“Sometimes the longest journey isn’t the road you walk. It’s convincing yourself to try again after your first attempt didn’t go as planned.”
On the morning of 23rd July, I woke up with one mission: prepare my daughter for school and head to the market to sell some of my unused clothes.
Simple enough.
Yet as I packed the clothes into a large bundle, filled my one-litre bottle of water, and mentally prepared for the journey ahead, doubt quietly crept in.
“Will this even be worth it?”
The question lingered in my mind because this wasn’t my first attempt at selling at the market.
Nearly two months earlier, I had gone to the same market with four beautiful deras, each priced at KSh 500. I was excited—not necessarily because I expected to become rich that day, but because I was finally doing something outside my comfort zone. It felt like the beginning of another income stream.
Unfortunately, I didn’t sell a single item.
At the time, I blamed the market.
Looking back today, I realise the market wasn’t the problem.
I was.
My First Lesson: Selling at the Market Begins Long Before the First Sale
One of the things I remember most about that first visit was how excited I was.
I spent much of the day on my phone updating a friend about my new adventure. We laughed, encouraged each other, and I proudly shared that I had finally gathered the courage to become a market vendor.
Ironically, while I was talking about selling, I wasn’t actually selling.
The experienced traders around me were doing something completely different.
They called out their prices with confidence.
They greeted every passer-by.
They invited curious shoppers to stop and have a look.
Some even held up their merchandise so customers could see it from a distance.
Meanwhile, I sat quietly, hoping someone would notice my clothes.
That experience taught me one of the most important lessons in business.
Customers rarely come looking for you.
You have to invite them.
Whether you’re selling clothes at a market, running a shop, or offering services online, people first need to know you exist before they can buy from you.
Another mistake became obvious once I reflected on the experience.
My deras were priced at KSh 500.
As I watched shoppers move from one stall to another, I noticed that most purchases happening around me were much smaller. Many customers were comparing prices carefully before making a decision.
Without realizing it, I had brought products that didn’t match the spending patterns of most shoppers in that particular market.
It wasn’t that my clothes lacked value.
I simply hadn’t understood my customer.
That realization reminded me of something I have written about before in my article, Customer Etiquette at the Front Desk (https://lobbyreflections.co.ke/2025/06/04/customer-etiquette-at-the-front-desk/). Good customer interactions begin with understanding the person standing in front of you. Whether you’re serving a hotel guest, welcoming a visitor at a reception desk, or talking to someone at a market stall, listening and observing are just as important as speaking.
Business works the same way.
Before asking customers to understand your product, you must first understand your customers.
Research by the International Labour Organization (ILO) consistently highlights that successful small businesses are built on understanding market demand and adapting to customer needs. I didn’t know it then, but Kanwa Market had already started teaching me that lesson.
Two Months Later, I Returned With a Different Mindset
Almost two months passed before I decided to return.
This wasn’t an exciting weekend adventure.
It was a necessity.
Like many people trying to make ends meet, I had reached a point where borrowing money was no longer an option. Every possible avenue I could think of had been exhausted.
I had to stop asking for help.
I had to start creating opportunities.
So I packed another bundle of clothes, picked up my bottle of water, and started walking.
Kanwa is some distance from where I live. The journey begins with walking down a steep hill before climbing another. Eventually, I reached the tarmac near Kangutu Dispensary.
The previous time I had been there, I had paid KSh 70 for a motorbike ride from that point.
This time was different.
The little money I had wasn’t meant to disappear.
It was meant to multiply.
As I stood beside the road, someone I knew stopped to greet me. After chatting for a few minutes, he looked at the bundle of clothes I was carrying and suggested I take a motorbike because the market was still quite far.
I smiled, thanked him for the advice, adjusted the load on my shoulder, and continued walking.
That decision turned into one of the longest walks I have taken in a while.
For one hour and thirteen minutes, I walked under the morning sun carrying my clothes and water.
There were moments I wondered whether I had underestimated the distance.
There were moments I questioned whether I should turn back.
There were moments I simply kept putting one foot in front of the other.
Looking back, that walk taught me another business lesson.
Running a small business requires discipline in how you spend money.
Transport, packaging, market fees, and other daily expenses may seem small individually, but together they determine whether you make a profit or a loss. Every business, no matter how small, needs a simple system for managing expenses instead of making decisions based on the situation of the day.
Why Location Matters in Market Selling
By the time I finally reached the market, I was exhausted.
As I looked around for a place to display my clothes, a lady selling nearby mentioned that the trader who normally occupied a spot near the main entrance wouldn’t be coming that day.
I quickly spread my clothes there.
At first, I thought I had simply been lucky.
Later, I realised I had stumbled upon another important lesson.
During my first visit, I had displayed my clothes on the second row, slightly hidden from the main flow of shoppers.
This time, I was right beside the main corridor.
Everyone entering the market could see my display.
Some people slowed down.
Some glanced as they walked by.
Others stopped to have a closer look.
I hadn’t changed my selling skills yet.
I hadn’t even spoken to anyone.
The only thing that had changed was where customers could see me.
It reminded me that visibility matters in every business.
Whether you’re selling clothes in an open-air market, running a small shop, or publishing articles on a blog, people cannot support what they don’t know exists.
Sometimes success doesn’t begin with changing your product.
Sometimes it begins with changing your position.
What Customers Taught Me About Selling at the Market
What Customers Taught Me About Selling
After arranging my clothes near the entrance, I made a decision that changed everything.
My phone would stay away.
This time, I was not going to sit and wait for customers to discover me. I wanted to be present. I wanted to observe. I wanted to understand the people walking past.
Selling at the market is not just about putting your products on display and waiting for money to exchange hands.
It is about conversations.
It is about noticing what people stop to look at.
It is about listening to the questions they ask.
It is about understanding why someone picks up an item, examines it carefully, and then walks away.
Within a short time, customers started approaching.
Some came because they were genuinely looking for something to buy.
Some were curious and wanted to see what I had.
Others stopped because the display caught their attention as they walked past.
I quickly realised that every customer interaction was giving me information.
One customer would pick up a blouse and ask the price.
Another would ask whether I had skirts.
Someone else would check the quality of the clothes and then quietly leave.
At first, it was tempting to measure success only by the people who bought something.
But the market taught me something different.
Every person who stopped was giving me feedback.
The customer who asked for skirts was telling me what the market needed.
The customer who walked away after seeing the price was teaching me about affordability.
The customer who tried something on but didn’t buy was showing me that interest does not always immediately become a sale.
In business, listening is research.
Sometimes your customers tell you exactly what you need to improve—you just have to pay attention.
Understanding Customer Behavior at the Market
One of the biggest lessons I carried home was the importance of understanding customer behaviour.
When I first came to the market with my deras, I was focused on what I wanted to sell.
This time, I paid attention to what customers wanted to buy.
There is a big difference.
A business owner can have a good product, but if it doesn’t match the customer’s needs, timing, or budget, making a sale becomes difficult.
The market was teaching me about buying power.
The customers at Kanwa Market had a certain price range they were comfortable with. My first products were priced higher than what many shoppers were prepared to spend.
This time, I adjusted.
The clothes I carried sold mostly at KSh 50 each, while my daughter’s baby clothes sold at KSh 30 each.
The prices were different from what I had imagined when I started, but they matched the environment I was selling in.
That was a powerful lesson.
Pricing is not only about what you think your product is worth.
Pricing is also about understanding the person who is buying.
The same principle applies in customer service. Before offering a solution, you need to understand the customer’s situation.
A hotel guest, a front desk visitor, or a market shopper all have different expectations. Good service begins when we take time to understand the person in front of us.
This is something I reflected on during my visit to Lowlands Hotel & Spa, where I observed how small details in customer interactions can influence how people remember a business.
Whether someone is spending thousands of shillings at a hotel or a few coins at a market stall, the human need remains the same: people want to feel respected and valued.
Creating a Positive Customer Experience
Before this experience, I mainly thought about customer care in formal settings.
I thought about reception desks, hotels, offices, and businesses.
But Kanwa Market reminded me that customer service exists everywhere.
A customer experience begins before the purchase.
It begins with the greeting.
It begins with how someone feels when they approach you.
That day, I learned to welcome people without pressure.
I called out to some customers and invited them to look.
Some shook their heads and continued walking.
Some smiled but weren’t interested.
Some stopped and asked questions.
Some bought.
And every person received respect.
This reminded me of something important: a customer who does not buy today is not necessarily a lost customer forever.
The way you treat people matters.
Someone who walks away today may remember your kindness and return another day.
According to customer experience principles shared by resources such as HubSpot Customer Service Resources, strong customer relationships are built through communication, trust, and consistent positive interactions.
The market confirmed this lesson for me.
A smile is service.
A greeting is service.
Patience is service.
Even explaining a price politely is service.
Customer care is not only something companies with big offices do.
It is something every person selling anything can practice.
My Small Sales, My Big Lesson
By the time the afternoon was coming to an end, I looked at my display and realised something had changed.
I had made sales.
Not hundreds of thousands.
Not enough to transform my financial situation overnight.
But enough to prove something important.
I sold five baby items and four other clothing items.
My total sales came to KSh 350.
The county market fee took KSh 30.
As evening approached, I packed my remaining clothes.
My legs were tired.
My body wanted rest.
This time, I decided to take transport home. After negotiating, I paid KSh 50 for the ride.
As I travelled back, I thought about the day.
The money mattered.
But the lessons mattered more.
I had discovered that I could walk into a market, observe, adjust, communicate with customers, and make a sale.
That confidence was something money could not buy.
Selling at the Market Was More Than Selling Clothes
When I left home that morning, I thought I was going to sell unused clothes.
I came back having learned about:
- understanding customers,
- pricing products,
- managing expenses,
- choosing the right location,
- creating a positive customer experience,
- and having the courage to try again.
The market had become my classroom.
Every customer was a teacher.
Every question was a lesson.
Every sale was encouragement.
The biggest profit from that day was not KSh 350.
It was discovering that I could create opportunities even when circumstances were difficult.
Sometimes progress does not arrive as a big breakthrough.
Sometimes it arrives as a long walk, a small sale, and a new understanding of what is possible.
Final Reflection: Hope Is Built One Step at a Time
My journey to Kanwa reminded me that entrepreneurship is not only about money.
It is about resilience.
It is about paying attention.
It is about learning from what does not work and returning with a better strategy.
The first time I went to the market, I came home without a sale.
The second time, I came home with KSh 350.
But more importantly, I came home with experience.
The next time I walk into that market, I will not be the same person who stood there the first time.
I will carry my clothes.
I will carry my lessons.
And I will carry the hope that comes from knowing that sometimes, the smallest steps are the beginning of something bigger.
Your Turn
Have you ever had an experience where something that looked like failure became one of your greatest lessons?
What did that experience teach you?
Share your story in the comments.
If you enjoyed this Monday Field Notes reflection, you may also enjoy reading more stories on customer care, business lessons, and everyday experiences from Lobby Reflections.