Jeannette Mbabazi has been in salon business for 15 years and has no regret for her choice of income generating activity
Jeannette Mbabazi has been in salon business for 15 years and has no regret for her choice of income generating activity
What got you interested in the cosmetology field?
Having had my education come to an end because my guardians couldn’t afford to pay for my tuition, and since I still wanted to go to school, I developed an interest of joining CFJ Gacuriro a Technical and Vocational Education and Training center where I was trained to do hairstyling, manicures, and pedicures for one year. I developed a love for this industry.
How long have you owned your business?
I have been in this business for 15years and proudly have seven talented employees.
How much capital did you start with? And how much do you earn monthly?
I started with Rwf80,000. I earn almost Rwf800,000 per month of which I use to pay my staff salaries, pay my son’s tuition fees, and also rent for the premises.
What have you achieved from this business?
I have managed to build a house, buy land, and also support in paying school fees for my son and two orphans.
What advice would you give to women/ girls out there that want to join this business?
I advise them to have confidence in themselves, fear not but try and fail, but never fail to try. They should also not fear to start small, because starting small turns into big results.
What challenges have you faced over the years and how have you overcome them?
Landlords who increase rent whenever they feel like has put my business motionless at times in that I had to close my business in 2018 for one and a half years reason being my landlord wasn’t being fair with the house rental fee that he kept on increasing.
However, with my savings, I managed to re-open in June 2020.
What are your future plans?
I hope to have more salon branches all over Kigali, my business being in my own house and not having to rent, and also have a training school that will be teaching salon oriented studies.