Denis Opudo
Patience Maame Mensah from Ghana launched the Self Indulgence Limited in 2015. She explained how she began the venture, business growth, challenges, and experiences.
As a University student, she encountered a mirage of workloads. She once wished for a helper to undertake home duties. She even thought of hiring a therapist instead of going to the salon for the services. All these problems formed the foundation of her Self Indulgence Limited. In 2015, she began the home-management enterprise that provided home careers and nannies. The initiative also provided relaxation therapy and home beauty services for elderly people. She improved the business by using skills she acquired from post-graduate school. She pursued entrepreneurship MBA program in Milan, Italy. Mensah noted that her business started with cleaning services. She longed for a good model to help her gain comparative advantage in the labor market.
The initial capital came from Mensah’s savings, family and friends contributions. In the later funding, she used the business revenue as well as her savings for expansion. The good news was that her business was not capital intensive. She did not see the need of taking a loan to scale-up the enterprise. She employed only 3 people on a permanent basis. The remaining staffs including therapists, home-care, and delivery agents were under contract engagement.
Entrepreneurship is a long venture which requires a lot of sacrifices and patient. It also entails hard working, open minded and risk-taking.
Challenges Encountered
The challenge was hiring professional staffs to meet the standards of the clients. She admitted that she did not carry out training for all her workers. She established a strategy to help her meet the business brand. She nowadays conducts in-door training to both permanent and casual workers. In five years to come, she is looking forward to seeing rapid business growth in Ghana. Her goal is to establish logistics, outdoor space, and real estate. This is after recruiting professional staffs in cities and towns in Ghana. She currently focuses on the business penetration to market her brand.
