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| Kazi ni kazi...any work is meaningful |
A fortnight ago,
I was lucky enough to hop onto a trip to the classy Bogoria spa resort with
member’s of my college’s German Club. To say it was massive fun would be an
understatement. But the journey back was riddled with a major problem as our
bus broke down with a mechanical problem. To worsen the situation, this was in
the intensely hot area of Marigat. Slight consolation came about us being close
to a group of women who sell honey and watermelons along the road. Alighting
down the bus, I thought of the traders as being lucky for getting a few
customers for in my naïve mind, no one bothers to make such purchases. Munching
away and enjoying the juicy melons, I asked one of them if they hardly make
money in such a ‘harsh’ area. She said I keep my eyes open. Well, to cut the
long story short, in a span of around two hours, a substantial amount of
vehicles had come to a halt and the women had sold enough commodities to make
the enterprise worthwhile, amidst the scorching sun.
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| Think outside the box, or just have no box! |
As we left for
Nairobi, I had several flashbacks of situations I've come across where
seemingly unfeasible situations have individuals who cash on them and earn good
money. There was a time I was walking towards Eastleigh and just below the
Pangani Girls’ iconic flyover came across some rugged looking fellas counting wads
of money in big denomination notes. I was curious suspecting they were goons
but realized they are cart pushers whom you’d barely look at twice for their
job seems ‘dirty’ and meant for the hopeless in society. As I walked on to buy
some of the jerseys I sell, I resolved to always have an open mind when it
comes to money making.
I think society
and the formal education system has brain-washed us into believing the notion
of ‘white collar’ jobs being the ultimate one can get in terms of a career. It
reminds me of a report sometime back in the dailies on Nairobi’s deceptive
divide and the irony therein in terms of wealth. You see, once someone crosses
Tom Mboya Street towards the government buildings and iconic places, the glam
seems evident yet the most money is in the opposite direction! The West seems
better than the East, literally! But maybe it is time your bubble got burst. From
simple calculation, in River Road, a tyre dealer may earn up to 30 times more
compared to someone on an 8-5 job in a posh office somewhere towards the ‘leafy
suburbs’. In Eastleigh, for example, millions of shillings (Not Zimbabwean of
course) exchanges hands daily making it the most traded market in probably the
whole region of East and Central Africa.
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| Part of palace owned by Mr. Waititu in Nyandarua |
And this trend
seems to be on the rise with more people opting for ‘biasahara’ than
‘kuandikwa’. There was this Professor in Holland who opted to become a plumber
after a simple repair in his drainage system made him curious to research and
discover that the ‘dirty’ plumber guy earned way much more than he did! At
home, we have Mr. George Waititu who had a glamorous job as a Managing Director
for Synovate which paid well and made him a public figure, releasing opinion
poll results on national matters but who astonished many with the countryside
lodge he developed back in his rural area, and which has a potential to make
him among Kenya’s elite hoteliers. At only 39 years old, he has a facility that
is both grand and majestic but he chose a location that may not seem viable
which clearly shows a high risk involvement; something crucial if you are to
delve into business!
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| Ethical practices and education are also necessary! |
I bet what set
all these entrepreneurs apart was a passion, a desire for excellence in
whatever they did and that drive for seeking income in an alternative way.
Kenya’s middle class is slowly becoming the most important segment of the
population. This is especially in terms of productivity and the numbers of
people who are crossing the gap to be among this class is on the rise daily. As
a nation, we lag behind with uniformity of incomes having among the worst of
parity between the high income earners and those who get just a paltry sum of
what they deserve. We cannot afford to whine any longer. Expecting the
government to always sort us is ridiculous I think. It has its part to play but wouldn't it be easier if you and me considered ourselves the government and
worked hard in whatever capacity to build our land?
As always dear
reader, I remain Njabia the 3rd. Have an enterprising time, won’t you? And if
you would like a business opportunity, do give me a call and we could be
partners for an idea I have. 0726-146-101 is the number. Holla!
