Finding a niche that can be filled with a great service or product is key to building a successful business, and in the case of Patience Maame Mensah and her company, Indulgence, she has definitely found that niche. She has recognised that busy people with busy lives need a range of home and personal support services to help them to cope with the inevitable stresses and strains that occur. Patience is an MBA Alumni of the Universita' Cattolica Del Sacro Cuore - ALTIS Graduate School of Business and Society in Milan (Italy).
LoA spoke to Indulgence founder, Patience Maame Mensah, about her inspiration, her ambitions and aspirations for her company, and her love of solving life’s challenges.
What does your company do?
My company, Indulgence, is an all inclusive home management and maintenance agency that supports home care delivery such as nanny services and aged care, plus personal grooming and relaxation therapies, all provided in the comfort of your home.
"People need to find the time to relax in order to be more productive, and they need to de-stress in order to refresh their minds. I decided to solve this challenge and this obvious need by providing professional home management and maintenance services to busy households and individuals."
What inspired you to start your company?
As a working class young woman and a student, most of my weekends were always busy with work or school, so cleaning up my home became a problem. As a result, sometimes there was simply no time to visit the salon. I realised that there were not only lots of people just like me in this stressful situation, but also that most families and expatriates were also facing the same problems. People needed to find the time to relax in order to be more productive, and they needed to de-stress in order to refresh their minds. As a result, Idecided to solve this challenge and this obvious need by providing professional home management and maintenance services to busy households and individuals.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
My services are unique because I am offering three different services through my company. This means that people don’t have to worry about sourcing each of these services from different places. I wouldn't say my services cost less than my competitors, because I want to deliver top of the shelf services to my customers.
Tell us a little about your team
I have a great team which is made up of administrative staff, cleaners, gardeners, chefs, chauffeurs, handy men, nurses and midwives (for nanny and aged care) beauticians and masseuses for personal grooming and relaxation therapies.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
My mum resigned from her job to start her own bakery and I remember asking her why she had decided to do this, when I was still young, and she said "If you really want to do something and do it right, you should own it, treat and nurse it as you want it to become because there wouldn't be any limitations".
#EntrepreneurAdvice: ".... just go out there, identify the challenge, and look for ways to solve it." Patience Mensah, founder of Indulgence
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
In the near future if everything goes well, then my company Indulgence will be a household name with an outdoor health spa and a facility centre that will accommodate the aged and which will take care of them, since there are no such homes in Ghana currently.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
I love solving problems. I hate to see people complaining about a challenge that can easily be solved.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
You don't need huge capital to start something - just go out there, identify the challenge, and look for ways to solve it. Tell yourself you can do it, and tell God you want to help solve a need, and then just do it with passion. It will be successful someday.
Contact or follow Indulgence
FACEBOOK | EMAIL maameakuam@gmail.com
Why LoA loves it….
One of the keys to finding entrepreneurial success is to find a gap in the market that can be filled with a particular new business idea or approach, which is exactly what Patience Maame Mensah did with her company, Indulgence. She took a challenge for many busy people in her country and turned it into a business opportunity, and one that addresses real needs. Her passion for making a difference in people’s lives, is also turning that passion into a successful business venture. --- Melanie Hawken, founder and editor-in-chief of Lionesses of Africa