Taking into account the series of tough challenges he faced at
the beginning of his fascinating business journey, Mr Ken Kogei now
believes nothing is impossible if you belief in yourself and remain
firmly focused on the ultimate prize.
He quit employment in 2011 to launch Kaileys Consortium, a firm that mainly trains on occupational safety.
His
employer did not take kindly to his departure from the company and
refused to pay him for the last month he had worked for him. Yet this
was the money he was banking on to lift his start-up off the ground.
Mr
Kogei, who studied Environmental Health at Kenyatta University and
graduated in 2009, also had no savings as his salary was too little to
enable him put aside anything for a rainy day.
BUSINESS JOURNEY
Thus,
he set off on his business journey with almost empty pockets. The only
saving grace was that his business was service-oriented and did not need
massive capital outlay.
But even the little money needed to enable him move around to meet his prospective clients was hard to come by.
For
lack of cash to rent an office space, he converted a section of his
house in Kitengela, Kajiado County, into his business premises.
At some point his financial status was so dire that he was compelled to go back to employment.
At some point his financial status was so dire that he was compelled to go back to employment.
He got a job with a shipping company in Mombasa where he worked for more than a year.
Meanwhile, his company, manned by a single staff, was doggedly trudging on braving the searing heat of Kajiado.
Being far removed from his venture, Mr Kogei encountered a set of challenges managing the fledgling firm.
Running an established company, let alone a nascent start-up, from far is by no means an easy feat.
However,
his steely determination proved a key asset. Despite numerous hurdles
from the word go, it was not all doom and gloom for Mr Kogei.
IMPECCABLE CREDENTIALS
He had a potent weapon in his arsenal; the quality of work he had done for the clients of his former employment.
He
had built impeccable credentials which earned him the first customer,
the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (Kari). Kari awarded him a
contract to train its health committees.
The money
that the research institute paid him essentially set the foundation for
Kogei’s firm whose turnover last year was Sh15 million. This is a
massive figure taking into account where he came from. “When Kari paid
us, we did not even have fare to go for the cheque,” he says.
Kaileys
targets to double this figure this year. “All indications are that we
will hit the target having already gone past the Sh20 million mark,” he
says.
After landing Kari, it was not long before the
entrepreneur netted two other big clients; tea multinational firm
Finlays and flower farm Sian Roses.
TURNING POINT
Mr
Kogei says Kari, Sian and Finlays came on board when his venture was
wrestling with teething woes. But from then on, there was no looking
back for Kaileys.
Now the firm boasts an impressive
roster of customers who include parastatals, corporates, several flower
firms in Kajiado and Naivasha as well as a number of apparel firms in
the Athi River-based Export Processing Zone (EPZ).
Currently
its core business is occupational safety. It trains on safety at
construction sites and in farms where variety of chemicals are used as
well as in factories where staff operate various machines.
It
also focuses on fire-fighting and fire safety. Furthermore, it treats
effluent and audits the level of safety and health measures in
companies.
Although Kaileys has been recording a
healthy growth from the moment it gained momentum in 2013, it is this
year that it has witnessed unprecedented upturn.
“We
have had a rapid increase in the number of clients this year,” beams the
29-year-old entrepreneur adding that this has stretched the capacity of
his firm to the limits.
This, he says, has necessitated an urgent need to expand the company which has 10 permanent staff and 12 on temporary contract.
“We
are seriously thinking of expansion strategies to serve our clients
better. We should not be found wanting on any front,” he says.
BUSINESS EXPANSION
The company is also looking into diversifying the scope of its work.
It
plans to venture into construction of greenhouses and play a more
prominent role in overall set-up of buildings to ensure that safety and
quality standards are adhered to at every stage of construction.
“The potential in this industry is immense. We have vast ground to cover,” Mr Kogei says.
His goal is to take the firm to all the East African member countries in the near future.
He
says economies in the region are integrating fast presenting an array
of opportunists that entrepreneurs can tap and grow their ventures
manifold. The firm has already bagged jobs, mainly through
subcontracting, in Uganda and Tanzania.
What makes him tick? He says passion for his work has seen him through thick and thin.
“We
literally started from zero and to reach where we are, we have gone
through a baptism of fire of sorts. There was a time we needed to travel
but we had no money yet our client was expecting us,” he reminiscences.
The entrepreneur says the initial phase of a venture is the most turbulent.
“The
level of your resilience, astuteness and ingenuity will determine
whether you sink or stay afloat,” says the eloquent entrepreneur, “In
the face of challenges, never allow a sense of defeat to blur or sweep
away your vision.”
CREDIT WOES
He said he was rebuffed by banks when he applied for credit to prop up his start-up.
“No
one listened to us because we had no collateral worth talking about.
But it is interesting that the same banks that gave us a cold shoulder
are now knocking on our doors loudly and incessantly offering us a menu
of credit facilities. However, we can’t take it now because we are able
to stand on our two feet,” he says.
Being denied
credit by the financial institutions has been a blessing in disguise for
Mr Kogei: “We learnt that you can start small and slowly build your own
capital,” says the indefatigable but unassuming businessman whose
slight frame belies the gigantic challenges he has overcome to build a
thriving firm.
Mr Kogei says employers and employees
ought to give safety and health issues at work the seriousness they
deserve. “Safety and health at the workplace is critical.
It
is unfortunate many companies and even employees do not appreciate the
gravity of the situation,” he says adding that the fact that this has
not been taken seriously speaks volumes on the huge potential there is
in this area for entrepreneurs.
“We have merely
scratched the surface of an area that sometimes could be a matter of
life and death. There are some basic things that are taken for granted
at the workplace yet they are critical to our health,” he says adding
that even the sitting position has a huge bearing on our overall health.
RESILIENCE
Mr Kogei says his passion fuelled his resilience and stubborn belief that what he was doing was right and held great promise.
“I
never at any single moment doubted myself or questioned the viability
of what I was on to. This unshakable belief was one of the driving
forces that saw me weather many a storm and surmount numerous hurdles
strewn my way. The more challenges I overcame the more my confidence
level rose,” Mr Kogei asserts.
Another factor that has underpinned Mr Kogei’s success is the quality of work his firm does.
This has seen him get many clients through referrals.
“We
never compromise on quality and this has been at the heart of our
growth,” he says adding that there is no shortcut to success but the
long, winding and slippery path.
His advice to potential entrepreneurs who have viable ideas is just to act on them.
“If
you wait for an ideal moment, when all elements will neatly and
perfectly fall in place before you start it will never come and your
idea will be stillborn. Start with the little resources that you have
and gradually scale the greasy pole of business,” he says.
Another ingredient to his success is his employees. He says he does not treat them as his workers but colleagues.
MANAGEMENT
Conversely, he also tells them to treat him as one of them and not their boss.
“Whenever
we go to the field for an assignment there is neither a boss nor an
employee. We work as colleagues,” says the unassuming and affable
businessman whose slight frame belies the fact at he is battle-hardened
having surmounted huge challenges to build a multimillion company.
Many a times, his clients have asked where the boss is yet he is right there standing among his colleagues (read employees).
Another
powerful arrow in his quiver is incredible hard work. He says when
there is urgent work, he goes to work on Saturday and Sunday.
“When
I have a full in-tray, weekends find me unawares. Sometimes I go to the
office only to find it empty, that’s when I know it is weekend,” says
Mr Kogei.
He never went for Christmas last December
thanks to a demanding schedule. And for the four years since he started
the company, he has not taken a holiday.
At the moment he is increasingly delegating duties to his staff so that when he goes on “a major holiday soon”, work will flow.
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