It is wiser to learn the ropes when the business is small. Some mistakes can be devastating when committed in a large investment...simply put the more the cash invested, the more painful a fall can be.

Act like a startup

I had a dream: my real estate company with a massive but fancy premise overlooking the city in the sun. Then I wanted a big office for myself as the owner of the business. A big competent team that does the work for me, obviously I’d be their CEO. And that very cute secretary who prepares documents and does the office work for me. Then I’d be signing cheques and other serious docs like transfers, consents application and sales agreement from Monday to Friday. Then I’d have a very fat wallet which whenever I’d sit on would compensate for my short frame. On Friday evening I’d call my dear wife and sometimes kids, then we fly to wherever and enjoy our weekend as we thank ourselves for the good and hard work already done. Life would definitely be very sweet and I’d enjoy every bit of it.

That was a wonderful dream back then when I wanted to start my business. That was until I realized the reality is so different especially now that my wallet decided not to co-operate and be supportive of my good dream. I actually almost thought it has some holes. In fact that time the wallet was essentially my company's life-blood. I was the business owner; no doubt. I would have liked to recruit that competent team to work for me but for my startup business but I ended up being the Owner, CEO, errands boy, Secretary and the man on the ground all rolled into one. At the end of each day I’d be one very tired man.

I learned the hard way how to be frugal; every coin that passed through my hands had to be accounted for. I had to triple check every expense against the income. Overheads had to be maintained at the minimum. I even settled for a 10ft by 10ft office just to ensure that I paid the least rent. I read books and captured very crucial principles like cash flow being king for any business.

I used to have plans and counter plans until it dawned on me that I could plan no more and there is nothing like perfect plans. No business book or business plan can predict the future or fully prepare you to become a successful entrepreneur. There is no perfect road or one less traveled. But I made sure that I never jumped right into my new business without any thought or planning.

Again, I convinced myself that it was not worth it to spend months or years waiting to execute a simple plan. My mentor advised me that for me to become a well-rounded entrepreneur there was need to be tested under fire. The most important thing I could do is learn from any mistake I’d make; after all who never makes mistakes—but never make the same mistake twice.

Mine was a classic case of going through the refiner’s fire; the way they purify gold and silver. The end product is definitely worth it. I could be somewhere midway my dream and someday all will come to pass. At least am no longer confined to the 10ft by 10ft and I have a team (albeit small) that works for me. I never pretended that my business was at one point a startup and I was never ashamed of doing all it took to grow. By the way, I used to sell plots without owning a car. It is no mean feat to take clients to sites using their own cars. As they say, image is everything but God shone his light on me and I have seen His mighty Hand guide me and watch over me.

Several BIG lessons for starters:
1. Practice frugality; actually perfect the art of being frugal.

2. Watch every shilling and triple-check every expense

3. Maintain a low overhead and

4. Manage your cash flow effectively.

Next we shall talk about guys who eventually become victims of their own crap or is it bullcrap?

got it

Don't fall victim to your own Bullcrap

I am sure you have met those people who are all talk and no action. People with big plans but that always amount to building castles in the air. Dreaming grandiose dreams with no further actions.

Impress with actions not conversations. Endorse your business enthusiastically, yet tastefully. Avoid exaggerating truths and touting far reaching goals as certainties. In short, put up or shut up.

Felix Dennis once said “Once you believe that you are infallible, that success will automatically lead to more success, and that you have "got it made," reality will be sure to give you a rude wake-up call. Believing your own bullshit is always a perilous activity, but never more fatal than for the owner of a start-up venture.”

Quality, the guiding principle

I respect Steve Jobs (RIP) for one major reason. He was so focused on product excellence as opposed to making money. He obviously made huge bucks in the end. It is extremely important in business to jealously protect the quality of your product or service and to always strive to improve it. What will you ever be known for if not for your quality product or service. Sunny Bindra once said and I totally concur with him that refined buyers spend a fortune looking for speciality coffees, rare wines, and advisors who offer a very personalized service. I know like men will stick to a specific kinyozi for ages due to quality. I used to have one when I was staying in shags and you can imagine I only used to shave on those weekends that I found myself in shags till I identified one in town.

Know when to call it quits

Contrary to popular belief, a smart captain does not go down with the ship. Don't go on a fool's errand for the sake of ego. Know when it's time to walk away. If your idea doesn't pan out, reflect on what went wrong and the mistakes that were made. Assess what you would have done differently. Determine how you will utilize these hard-learned lessons to better yourself and your future entrepreneurial endeavors. Failure is inevitable, but a true entrepreneur will prevail over adversity

This brings us to end of the lessons for startups. I hope somebody somewhere learnt something. More financial education on the way.

is it just me or has somebody else noticed that Mwalimu's writing style has changed??

Nope!! The simplicity and delivery is still the same to me.

Ditto.At times ruthlessness is desirable.

@Marty
Thanks for the advice we have freely received. Now that you are in the real estate business, would also appreciate some advise on mortgages

Mwalimu is back after some break.
We shall talk about some interesting
business opportunities he has been
seeing around. Kenya has serious
opportunities by the way.

Can't wait to read about the serious opportunities Kenya has @Mwalimu Marty could the Lappset or Isiolo resort city be part of those serious opportunities?

Keep them coming bro

Opportunities in Real estate

Real estate opportunities are visible all over. Turn around where you are sitting, open you bright eyes and you’ll most likely see one. After all, real estate experts will confirm to you that housing units developed annually in Kenya average approximately 30,000 units and this is way below the demand of around 150,000 units. So, just go ahead and cater for the deficit. The other day we had a chat with a buddy of mine and we concluded that there is so much for all of us; we cannot exhaust opportunities in housing people.

How about speculators? Obviously when you hear rumours about some upcoming road, it is time to move on. Just a few upcoming roads you may have heard about:
1. Greater Eastern bypass ….it is past design stage so it is just a matter of sourcing funds and starting the project. I have not enquired from that KURA guy on the latest.
2. LAPPSET corridor. Need I say more…Lamu, Isiolo, Meru and many other areas.
3. There is this road from Ngong to Mai Mahiu via Suswa. Sometimes back I went to those sides, up to some 50kms inside from Ngong and I can assure, there is cheap land upto 50k per acre those sides. Try that and you will definitely enjoy massive appreciations. By the way, when the bulldozers land here, you will be surprised to find the price of an acre shooting to 500k.
4. They are also upgrading the Syokimau Katani road…
5. Meru and Nakuru by-passes. Did u know that Naks is the fastest growing town in Africa?
6. Around Konza, the ICT city
7. By the way, Kisumu is another hotspot..serious need for houses

The opportunities are rather too many. By the way, if you have any interest in these infrastructural developments, visit http://www.kura.go.ke/index.php
And by the way in real estate we got so many other businesses that one can get into:
1. You know sometimes am shocked at the kind of bills I receive from the Hardware guy every week. Massive opportunities here especially in places where developments are upcoming.
2. Transport of Ndarugu stones, foundation stones, ballast, sand and what have you. By the way, did u know that for a single lorry of Ndarugu stones, the transport takes more than 50% of the entire cost??
3. Contractor business?? Most large scale developers engage contractors
4. Metal fabricators are also in huge demand…

I cannot exhaust the available opportunities in real estate, not in a single posting. If you are business minded, surely you can fit somewhere. More in the next post.