Knowledge of the business, patience and diligence, makes a fine entrepreneur – Bimbo Kila, MD, Diamond Shine

In this exclusive interview with Emmanuel Akaolisa of The News Chronicle, Bimbo Kila, founder and MD of Diamond Shine, a commercial cleaning company, speaks about the company, the cleaning business, entrepreneurship and other issues

TNC: Good afternoon, we appreciate this shared time with you, we will like to know more about you, your company – Diamond Shine, what you do and how the journey has been thus far?

Bimbo: My name is Bimbo Kila, the founder and managing director of Diamond Shine; a commercial cleaning company that basically does industrial cleaning for commercial and domestic spaces. We also do contract cleaning for office spaces, which entails; hiring, training and assigning cleaners to jobs, where we monitor them and make sure they deliver based on our qualities and standards. We partly do pest control, which is like an add-on service we offer to our clients.
I started the business about 10 years ago (2012) after my NYSC with the allowance I saved up. I observed the gap and unawareness about the industry at the time, especially here in Abuja, people did not know that this could be a business, something that generates income, so I felt like I should saturate and fill the gap. We set out to setup a reputable cleaning company that will render quality cleaning service, with the aim of being the solution, creating the value and closing the gap.
I started the business small and by myself, made a lot of mistakes which made me stronger and also have better experience for general business operation. Since then, we have grown from just me to about 105 staff, servicing both privates and government organisations.

TNC: I must congratulate you on the journey so far, it is quite impressive. So is this something you studied in school or let me say something borne out of passion? And what is the inspiration behind the name Diamond Shine?
Bimbo: My background is in finance, I have a Bsc. in Banking and Finance, and MBA in Business Strategy, along with other professional and academic qualifications, the business is something that came along the way, closely related to passion and then purpose of being the solution, creating the value and closing the gap in the industry.
Diamond Shine as the name implies is literally something that is unique, bright and clear. It is related to what we do, we want our presence to be synonymous to something precious, catchy and shining. We want everywhere we are and are working to be glittering, so that is why we chose Diamond Shine.

TNC: You have had quite an experience, having been in the industry for about 10 years now, so you must have come across some challenges, just like every other business owner running business in a country as challenging as Nigeria. What are the peculiar challenges you have faced or face?
Bimbo: I would say so far so good, the business has grown and it gets better by the day in terms of operation and execution, however, we still tend to put a lot of effort in the management, recruitment and contracting. In this kind of business, you have to thread with caution because it involves managing both your employees and clients. It is challenging at times to identify and manage peoples’ character in terms of delivering what they should according to requirements, whether as employees or clients.

TNC: What is your relationship with your clients, how do you navigate through the task of customer service, you know it’s not easy to manage customers as the saying goes that customer is always right. So how has the management been?
Bimbo: We try as much as possible to deliver even beyond what is required by our clients. We maintain good customer relationships, have smooth clear communication and also offer exceptional aftersales services. We make sure they are happy and satisfied in general with our work, we also keep improving; excellence is our standard.

TNC: You made mention of your work force of over 100 people, which is highly commendable, especially for this industry. As a successful entrepreneur, do you think entrepreneurship is what anybody can do, or for just a select few? We hear the government “force” people to take up skills which seems like they are “absconding” from their obligations of providing jobs, so what is your take on that, and what is your advice to upcoming entrepreneurs?
Bimbo: I would not say entrepreneurship is for a select few, however I would also put a bit of my weight on the fact that it is not for everybody, reason being that It is not everyone that has the personality of an entrepreneur. Apart from the skills and training, if you don’t have the personality of an entrepreneur, you will struggle. I personally am not a routine person, so I would not be able to thrive with a 9 to 5 job because I don’t do too well with routine, I like to be flexible with my time and go above and beyond in my goals and objectives.

For those that are looking to start up, what I would say is to get the required skill necessary before venturing certain areas. One thing Nigerians fall victim of is not training before starting, we bump into things unplanned, it is not ideal for a prospective entrepreneur to go such route. There is skill part which will help you start up and then the training part which will help you operate, run and manage the business well. What stands 80% of entrepreneurs out is the knowledge they have for the business. Knowledge of the business, patience and diligence to watch the business grow and consistency makes a fine entrepreneur.

TNC: Thank you for that piece of advice. As we round up, where do you see Diamond Shine in few years to come, what is the growth trajectory you have for the company?
Bimbo: In Diamond Shine, we are steady with our operations but are looking at solidifying the brand. We are also looking at penetrating the market and taking lead in other areas like Lagos because we have successfully done that in Abuja. We want to be seen as the leader, the top, the example others look up to and one stop shop in the industry.
TNC: Thank you so much Bimbo Kila for the interactive and explosive time, it was nice speaking with you. Good day.

Subscribe to our newsletter for latest news and updates. You can disable anytime.