John Chomba quit his job at a government’s department in 1985
where he had been working for
five years to venture into the business of selling motor vehicle spare parts and tires.
five years to venture into the business of selling motor vehicle spare parts and tires.
Mr
Chomba’s dream was always to start a business and be an employer rather
than an employee. He started entertaining the spare parts business idea
two years into employment.
With Sh30,000 he had saved
from his salary, he translated his dream into a reality. He, however,
had to contend with the fact that he had little knowledge about the
venture in addition to the financial constraints.
“We
had problems with financial institutions which were reluctant to finance
a new business. To get a loan, one was required to have collateral
which was either land or some other property. I did not have any,” says
the proprietor of Fontana Enterprises.
Mr Chomba, a
mechanical engineer and a graduate of Nairobi’s Kenya Polytechnic (now
Kenya Polytechnic University), was however confident he would learn
along the way about the business and ultimately master the game.
However, learning the ropes was by no means easy. Three months down the
road, the challenges came in droves, pushing him to the edge.
“Three
months after starting, I almost closed down the business. I was not
making any profit yet I had to pay my three members of staff. This made
me to go back to the drawing board to conduct more research about the
business,” says Mr Chomba.
“It was not an easy ride but through resilience and determination I learnt more about the business as the time went by.”
Luckily,
after doing the research and setting off again in the business journey,
things began to look up. Going back to the drawing board he says “was
the ultimate turning point of my business as five months later I made my
first profit.”
“I remember very well the first time I made a profit of Sh15,000
five months into the business. At least for once, I did not struggle to
look for salaries from other sources as I had done few months before,”
he says.
The entrepreneur now advises that market research is indispensable for anyone who wants to start any successful business.
“Conducting research is crucial. Starting a business requires that you
obtain critical information about the business. It helps a lot,” says Mr
Chomba, adding that the environment for starting a business has changed
tremendously and budding entrepreneurs have a number of options for
funding.
“With an LPO (Local Purchase Order) today, one
can access loans from banks. Rules for acquiring loans have been
relaxed as well. You can also find relevant information online,
something that we never experienced back then,” he says.
Looking
back, Mr Chomba says, he has ridden the storm of challenges and come on
top. He now has 15 employees and about 20 reliable customers whom he
supplies with spares and tires. His spends about Sh350,000 on salaries,
in addition to what he pays temporary staff.
Having
realising how difficult it can get for those starting out, the
entrepreneur now uses his long experience to help young people to get
their footing in the world of business.
Under the
initiative known as Entrepreneurship Training Programme which he started
in 2010, about 700 youths from 17 sub counties in Nairobi have received
free business-related courses. Trainees are taught how to apply for
loans, prepare business documents and book keeping.
Mr
Chomba says that although the government has set aside 30 percent of
public tenders for young people, the disabled and women, they lack the
requisite information and skills to successfully apply for them and
generally navigate the ups and downs of the business world.
“The
government has allocated 30 percent to youths, women and people with
disabilities. However, rarely do the young people access the tenders
simply because they have no information. We need to empower youths to
take up opportunities that belong to them,” says Mr Chomba.
Echoing
sentiments made by venerated former US president John F. Kennedy, Mr
Chomba says successful entrepreneurs, or indeed any other citizen,
should ask themselves what they have done for the country instead of
always waiting on the government to do everything.
The entrepreneur desires to expand his programme to benefit more youth but says he lacks the resources to do so.
“Many youths should be incorporated because we have seen success
stories out of this but I have limited resources to expand the
initiative,” he says.
“I wish both government and
private partners would come on board to help us empower more youths to
become employees who will spur our tomorrow’s economy.”
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