Create Opportunities: Form 4 Leaver Running A Ksh 3B Company

Opportunities are present all around you as well; you just need to learn how to identify and step into them. There is nothing that says you can’t fulfill your own dreams and create a life you want to live.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur embarking on your next business idea or a visionary simply wanting to start a new quest in your personal life, you don’t need to wait around for an opportunity to present itself. By knowing yourself and making a conscious effort to push forward, you can create your own opportunities or find ones that fit what you’re looking for.

This is something Leah Wambui learnt the hard way.  After finishing high school, her dream of joining campus could not materialize as she was unable to raise the requisite school fees for any degree program. At that point, she believed that all was lost. 

Wambui, who had been orphaned at the age of 16, then opted to look for work, landing a receptionist job through the help of a relative. Little did she know that her job would change her life forever.

She still wanted a better life. The salary of a receptionist was something she could not settle for.

It was with that burning desire that the Wambui decided to start her first business, a liquor store in Kiambu, with the help of a maternal aunt, a person she reveals nurtured her entrepreneurial skills.

Over the years, Wambui juggled through her business and finally had a breakthrough in 2015 when she bought a five-acre piece of land in Kitengela. That was the beginning of Cheriez Properties Limited, a real estate company that boasts of 200 houses with each unit going for Ksh15 million. 

As she narrated her life journey, Wambui divulged that acquiring the land took a lot of sacrifice, stating that she had to take risks many people wouldn’t dare.

“I sold my house with my husband’s blessing and decided to use some of the little savings that we had managed to raise. Our plan was to start with 10 houses,” she disclosed.

Despite having a well-thought-out plan, things did not go her way, with the entrepreneur stating that the projects stalled in 2016 after failing to find occupants for the houses.

“We had our first show house and we invited people to come. I thought that the moment we had the show house we would get clients. I got into a rude shock. People came but most of them were friends and relatives and not the actual buyers,” she divulged.

The real estate guru further revealed that her attempts to find a buyer proved futile, with the form leaver turning her attention to international clients, a move that did not bear fruit either.

On the verge of giving up, Wambui finally received an offer for one of the houses expressing that was the beginning of her multi-million real estate empire. 

Despite making major milestones in the industry, Wambui stated that it was not a walk in the park. She revealed that she had to sack all her employees at some point because of numerous incidents of theft.

“This is a project that taught me a lot. There is a day I woke up and relieved everybody of their duties because the syndicate of theft was too much. I would ship tiles and they would bring trucks at night to take the tiles. The project manager would also collude with contractors and inflate their invoices,” she disclosed.

The young entrepreneur went ahead to state that she had no regret for venturing into real estate further urging the youth to go for their dreams.

“If there are no opportunities, create those opportunities. We have to believe that we have all it takes to do what other people have done. People dreamt when they looked at the birds and finally, they invented the plane,” Wambui stated.

Final thoughts

Go for your dreams! Don’t let any challenge or circumstance stop you. Don’t wait for opportunities to be presented to you, create them and live the life that you desire.

STORY COURTESY OF: KENYANS.CO.KE