What does it actually take to walk away from a stable government job, twice, for a creative career nobody around you fully believes in?

Neema is a model, content creator, and the owner of Flora by Florence, a Nairobi boutique. But before any of that, she was sitting in a government office feeling something in her go quiet. This episode traces the messy, honest path out: a spa that failed on location, a modeling side hustle that grew from 5,000 shillings a gig to a real income in a matter of months, and a mother who insisted her daughter open her own store.

Neema loves the creative work. It is the thing that makes her feel alive. But she also knows modeling has an expiry date, and the business that lasts is the one she has to choose to focus on, even when it is the less fun option.

This is a conversation about choosing yourself, pricing your worth, and the quiet cost of giving everything to work. If you have ever wondered whether the leap is worth it, listen in.

Disclaimer This episode includes personal reflections on money, business decisions, and income. It is shared for context and storytelling and is not financial or business advice.

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After losing her job while seven months pregnant, Angel Nderitu entered motherhood carrying uncertainty about her finances, her future, and what came next. When her breast milk supply changed unexpectedly after giving birth during the COVID-19 pandemic, she began searching for answers through nutrition, traditional foods, herbs, and lactation support.

That personal experience eventually became LactaMama, a Kenyan maternal wellness company supporting mothers through breastfeeding nutrition, education, lactation support, and compassionate postpartum care.

In this episode of So, How’s Business?, Alma Mabachi speaks with Angel about the realities of breastfeeding, building a business while raising young children, and navigating the pressure many women face to succeed professionally while caring for everyone around them.

Angel shares practical insights on nutrition, hydration, rest, maternal wellbeing, and accessible foods that mothers may already have in their kitchens. She also discusses building a women-led team, managing the rising costs of manufacturing, asking for help, and learning to give herself more grace.

This is not only a conversation about breast milk supply. It is about motherhood, ambition, identity, community, and what happens when women are expected to recover, achieve, care for others, and make it all look effortless.

Because when a child is born, a mother is born too.

Shamim Quresh is the founder of Koro Gaia, an African skincare brand built around African botanicals and research for melanated skin. She talks about the realities of manufacturing in Kenya, including 60 to 70% tax on imported inputs, what happened when funding stopped and she shut the business down in 2023, and how third-party manufacturing helped her generate income while rebuilding. She also shares why founders need to ask more questions, even when they feel like “dumb” questions, and her vision for African beauty.