King Kaka: The ultimate guide to finding your selling point

King Kaka, an award-winning musician and entrepreneur

In Summary

  • Emphasise on what makes you unique
  • Have a selling point

NAIROBI, KENYA: I wanted to be Mandela so badly because he was a leader; I wanted to be Chiwawa because he inspired me; I wanted to be Abbas because he was a good rapper and an entertainer; I wanted to be Chris Kirubi because he was a businessman.

But in the midst of all that I wanted to be, I had a saying at the back of my head: ‘Don’t forget to be yourself’. In my teenage years, I either really wanted a way out of the ghetto, or I was simply confused about what I wanted to become.

One afternoon, I went into Mrs Mbero’s office, she was my favourite teacher, my art teacher. We used to have these ‘life’ sessions. She asked me what I wanted to be after school, and honestly, I couldn’t come up with an answer.

I told her I’d take whatever life had in store for me. I had a gift and a curse – I still do. I was multi-talented: I could paint, I was good in sciences, I was a ‘school businessman’, a good soccer player ... I’m sure even you would be confused.

The money dance

I don’t know what happened after school, but suddenly, I could dance. Yes King Kaka was once a dancer – plus it served as a way to make ends meet and gave me a chance to help my mother with the meals at home.

Around that time, lottery firm Toto 6/49 had just arrived in town and was doing activations around the country. I was selected to be a dancer. You see those roadshow trucks that are driven around major towns playing current hit songs at full volume, with dancers on board and an announcer? I was one of the dancers.

But every morning while going to ‘work’, I’d ask myself what my purpose was. I kept looking for new ways to exploit my talent and find answers.

Before I knew it, I was a finalist on a KTN show called Baseline, competing against the famous dancer, Boneless. To cut a long story short, let’s just say I lost that day. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom; secretly, I was writing poetry. I loved writing and wanted to be like my brother Dennis, aka Nutcase, who was a rapper. I told him of my studio intentions, and the one thing he asked me was: “What are you bringing to the table?”

It was an important question. After all, music is showbiz, and showbiz means show business.

It’s the main question you need to answer if you’re planning to introduce a new product: “What’s your selling point?”

We choose to go to a certain hotel because the food is prepared differently or we were referred there by a friend; we buy certain shoes because they are comfortable or they are the new trend; we fly certain airlines because they have good service; we prefer one artiste over another because he or she has an element that others don’t have. That’s the selling point.

Read between the lines

Back then, I didn’t fully understand what my brother was asking, but one evening while watching TV, an Omo ad came on. It had the hook: “Omo with Power Foam gives you the results that you need”.

But the ad bore an uncanny similarity to an Ariel one that said the washing powder had micro-cleaning boosters that enable you to get quick results.

So I took my pen and paper and listed the companies that sell similar products, from phone companies and TV stations to hotels. What I noticed is that all of them had a selling point. It got me thinking – what would be the wow factor for Kaka Sungura?

Poetry was a field that was not touched then, and neither was story telling. I decided that would be my selling point as an artiste.

When I released Dodoma, featuring Harry Kimani, I got good reception, with most people dazzled by the storytelling. I decided to invest more in that.

I then introduced the song, Swahili Shakespeare, and it caught the attention of the industry. The song was on Beat of the Week, and the daughter of a prominent minister asked me to perform that single at her birthday party. The fans who commented on my pages pointed out how different my art was.

So, why is this story important?

Since I am a Jack of all trades, I have learnt to apply the formula of a selling point in all my businesses.

It started with my music and I saw it work, so I applied it to my clothing company, water business, with Kaka Empire, and basically, with my brand.

How do I make sure the client comes back?

I emphasise what makes us unique. I have established a number of companies and I have given business advice to so many people, and the one question I must always ask is: “What is your selling point?”

The writer is an award-winning musician and entrepreneur.