By Mercy Okoth
CONSITENCY
People often ask me, "Mercy, how are you building Dream Crest Limited?"
I usually smile because the answer isn't what most people expect.
Dream Crest didn't begin with a strategic business plan or a vision of becoming a business consultant. It began with a simple dream, a passion for baking, and the courage to start.
Ten years ago, if someone had told me that I would one day be training entrepreneurs, mentoring business owners, speaking at conferences, serving on advisory boards, and pursuing a PhD in Business Administration, I would probably have laughed. That wasn't the path I had imagined for myself.
My dream was much simpler.
I wanted to build a successful celebration cake bakery.
That dream became Dream N Have Bakers.
Like many entrepreneurs, I believed that having a great product would naturally attract customers. I poured my heart into every cake I baked, ensuring each one tasted great. Seeing families celebrate with something I had created brought me immense joy.
But entrepreneurship quickly taught me that passion alone is not enough.
There were weeks when orders came in one after another, and I felt like everything was finally falling into place. Then there were weeks when my phone barely rang. I remember checking my WhatsApp Business account repeatedly, hoping another customer would place an order. Sometimes one did. Sometimes none came. Those quiet days tested me.
I questioned myself more times than I can count. Was I good enough? Were my prices wrong? Was I marketing in the right way? Should I continue or look for something more secure? Looking back, I realise those moments were shaping me far more than the busy seasons ever could.
Every customer taught me something.
The customers who returned reminded me that quality and excellent service build loyalty. The customers who never came back challenged me to improve. Even complaints became opportunities to understand my business better. Slowly, I realised I wasn't simply baking cakes, I was learning entrepreneurship one customer at a time.
Without knowing it, Dream N Have Bakers had become my first business school.
Every challenge pushed me to find answers. I began reading books on marketing, customer service, branding, and leadership, I sought for mentorship session from people who had gone ahead of me. At the same time, I was advancing my academic journey, studying concepts that suddenly felt incredibly practical because I was living them every day.
The classroom gave me theories. My business gave those theories life.
When I learned about customer relationship management, I could immediately relate it to the customers who kept coming back because they felt valued. When I studied marketing, I understood why some promotions attracted orders while others produced little response. Leadership was no longer just a topic in a textbook, it became the daily responsibility of inspiring people, making difficult decisions, and remaining hopeful even when circumstances were uncertain.
For the first time, education and entrepreneurship were no longer separate worlds.
They complemented each other beautifully.
The classroom explained the "why."
The bakery revealed the "how."
It was during this journey that I discovered something even more valuable than marketing strategies or business models.
I discovered the power of consistency.
There were countless days when I didn't feel like posting on social media because engagement was low. Yet I posted anyway.There were days when following up with customers felt unnecessary because I assumed they would remember me. I followed up anyway.There were moments when rejection made me question whether my business was growing at all. Instead of giving up, I chose to learn, adjust, and continue.
At the time, these actions felt ordinary.
Today, I know they were extraordinary because they were repeated consistently.
Over the years, something unexpected began to happen. Entrepreneurs started approaching me with questions. They wanted to know how I had built my brand, how I attracted customers, how I handled difficult seasons, and how I remained hopeful when business was slow. Initially, I simply shared my experiences. I wasn't trying to become a consultant or trainer. I was simply telling my story.
The more I shared, the more I realised that my experiences could help someone else avoid the mistakes I had made. The lessons I had learned through years of trial, error, education, and perseverance could shorten another entrepreneur's journey.
That realisation gave birth to Dream Crest Limited. Dream Crest was never about starting another business. It was about creating a platform where practical business experience could meet academic knowledge to help entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses.
Everything I teach today has roots in lived experience.
When I speak about customer experience, I remember serving my own customers.When I train on branding, I remember building Dream N Have Bakers one satisfied customer at a time.When I facilitate sessions on business growth, I remember the seasons when growth felt almost invisible.When I teach leadership, I remember the difficult decisions that every entrepreneur eventually has to make.
My classroom is no longer confined to university lecture halls.It includes boardrooms, bakeries, training rooms, networking events, and every entrepreneur willing to learn.Even now, as I pursue my PhD, I remain convinced that learning never ends.
Research continues to expand my thinking, but entrepreneurship continues to keep me grounded. Every entrepreneur I coach teaches me something new. Every business challenge reminds me that there is always another lesson waiting to be discovered.
More recently, this same principle of consistency has influenced another important area of my life, my health.
Like many entrepreneurs, I became so focused on building businesses and serving others that I neglected my own wellbeing. I eventually realised that I could not sustainably pour into others if I was running on empty.
Rather than searching for quick results, I am currently committed myself to small, consistent habits. I have been walking regularly and exercising but this time round have decided to take it a notch higher, making healthier food choices, and becoming more intentional about my wellbeing.
The results are not immediate, every single step counts, every single meal is a testament.
But then, the most meaningful transformations rarely are.
Just as Dream N Have Bakers was not built in a month, and Dream Crest Limited was not built in a year, my health journey is also reminding me that lasting change happens through small decisions repeated faithfully over time.
Today, when people see Dream Crest Limited, they often see the training programmes, partnerships, entrepreneur communities, and business impact.
I see something different.
I see thousands of ordinary moments that most people would never notice.
I see every cake baked with care.
Every customer served with excellence.
Every late night spent studying.
Every proposal written.
Every training delivered.
Every rejection that became a lesson instead of an excuse to quit.
Those moments may not seem significant on their own, but together they tell the story of consistency.
If my journey has taught me anything, it is that success is rarely created by one defining moment. It is created by choosing to show up again and again, especially on the days when no one is applauding and progress feels invisible.
Dream N Have Bakers taught me how to build a business. Education taught me why businesses succeed. Dream Crest Limited became the bridge that connects those two worlds. And consistency has been the thread woven through every chapter of that journey.
If you are building a dream today, remember this: you do not need to have everything figured out. You do not need perfect timing, unlimited resources, or every answer.
You simply need the courage to begin and the discipline to keep showing up. One day, people will celebrate what looks like overnight success. Only you will know it was built through years of quiet, consistent effort.
Success isn't built in a day. It is built daily, one consistent step at a time.
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