Dear entrepreneur, do you believe in your abilities or fear has taken the best of you? I know true entrepreneurs have long replaced fear with FAITH. Their ability to RISK is their second nature and this is why you are in business. Congratulations.
What do you have at your disposal during these trying times? Do you have tons of money? Do you have networks local and regional? Do you have products and services that are in demand? What skills and training have you admired to acquire and you didn’t have the time?
- Money is not the problem: if this is where you are, it is a good place to be. If I were you I would look for blue-chip companies in NSE currently trading at a bargain. Secondly, I would look for opportunities to buy land. At the moment there are not many buyers and there are individuals who need money for school fees, health challenges, who want to salvage properties from auctioneers… It’s a buyer’s market.
- Unique products and services: Kenya is not the world and you are competing with the world. Africa needs your services. I bet you don’t believe me. Consider this: Somalis immigrants are doing better than local Somalis in Kenya; Lebanese immigrants are controlling the financial services sector in West Africa. How come foreigners seem to do better than locals? They see opportunities. Go and look for opportunities, in other towns, counties, different demographics, countries and even online (the world). They are all over!
- Invest in yourself: how many times have you complained of lack of time to read, attend training programmes, strategically map your future or even take a working vacation? Friend, the world does not stop because you are having a headache or bad timing. Your bad timing is a golden opportunity for your competitor. I have a Somali friend who is in the petroleum business. He has lost 50% of his business to Tanzania between June and September this year. Is he having sleepless nights? NO! He is busy sourcing for cheese in Rwanda and other countries.
Have you had an opportunity to travel, even just to the neighbouring county, and seen something that the locals don’t seem to notice ?
