For your money to grow, be sharp, smart, savvy at networking

Njoki Karuoya

Hard work. Work hard. These two phrases are used so often that the general imagery invoked is of someone burning the midnight oil struggling to succeed. Yet, as I learnt last week Friday night at Hilton Hotel during the launch of Hot Tables, success in business is often a result of networking and making the contacts work for you.

I am one of those people who grew up believing that the only way to get ahead is to work more and sleep less. It is a culture I acquired right from primary school, where teachers impressed upon our little minds that the only way to excel in life is by excelling in academics, and so we punished our little bodies and forced our minds to get used to the idea of spending less than six hours in bed.

Connections

We were also told that people who failed in academics also failed in life. So I was rather surprised to meet with former students who consistently had lain in the bottom pack of class to be doing so well — earning big bucks, driving big cars and leading lavish lifestyles.

That threw me back and I tried to figure out what I had done wrong? Where had I miscalculated? Then I learnt the big word in matters business — connections. This is what networking is all about, but in order to make it work for you, it must be clear in your head what you want.

This is one of the most important tips I gathered at the Hot Tables session. I met women who started their businesses years ago from rock bottom but are now swimming in money. There were also women just starting out but you could smell the hunger in them — dressed smart and armed with business cards and sweet smiles. These are the women who succeed in their ventures, and it is a trait that every woman should acquire.

Frankly, it is difficult for a woman to say she is truly independent unless she’s got money in her pocket, and the only way she can get it if she is sharp, smart and business savvy.

To get there, a woman must be equipped with information, after which she must find a way to make the information work for you.

At the Hot Tables, businesswomen and corporate executives sat with senior representatives of Brand Kenya, Nairobi City Council, Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Labour, the Gender Commission, Japan International Cooperation Agency, BPO and co-operatives among others.

The theme of the night being ‘market outlets and access for women entrepreneurs in Kenya’, participants put the representatives to task and got answers that will help them get ahead in their businesses.

Knowledge and skills

The highlight of the evening was, of course, the speech by Gender Minister Esther Murugi who gave fresh insights to the women to use.

Her most exciting news was an agro-processing deal with Comesa (details of which I will reveal later) that gives Kenya’s women entrepreneurs a huge advantage if only they can get their act together and submit powerful proposals.

"Many women lose out because they don’t know how to write proposals that can convince financial institutions to support their projects and fund them," she said, urging those with the technical know-how to teach other women this skill.

"Women work so hard providing cheap labour yet they don’t enjoy good returns," the minister continued. "We must start looking at value addition and devise ways to package our products, goods and services for better, sustained returns."

The Hot Tables proved to be a great networking platform for women entrepreneurs and Gender Agenda plans to work closely with the organisations, ILO’s Wedge programme, to take the forums on tour around the country to empower more women with knowledge and skills.

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