me on my personal handles, Mercy Wangai or Shiko wa Twana.
I would advise a new entrepreneur to continue putting in the work, own their brands no matter how insignificant they think their brands are at the moment and never be afraid of investing. A brand is not build overnight.
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About the Author
