How I built a business using old networks

Not many people who harbour dreams of building their own businesses would think to work for a small company. The conventional belief is that a large corporation provides more opportunities to acquire knowledge, skills and networks that one could transfer to a start-up.

But as Paul Amos Mwangi came to realise, the common belief isn’t always right. After he completed his diploma in marketing, he tried to run his own business, selling property in Thika town. It didn’t work out, and he was forced to look for a job. He got one with a small real estate firm. His dream, however, had been to work for a large enterprise that would afford him a fat salary, a company car and brushes with the high and mighty.

Instead, his employer could only afford to pay him Sh5,000 a month. While this was back in 2003, the money still wasn’t enough for him to rent a house in Nairobi and afford a decent lifestyle.

“I also had to work very hard to justify my pay due to the small workforce the company had. Whatever you did was visible to the management. If you were lazy, for instance, you’d be exposed. So to protect my job, I had to deliver,” says Paul.

He attributes his present success to this difficult beginning. His salary forced him to keep his eyes open to opportunities that would help him survive. As a result, Paul, who’s now 37, founded Sunland Real Estates without much capital, and has turned it into a company that’s creating jobs.

“When you’re working for a small establishment, you’re required to account for everything that you do. To succeed, you have to take charge of your work and do it thoroughly. In larger organisations, it’s easier for people to avoid responsibilities without being noticed simply because of the high number of employees,” says Paul.

Competitive field

While at his first job as a salesman, to make ends meet, he utilised every chance he got to earn extra cash. So, for instance, when the company would allocate him money to employ casuals to erect sales signposts along highways, he’d instead do the work himself.

And because he was in a competitive field and money mattered so much, he knew he had to work hard to win the trust of his clients to improve his commissions.

“Marketing is a very challenging job that requires a lot of goodwill from a client, which one has to cultivate first. Sustaining it is a whole other ball game, and demands the integrity of the person selling the product.”

Paul did well with his first employer, and then moved to another company for greener pastures. Already used to looking for side hustles, while at this second firm, he diversified into the transport business to supplement his income.

He started with a taxi, moved into car hire and eventually saved enough to buy a 14-seater matatu. But despite transport working out for him, Paul wanted to be part of an industry he’d invested years in, so he established Sunland Real Estate and rode on the networks he’d built along the way to take on more established players.

“Today, my company competes with big enterprises in the real estate business. Social media is one area that has really advanced my business. We use Facebook and Twitter to advertise. Opportunities are everywhere, but it’s all about your attitude,” Paul says.

He plans to keep growing his company and impact the community around him, which he’s started to do through a corporate social responsibility programme that helps the less privileged in Thika, as well as an annual thanksgiving ceremony in church.