Patrick Gichuki is the founder and CEO of JUKTex Machines and Apparels.
He moved to Nairobi in 2012 and worked as a waiter and later as a cleaner as he tried to find his footing in the city.
However, years later, Gichuki has grown to become a go-to person for quality sewing machines, clothing and tailoring.
Here is his story as told by WoK.
Gichuki, a native of Othaya, Nyeri County completed his high school in 2010.
In an interview with PeopleDaily, the entrepreneur said he moved to Nairobi two years later and juggled many jobs to make ends meet.
“I started out as waiter in some hotel where I used to earn Ksh 200 per day. I then moved on to be a cleaner for a company where I used to earn Ksh 6,500 per month,” he said.
As a cleaner, Gichuki washed offices and banks alongside his colleagues in different locations within the city.
In 2015, he met a businessman along Jogoo Road and in the course of their interaction, he offered him a job at his hardware.
Although the new job was paying better than the cleaning job, he ended up resigning months later due to delayed payments.
He later came across a businessman who trained him on how to use an embroidery machine and later offered him a job.
“I was being paid Ksh 700 per day and in some instances if I worked overnight, I would get up to Ksh 1,000 per night. This was a good amount,” Gichuki recalled.
A while later, Gichuki secured a job at a business that sold sewing machines in Nairobi CBD. At the same time, he was doing embroidery work from a shop in Uhuru Market.
“…the prices in town can be so high. So, as not to discourage the buyer, I would refer them to Uhuru Market,” he said.
Gichuki later quit his job at the shop in town and joined his business partner, Peter Ngunjiri, in Uhuru Market and worked as a delivery person.
He worked with Ngunjiri until 2018 when he registered his own business having raised Ksh 100,000 capital.
Gichuki established JUKTex, which he says was derived from Juki and Kingtex, his favorite sewing machines.
Through his company, he sells quality sewing machines to small businesses and established manufacturers across the country.
“Being an entrepreneur is difficult and there is nothing new under the sun. Practically, all company concepts in entrepreneurship are the same
“What distinguishes entrepreneurs is the customer relationship aspect of it. The way you handle your current, new and potential clients contributes to the success of your business,” Gichuki explained.
As such, Gichuki offers after-sale services to his clients in a bid to maintain the reputation of his company and earn a loyal clientele.
“In case of any damages, I send some of my technicians to my customers for the repairs for free. If the machines are completely damaged, I always ask them to return machines in exchange of new ones,” he stated.
He hopes that the government will establish policies that favour MSMEs.
