By Prudence Minayo
Sammy Ndirangu was forced to close down his business after covid-19 broke out in the country. He unsuccessfully tried two other business ventures before he started selling chicken parts. This became his cash cow and in an interview with Tuko, her revealed he makes up to Ksh14,000 on a good week.
Here is his story as told by WoK.
Restaurant and other ventures
Prior to the pandemic, he was running a restaurant that had eight employees. The pandemic adversely interfered with the running of his business. Most of his customers were construction workers and when sites closed due to the dreaded virus, his income plummetted drastically.
On a single day, he used upto two bales of wheat flour, however, as the pandemic persisted, he could scarcely sell one bale. He notified his wife it was time to shut down. He started selling pork but the business failed to take off.
His next venture was an attempt to sell pilau. After cooking, he would hawk it around, selling a plate at Ksh150. This business also went awry as customers bought on credit forcing him to quit.
Then, Sammy Ndirangu hit the jackpot when he decided to start selling chicken parts.
Chicken parts business
After collecting his stock from city market, he opens for business at 2:00pm. He buys a kilogram of the chicken pieces at Sh100. He told Tuko that a kilogram has a total of 16 pieces. If one managed to sell each piece at Sh20 they make Sh320 thus the profit is Sh220.
The proud father buys several kilos of the liver, gizzards and other chicken parts. He then goes to his Dagoretti home where he assembles all materials before heading to his kibanda at Kikuyu bus park in Kiambu. He buys up to 10 kg making a profit of Ksh1500. He also started selling chicken necks, buying one at Sh10 then selling it at Sh30. This means when he buys 50 pieces he makes Sh1000 profit.
The businessman believes what draws customers to him is good customer relations and cleanliness. Through the business, he can comfortably support his family and provide fees for the children.
