How travel consultant made Sh3 million at 20

By Lillian Kiarie

Kenya: Meshack Kimutai, 23, is the CEO of Mesh Group of Companies. He talks about his journey to his first million and his plans to build a travel empire.

At what age did you make your first million?

I was 20.

At that age, a lot of your peers were yet to receive a cheque in their names, so what made you different?

Three years ago, I was a student at Daystar University pursuing studies in tourism and hospitality management. I had also registered a tours and travel business, Seal Travel International Ltd, that to date deals with air ticketing, car hire, hotel bookings, tours, safaris and other holiday packages.

I put in a lot of work into networking and found a professional to market my services. It worked out and I started getting clients.

For a while, I offered my services and had to wait to receive payment. I would go to campus and then check my ATM after my classes to see if any money had been sent to my account. I was quickly getting frustrated by not seeing any changes in the balance, so I stopped checking for a few days.

One morning, I couldn’t take the suspense anymore and I went to my ATM. My account had in excess of Sh6 million!

I had finally received payment for a tour package I had offered a group of tourists from the UK, and for services to various other individuals. I was beyond excited — finally, my hard work was paying off.

I used the cash to pay off the services I had leased and hotels I had booked. I was left with Sh3 million in profit.

How did you spend the money?

I used it to expand my business, mainly the tours and safaris departments. This helped me grow my profits and enabled me start two other companies: Mesh Properties Ltd and Mesh Motors and Importers Ltd.

Wha tattracted you to the tours and travel business in the first place?

After many months of trying everything due to my interest in starting my own business, I decided to establish a tour firm and specialise in travel consultancy, which is what I was studying. Also, living in Mombasa where there is a lot of tourist activity helped give me the idea. I started Seal Travel International to deal with air travel, and Globe Tours that dealt with tours and safaris. I later merged Seal and Globe.

Do you have a mentor?

My mentor is my best friend and CEO of Myspace Properties, Mwenda Thuranira. He has been with me every step of the way in business.

I am also greatly inspired by Deputy President William Samoei Ruto, a man who started out selling peanuts in Eldoret and is now at the helm of leadership. He proves to me that with hard work and belief in yourself, anything is possible.

What do you consider the smartest decisions you have made in managing money?

Investing every coin I make. The appreciation in assets and growth of business from profits ploughed back is more productive than saving. However, this can get risky, especially when you require large amounts of cash for emergencies.

And what are the mistakes you have made in money management?

Having multiple loans — it becomes difficult to manage them all. Dealing with loan repayments and mortgages from several banks leads to emotional torture every end of the month.

How are you able to keep your private life separate from business?

By having boundaries. I have time for business and my private life; I don’t mix the two. I also don’t respond to rumours on my private life as 80 per cent of my time is spent on building my business.

What are your future plans?

I intend to establish a business empire. I already have three companies and have started trade expos in Mombasa and Eldoret.

I also plan to launch the publication Safari Tamu, a travel magazine, by November this year.

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