How a relentless hustler in Kenya can build a billion-shilling empire

A grocery business in Nairobi West on Sunday, April 05 2020. The ongoing countrywide COVID-19 curfew has rendered scores jobless with most businesses shutting down owing to hard economic times.[David Njaaga, Standard]

Every morning, Kenya reveals itself as a nation quietly forging its own empires.

A boda boda rider in Kiambu navigates through traffic with surgical precision. In the Silicon Savannah, a young coder transforms simple scripts into genuine income.

At Soko Mjinga, a mama mboga spreads out her vegetables like a stockbroker strategising a merger. Meanwhile, a clothing line designer in Nairobi brings creativity to designs that defy fashion houses in the world, placing local designs on the global runway.

Every day, workers are shaping lives that once seemed unattainable.

 This week’s signal

The Kenyan hustlers are demonstrating that wealth creation can be an inclusive endeavour.

This is by ensuring that the people you bring close to you should not weaken your vision but uplift it. Insist on compliance at an early stage since culture solidifies swiftly. Human Resources is not an expenditure; it is the source of expansion.

Find talent, develop, and create frameworks that keep your business operating even in your absence. The blueprint is the 3Ps: People-hire the best to lead the rest, Product-build great products that don’t chase trends and Process-make it repeatable, valuable and adaptable.

Most of the empires in the world started as small ventures.

McDonald‘s began as a small burger booth. Starbucks started as a single coffeehouse in Seattle. Amazon was a giant before Jeff Bezos filled its floor with books.

Dangote used to transport ordinary commodities way before establishing the most powerful industries in Africa. The same thing is happening in Kenya. Sustainable fashion designers are transforming textile waste and mitumba into high-value products, and they send them back to the countries of origin, such as the United Kingdom and the US.

Toilet operators in large towns are establishing sound urban hygiene enterprises.

Waste collectors are converting cabbage and organic garbage into revenue. Phone repair businesses are being franchised.

The owners of Kinyozi are developing their own grooming brands and making their own hair products. A Kiosk is turning into an online store and B2B. Electric boda riders are establishing charging hubs. There is a story told of an experienced hunter in Embo-Kuma, Kasisit, Baringo County chose to go in search of a herd of hartebees with a close friend.

He had taken three months of his life to teach him how to read tracks, how to know the bush, how the animals reasoned, how to hold a bow and arrow in a disciplined fashion, before they went away. In it all, he was repeating the same warning: always remember to respect the Hartebeest. When at last the moment came, the boy spotted a wild goat and, in his excitement, released the arrow too soon.

The goat made sharp screams that sent the whole village into panic. The Hartebeest herd broke into a stampede, hyenas charged forward, and at one point, the earth seemed to shake with the type of noise that could have easily killed him.

The old hunter shouted to him to follow behind and pulled him out of the way.

What it means for business

Like hunting, a business requires discipline. Like the hunter, a hustler has to study, train, and wait to strike. Shortcuts derail empires. Find the best opportunity, develop your team and establish standards from the start.

A hustler should have a fixed salary and should never consider business money as personal money. After three years of business stability, only withdraw 25 per cent of profits. 

When a relative requests a mchango (contribution), say it plainly: you, personally, do not have money. The money is owned by the business. These values reflect the ancient Moses law of care of possessions, separation, and restraint.

What it means for people

The field and fortunes in business are saved by communication and mentorship. It was the experienced hunter‘s guidance that enabled the rookie to survive. Train your people and ensure each member understands the mission.

Jesus offers a learning lesson on team building. He chose 72 talented people with different job descriptions, including Mark, who recorded eyewitness testimonies, and 12 additional people for an inner management team that shaped culture, values, and leadership.

This demonstrates the necessity of the two tiers of any organisation: a broad and effective workforce and a small, targeted leadership team.

Growing a company or a country is challenging at first, especially the taxing period before takeoff. The stress at this point is not failure, but that you are getting close to winning.

Devote to the Lord whatever you will do, and he will determine your plans. Proverbs 16:3

Afterthought

The article emphasises staying focused and building a team that respects processes and systems. „Decisions are made on the radar screen, but the future is yours.“