When we are growing up, our parents teach us to ‘work hard, get good grades, graduate with first class, and find a well-paying job.’  I was a good student, straight from high school to university and that qualified me for all the above.  Three plus years at the university and I graduated. Like most middle class families in Kenya do, my parents came for my Finance degree graduation, cheered when I received my ‘powers to read and write’ and invited all their friends over for the after-party.

Just before I graduated, I had secured a job with a bank. I was excited by the fact that I was spending 12 hours punching numbers in Excel sheets, trying models and different formulas; drawing graphs and using all the finance jargon I had learnt in school. Just like the creation story, I’d always look at everything and feel satisfied that ‘it was good.’

I loved the challenge, enjoyed time with friends, had fun all weekends and became part of every weekend escapade.  I worked hard with the reports, got a promotion and worked even longer hours. I enjoyed every bit of it.

Towards the end of the third year, reality checked in; I was making money but wasn’t living my dream. I was chasing someone else’s dream instead.  Disappointed, I felt as if I was letting the lecturers who had taught me that I should take risks down. I had been taught to dream big and do big things.  I wanted to own the bank, make it bigger and make lots of money. On paper it was possible and I wanted to venture out.

As ambition would have it, I resigned and opted to start my own company. That’s where the drama began. I found a sexy name for my company and luckily, recruiting clientele was quite easy; riding on a bubble at the backdrop of a recovering economy; just after President Moi lost an election after 24 years in power.  I did great analyst reports and articles for major newspapers. The more they got published, the more clients I got.  My business grew fast and I hired a big team of advisers, a large office and consultants to keep my house in order.

While I was making money, spending it and ‘getting famous,’ the global financial crisis struck suddenly. This came hot on the heels of Kenya’s elections that went bad in 2008. I had no savings at all but I was credit worthy.  I borrowed without keeping tabs on how much until it fell out of place. The crisis bit harder. I sent my employees, including myself home.
 
Being a good entrepreneur, persistence had taught me to ‘hang-in there’ as long as possible.  Two years later, I rebounded and learnt to do things differently. While it worked out just fine, I had ignored the fact that in as much as the economy had improved, the corporate finance sector had changed. The investment banks had swallowed all the clients, and the ordinary Kenyan, who had started having an appeal for third party opinion before investing had developed cold feet and reverted back to traditional investments (land, property, etc.)

The pains of being a young entrepreneur in the limelight bit harder. Friends thought I was doing well because I had big clients-- but ‘good clients’ don’t always pay well.  I started pulling out of the social scene because more time was spent either working on the deals or looking for more deals.I stopped showing up for functions to avoid being made to feel great while I was struggling.

“Oh, we saw you in the papers, great job,” Someone would say.
“Mr. X told us the great job you did for him,” another person would say.

Such was the common talk that I chose to run away from. Once in a while, one good client could show up and pay well. The following weeks or months would elapse without such clients.  In the end, I concluded that consulting business wasn’t easy and I needed people with the energy to ‘walk with me’ through the operations.

I was lucky to have found the partners that I was looking for but the perceived blessing turned out to be the worst nightmare of my life. Due to ownership battles, I chose to let go of my 7 years of hard work and ‘move on.’ Fortunately, ‘moving on’ had become a political cliché after the 2013 elections. Laughable as it may seem, I handed in a resignation and left my company and landed a good job at the World Bank.

I did not want to go back to consulting but another blunder during the transition got me pairing up with another entrepreneur; another situation gone bad, luckily too soon to pick up the pieces and ‘keep moving on.’ I have arbitration issues to deal with that though unnecessary, are just a common thing that most entrepreneurs ignore every day.

Before quitting that job to chase your dream, please ensure that you have stayed long enough to secure business from your employer. That requires you to have won the confidence of the board who can easily vouch that big account for you.

Even with a good amount of savings, I am convinced that had I worked longer (at least 5 years), I’d have made more sound decisions relating to my career and dreams.  Some people argue that with good savings, it is possible to survive through turbulent times and emerge strong. It is true but shouldn’t a good business model survive such turbulence?  If there was a wise decision I should have made, it would be walking out when the markets were a mess and starting a different operation.

Family support comes in handy. But you should not be the pain in the family because of your struggling enterprise. Chances are that they need you more than you need them. If it’s not working, then you’re better off not dragging them into the trouble.

On a more consoling note, we all peg success on different parameters. Some of us define it by the amount of money we’ve made, others by the lives they’ve touched and yet for others, the amount of attention they’ve drawn. I defined success by money, made it, saved it and spent it.  If there’s one thing I have carried forward, it is the experience; both good and bad. 

Young entrepreneurs out there, not everyone is meant to be on the Forbes list. What we see glittering out there is not necessarily gold. If it is not working out as you’d wish, it probably won’t ever work. Get rid of it, dust off and move on to something else that works- perhaps that salary at the end of the month.

By Michael Musau

Independent Consultant
[email protected]