Teach employees to treat company money as their own

Clare Mungai Kiplangat, 38, owner of M2M Systems, shares her story about starting a business in the Cloud computing space that is constantly evolving, and keeping it alive while raising a family

My background

I worked in supply chain for many years. After completing my Masters in Strategic Management at Alliant International University of San Diego, California in the US, I worked in Microsoft in Seattle, Washington as a supply chain analyst from 2007-2008.

I then moved to Kenya in 2008 where I continued to work for Microsoft first as an Accounts Receivable Manager (2008-2011), and after as a Procurement Manager (2011-2013).

The idea

While employed, I interacted with various companies and noticed that most of the vendors we engaged were not conversant with Cloud business adoption.

Indeed, most businesses back in 2014 were not digitised. The more I interacted with the vendors, I saw there was actually a niche in Kenya on Cloud adoption in the SME space.

What happened next

The year 2013 found me in need of change. I was married and starting my family and I knew I needed something new. So, in December of 2013, I decided to be bold.

I left employment and ventured out to become a Microsoft Partner to provide Microsoft Cloud solutions. In 2014, I began M2M Systems Limited.

M2M Systems is a Microsoft Partner specialising in Office 365 Migrations, Azure and Kaizala. We help our customers get the best out of their Microsoft licences. In layman’s terms, we help our clients digitise their business.

We provide everything from work e-mails, to creating domains, to providing cloud storage, to business intelligence. Cloud computing, for example, has enabled companies continue operating seamlessly throughout the unprecedented Covid-19 crisis that could have easily brought business processes and productivity to a halt.

This is because employees are easily able to work from the comfort of their homes as they are able to access company documents and servers. Our clients include banks, manufacturing companies, law firms, schools, research institutes, and non-profit organisations in Kenya, Somalia, Rwanda and Uganda.

Running a start up

I am in an industry that is constantly evolving, what is in today is out tomorrow, so I have to constantly be on my toes watching for new developments because, as things change, so do my clients’ needs. We were forced to learn this early on in the business.

Once in, I quickly realised the solutions we started selling were starting to age and, as a result, the profit margins were getting squeezed. We therefore now make a conscious effort to always know where our solutions are in their life cycles to maximise profitability. We also had to be innovative in building a stream of new products that are profitable.

Secondly, when the business began, balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship was a big challenge. I had two different babies that needed constant attention and nurturing.

As my business has grown and my family life has expanded, I have come to learn that to remain sane, I have to take care of myself so that I can be both a great boss as well as a good mother and a wife.

Where I am now

As of today, we are a digital empowerment house; that drives growth and success for customers. We are moving from the traditional methods of companies building rack solutions instead we customise solutions for our customers.

Also, we are shifting innovation from a traditional development house to a digitally enabled user. This is particularly relevant in this COVID era where employees are now working from home.

My tips

Teach employees to treat company money as their own. Your employees will understand and, believe me, they will be happier to get a chunk of saved money in a yearly bonus instead of staying in expensive hotels or travelling business class.

Additionally, if you are thinking about getting into business do not fear that there are no opportunities, the opportunities are many, the cake is big enough for everyone to have a slice. However, do your research on what you want to specialise in.

Lastly, remember that success has something to do with passion, generosity and most importantly innovation and curiosity.?