A popular Nairobi beauty and wellness studio shut its doors after its founder discovered staff were diverting customer payments, a reversal that left the owner financially and emotionally devastated and underlines an under-reported threat facing small businesses.
From launch to closure in 13 months
The business, Waxaholic Studio, was opened on 1 September 2024. The founder, a Kenyan food content creator known as That Girl Boina, expanded quickly to employ a receptionist and two specialists. After an initially profitable spell, revenue began to decline in early 2025.
While she initially attributed the downturn to seasonality, a single message from a customer while the owner was abroad exposed a deeper problem: clients had been instructed to send money to a different phone number than the one displayed at the studio. Faced with the evidence, the proprietor decided to close rather than confront staff; Waxaholic Studio ceased trading in October 2025.
"If I am not making money and I am willing to wait and see where this goes and you guys are not giving me the same energy, then why are we still open?"
Small business vulnerabilities
The case illustrates a number of familiar risks for small enterprises that scale quickly on limited governance structures. Key vulnerabilities include:
- Dependence on trust — rapid expansion without robust controls can leave owners exposed.
- Limited oversight — delegation of front-line payments to staff increases opportunities for diversion.
- Information gaps — owners who are away or otherwise detached from daily operations may miss signals of declining receipts.
The founder recalled the emotional toll of the closure: she sold some equipment, took other items home and described it as the worst feeling she had experienced. She remembered crying silently with a friend at a restaurant.
Consequences beyond the ledger
While the immediate impact was financial — the studio stopped making a profit and was put up for sale with no buyer emerging — the consequences extended beyond lost revenue. The owner described losing not just an income stream but a project she had built to secure her future. Three employees who had depended on the business were also affected.
The founder initially hesitated to close and considered confronting staff, but opted instead to wind down operations, sell some assets and remove decorations and equipment from the premises. The studio’s abrupt end underscores how internal fraud can swiftly undermine enterprises that lack formal controls, especially in service sectors where cash and mobile payments are common.
| Key date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 Sep 2024 | Waxaholic Studio opened |
| Early 2025 | Revenue began to fall |
| During a two-week holiday (2025) | Customer alerted owner about diverted payments |
| October 2025 | Studio closed |
For policymakers and support organisations that promote entrepreneurship, the episode raises questions about the availability of practical guidance and affordable controls for micro and small firms. Owners who are founders and content creators by trade may have little experience of payroll, reconciliations or reconciled payment systems; when trust is exploited, the results can be terminal for the business.
For established small businesses, modest measures can reduce risk: basic reconciliation of takings, centralised payment instructions, simple logs of transactions and periodic audits — even informal ones — can detect anomalies early. The story of Waxaholic Studio also demonstrates the reputational fragility of small firms: a single customer message made public the divergence in payment flows and precipitated the owner’s decision to close.
Ultimately, the case is a cautionary tale about the limits of reliance on informal arrangements in small enterprises. Rapid growth and early profit can mask operational weaknesses; when those weaknesses are exploited, recovery is often difficult, both financially and personally.
