When former KBC business anchor Wanjiru Mbugua quit her well-paying job to focus on a personal venture, she was unsure of how things would turn out.
Life had become too busy for her, having to juggle her career with raising her two children and her fledgling company, and she thus made the decision to call it quits.
Speaking to Bizna, a company that supports and promotes small business by providing marketing and enterprise development services, in 2018, she revealed that she had almost nothing in her pocket when she started her company, Diamond Media Communications Limited.
‘‘Interestingly, I started with zero budget. I didn’t have any startup capital at all. It only cost me Ksh1000 to register my company name. Wondering how? Well, the good thing about my business is that you only need a valuable concept to score a client. You don’t need extensive assets or infrastructure in place,” she sagely explained.
The company, Diamond Media Communications limited specializes in public relations, marketing campaigns, brand development, media relations, political communication, and media management.
Less than a year after starting her firm, Mbugua indicated in her LinkedIn profile that she sharpened her teeth by landing a gig as the head of Public relations and Personal Assistant to Martha Karua during her presidential bid between 2011 and 2013.
Her first-ever exclusive deal, however, she revealed was worth Ksh500,000 which she stated was due to the client having faith in her despite her relatively latent PR profile.
“I remember she paid me Ksh350,000 down payment in cash at a period in my life when I was really struggling. I didn’t know where my next meal or rent was going to come from. Those were desperate times and then this client came along. She was a blessing and I didn’t let her down."
From barely a shilling to her name, she revealed that at the moment, she charges between Ksh500,000 to Ksh1 million for services offered, having once scored KSh45 million for a single deal.
According to her organisation's website, the company has so far managed to work with some of the biggest brands in the country, including major banks, airlines, a private university, and investment institutions.
She has also handled PR for other institutions including the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce (KNCCI), the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company, the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), the Nairobi county and the Kenya Tourism board.
