From Sending Dozens Of Job Applications, To Starting a Company Worth Ksh2.5M

What do you do when you have sent job applications to every office you know of without any replies or regrets? Most of us give up or simply relax into our comfort zones.

Eric Odhiambo went through the same with a diploma in food and beverage production from the Railways Training Institute in 2007.

“I sent out dozens of applications but none was positive. I had no option but to start a small business in order to sustain myself.”

Where exactly did he start?

“I began selling second-hand shoes in Umoja Nairobi. I would trek to Gikomba Market where I’d buy the shoes at Ksh150 and sell them at between Ksh300 and Ksh400 a pair,” the 2007 graduate recently told Money pull-out.

The business saw him make Ksh15,000 per month- just enough to fulfill his basic needs- but he unfortunately made no savings.

In 2010 he made a brave move. He closed his outfit but later got a job as a manager in a beauty salon in Nairobi’s CBD.

The 30 year old had already built a good rapport with some of the customers in the salon and this is what gave birth to his business idea.

“I asked them what business they thought would be good for me to start. They told me an events organizing company would do well and I decided to start one,” he says

And where did he get the funding to his business?

“I started saving Ksh7,000 a month and from my Ksh.30,000 salary and by February 2012, I had Ksh200,000,” he reveals to the paper.

He went on to register his startup, The Pryme Events and landed his first deal to organize and host a road show.

“I used nearly all the Ksh200,000 but made Ksh30,00.It was not satisfactory but I knew it was a good start,” he confirms.

Not a man to give up, Mr. Odhiambo has since landed deals with Postbank, Yamaha, Heineken Mingle Shows and Kituo Cha Sheria.

He also discloses that he has five employees and a standby team to turn to when need arises adding that he pays himself Ksh40,000 a month since he is one of the staff.

If you had though that his diploma went down the drain, then you better think again. Mr. Odhiambo opened a restaurant at Inoorero University in Parklands four months ago.

He says that, “I have partnered with a friend whom we have invested in Ksh500,000 in the venture. It will do well since I have a specialty in food and beverage production.”

What has he learned from his business venture?

“People are the money. You have to reach out to potential partners who can propel you. I can never shy away from a potential partner. Hence I would rather own a 50 per cent stake in a multi –million firm than a 100 per cent share in a company worth Ksh100,000,” he says.

The Ksh2.5 million worth entrepreneur also says that, “I have learnt never to perceive any business opportunity as too small or insignificant,” adding that, “I go for every available opportunity from weddings to birthdays to big corporate events.”

Mr. Odhiambo is proof that where there is a will there is a way.

Courtesy: Money

Dont Miss any Job Or Article Subscribe to Career Point Kenya by Email FOR FREE CLICK HERE