We were lucky to catch up with Esther Nkaambi recently and have shared our conversation below.

Esther, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

I was laid off from a job I loved 4 years ago from Corporate America. My first thought was to find another job as soon as I could. Lots of rollercoaster emotions of having had a career for 14yrs and suddenly waking up and having no job to go to.

Before I could start looking for a job, someone in my network offered me a great role in her company the same week I was laid off. To say I was elated would be an understatement.

I remember my husband sitting me down and told me that he thinks I should take some time off from everything, rest and truly decide what I wanted to do. He made me realize that I had been on the go, with my career, full throttle without slowing down for many years.

He advised me to take time and design my best life and live it and however that looks like he would support me fully.

I placed the new role I was offered on hold. Took time to be STILL and truly figure out what I wanted to do.

In the quietness of my thoughts, I remembered that I had always wanted to own a boutique that showcased the handcrafted goods made by artisans from my country Kenya. I didn’t know how that looked, but it was in my brain shelved somewhere.

I knew I had something unique for years even before I decided to start my business. Whilst working in corporate America, I had my wardrobe custom made by tailors in Kenya to my own designs, and the jewelry were pieces that I had found in the markets in Nairobi.

I was always complimented on my wardrobe choices and asked often by people I met where they could get such pieces.

From there, I identified a need to offer a one stop shop for unique colorful prints, jewelry, and accessories, made in designs that complement the modern Womxn/ Mxn lifestyle regardless of height and size.

A few weeks later, after getting my thoughts on paper, with excitement mixed with fear and imposter Syndrome trying to take over, and with somewhat of a business plan I booked a flight to Kenya to put in motion the vision I had laid out.

With the help of my sisters who thankfully owned their clothing businesses, helped with sourcing for a group of individuals made up of tailors, brass smiths, leather workers and bead artisans to create some samples for me.

In a few weeks I had some great samples of curated, small batch, handcrafted products to start with. I spent 3 months sharing my vision with the team I had selected to work with on my short-term vision for the business and for us as a team.

There were several challenges that tried to hinder the full launch of the business.
Most of the artisans did not have proper equipment, tools, or systems to help ease the day-to-day issues they encountered.

Some didn’t have cell phones that could support visual exchange of designs, some needed equipment in their shops that costed a fortune, but would make the work easier, there was also dealing with issues of time management and prioritization.

I was glad I was able to stay for months where I could meet face to face with my team and truly provide for them the equipment they needed, working cellphones but also educate on proper communication and follow through.

First forward 4 years later, I am working with an amazing team of individuals in Kenya and Ghana.
We offer unique, curated, handcrafted pieces made with lots of love, talent, mastery and skill.

We also offer our clients custom made services, which our plus size and tall clients love us for. Clients have an opportunity to pick their fabric of choice from our inventory, we agree on a pattern and our team in Kenya does the rest.

I am truly excited for the future of our Boutique, and I urge anyone who has a dream or is passionate about something to truly take time, be still and write their plan down, use all their faculties & imagination to make it a reality.

You will have great days, days you want to quit and go back to a steady salary, but nothing beats living life doing what you were placed on this earth to do and doing it in your own terms if that is what your heart wants.

Esther, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I founded Malkia E Boutique roughly over 4years ago. My legal names are Esther Nkaambi Hopper, and I am a Kenyan native. My fashion has always paid homage to my heritage which included wearing colorful outfits adorned with brass, copper, and beaded jewelry.

Malkia means Queen in Our Swahili language. I was named after Queen Esther from the Bible, and grew up with friends and family calling me Queen E.

I have always been passionate about colorful beads and creative works that are made by artisans from my beloved country, Kenya. Malkia E. was born out of the love of wanting to showcase and share with the world this heritage.

All pieces are handcrafted with love in Kenya and some in Ghana by a curated group of artisans who specialize in bead, brass, African print designs and leather work.

“We Are In The Business Of Adorning Royalty.”

This sentence isn’t just a catch phrase, but how we identify each person who shops with us. Our brand colors purple and Orange, express Royalty, Nobility, Luxury, infused with Fun, Happiness, and Creativity.

Most of the products are named after cities in Kenya, family members, colors, male and female names of African nobility.

Our brand is about a journey of bringing people with us to Kenya through the colorful prints, bold jewelry, and accessories.

It’s about telling the story of every single piece in our store.
We acknowledge the artisan who made the piece, we also bridge the thousands of miles from Kenya to your home with a beautiful heirloom.

We are a community and a village where everyone is taken care of, and no one is ever left behind.

What I love about this business is, the employment opportunities that we are providing to not only the team of artisans that I work with closely, but all other individuals who take part in producing our finished products.

By paying fair wages and prices on the handmade goods, we can ease the financial pressure on the artisans which not only covers their basic needs, but it also provides rent and tuition for their kids in school.

We also provide a way for the artisans to afford any new machinery or tools that make their work life easier.

Malkia E is here to tell the artisan’s story. For every accessory or clothing item you purchase, the hands of one of our artisans made it.

Our artisans are the backbone of this Brand.

Their hands bring the vision of the Malkia E brand to life.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

In May 2020, the world around us changed and was going into lockdown due to COVID pandemic. On May 20th, 2020, I got into a horrible car accident that left me with injuries that affected my day-to-day routine.

I am an avid runner and a gym rat and for the last 2 years I have not been able to lift a weight or run yet.
I suffer from neurological issues, which thankfully are getting better with time.

So, what did this mean for me as a small business owner with a successful 2019 who was hoping to do the same in 2020?

Well, I did what many in the same space did, hanker down and adjust the sails to see how I could still make money while recovering from an accident and dealing with a pandemic.

It was tough, and but I had to give myself permission to feel all the emotions I was feeling, to realize as much as I wanted to show up, I had to also give myself grace to heal.

Physically and mentally, I had to let go of my to do lists and just BE PRESENT and take it a day at a time.

I took the time to get an e-commerce site of the boutique going and really ramped up my social media pages by showing up consistently using content I already had recorded on my phone.

Slowly while recovering I would take advantage of when I had strength to model my products and post as often as I could.

Most people didn’t realize that I was dealing with a brain injury and that I was in pain most days. When I showed up, I didn’t let anything get in my way.

This season in my life taught me how to ask for help, to be grateful for having an amazing support system, to having great repeat clients, but also learning to stop and just BE.

During the last two years, I have had major ups and downs, but that time was one that gave me courage, confidence, connection with others and self, gave me time to take care of me and continue planning for the next phase of Malkia E Boutique.

Not once did I think of quitting, when I had tough days, I allowed myself to go through the emotions and then figured how to move forward.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

1. I am known for Quality products; this is a non-negotiable core value in my business that starts with my production team in Kenya. Consistency in quality is a must.

2. Every single sale whether from a repeat client or a new client is golden and is celebrated by making sure the client is served well. Customer loyalty is a necessity and something I strive for daily.

3. Owning up to mistakes. There is one time we had an issue that we found out way later with the design of one of our bestselling earrings. A few clients gave us feedback and we found out what the issue was. I made a video explaining the issue and made sure to post it on all our social media platforms and kept showing it over several weeks to let our clients know we heard them and once we rectified the issue made sure to send a replacement pair to every client who had concerns.

4. I am my brand. I show up as Malkia E. Everywhere I go, I dress up in my products and share the story of each piece I adorn when I am stopped in public, which happens often.

5. Communication is important, there is no such thing as over communicating.
Keep your clients in the loop of what is going on, if there is a delay, if there is an issue that might affect their order, if there is anything at all that relates to the business, communication is vital to all the parties affected.

6. Being of service to the community is important.
I support other small businesses around me as much as possible. I get involved in volunteering services or sponsoring of events in my home country Kenya as much as I can.

6. Offering value, being trustworthy, showing up as my authentic self, online and offline is very important to building my brand and reputation.

Contact Info:

• Website: Malkiae.com
• Instagram: Malkia__e
• Facebook: Malkia Nkaambi