Caroline Gikunda in her own words
In response to a lady who wrote to me requesting me to share from where I get my business strength, I promised to share my beginnings and personal experience hoping that someone will pick up something from it.
I will start with my first born business and the love of my entrepreneurial life, the Trucking business.
The Alpha-Charlie Inc
Before 2013, I never dreamt of becoming a lady Trucker. I had no interest in trucking industry or heavy transport.
No one had told me anything about trucks and I was just fine trying my hand in farming.
I had just acquired this property, where Drivers’ at Alpha-Charlie stands at today.
Being “Mkulima mdogo” I had no money to engage a contractor or stuff like that. I wanted to put up my residential house first slooooooowly and I would figure out what to do with the rest of the space.
I would gather the building materials one by one, with no timelines.
It didn’t matter how long it would take me to buy sand, coral blocks, ballast or hardcore.
I told myself “Mawe hayaozi” and embarked on saving for the first item which was river sand.
It took me a few months to raise the 20,000Ksh that I had been told was the price for a truck load of “Mguu Kumi” river sand.
There were no organised truck terminals, so armed with the Ksh20,000…I did what everyone else did those days.
Drove my Starlet Registration KAR to the Watamu Junction at Gede to wait for a Truck.
Trucks would be coming from Mombasa or Kilifi, headed to the sand quaries in Malindi.
I stopped several but they were busy, then one stopped.
I bargained my voice hoarse and this guy agreed to deliver at Ksh18,000.
I would pay and wait for him at the junction for directions to the site.
Those days the trucks were few. You would pay if you wished, and if you didn’t you were free to keep searching for another truck.
I paid and left, we had agreed that I would call him at 6pm.
I did… and his phone was off.
7pm, 8pm….11pm, midnight…
His phone was off.
I was in distress!
It looked like I had been duped but I was in denial.
I cried myself to sleep.
The next morning his phone was still off.
So I went to the highway hoping I would find this truck. I never did… well, until months later.
I frantically stopped the truck but a different driver was in.
I narrated my ordeal and the guy was like… did you give me your money????
Of course it wasn’t him.
It dawned on me that I had lost the money.
I kept telling myself that I would love to do this work and do it right…but the truck drivers would always talk us down whenever we bargained for deliveries…
“Hizi ni Milioni saba zinatembea ndugu yangu. Ukiona mchanga ni expensive kajibebee na mgongo”…
From my experience I had a dream…I would love to do this work and do it right.
I didn’t have such kind of money to invest in a truck, so it remained that… just a dream!
Until Stanbic Bank Kenya opened their first branch in Malindi around 2014.
I approached them with my vision…
They believed in me when I didn’t have any assets or attractive bank statements and they agreed to finance my first truck at 70%
I didn’t know how to raise the balance of 30%
But Festo Muriungi Fee came through and surrendered his logbooks as security to CMC Motors Ltd.
A brother who was determined to make a sister’s dream come true!
We got the first truck.
Ours was to provide quality services at a premium. We have remained true to our call.
We had the truck bearing my number so that anyone would reach me if the driver would play rough with them.
The clients knew where they would find this truck… and anyone who wanted quality services came to us.
Our fleet grew.
With this the copy cat motto that applies in this country happened and we had every financially stable man in Malindi buying a trucks.
The struggle for business set in with reduction in prices, compromising of quality and quantities and other undesirable business practices.
We have been consistent.
We chose to remain quality and target only clients who appreciate quality.
We don’t over load, so we won’t waste time with your deliveries playing hide and seek with KENHA officials.
We deliver the right quality and quantity.
Besides I love watching the evolution of sites from bushes to beautiful spaces.
It’s why we named our holiday home @Drivers’ at Alpha-Charlie.
To appreciate truck drivers who deliver materials to turn sites into beautiful homes…
Points to note:
Filling gaps.
Passion.
Consistency.
I hope a silent follower is encouraged somewhere.
Business is not for the faint hearted. This is a challenging journey to cover. It’s the passion that stands for the months that will go with no money to keep you motivated.
We keep learning.
We keep walking.
We keep growing.
Best wishes Caroline Gikunda. You’re an inspiration