Growing up in rural Kenya, Ken Oyaya was actively
involved in helping his mother run her part-time
tailoring business. By the time he was in high
school, Oyaya was convinced that entrepreneurship
would be his chosen career.
When he started university, Oyaya changed from the
engineering course to which he had been admitted
and instead studied business management. For the
next four years, he dabbled in almost every kind of
business. His first, at age 21, was distributing
paintings made in India to hawkers in Nairobi.
“I saw the potential in business at a young age. My
mum was a teacher but she was making more money
from business,” says the founder and CEO of
Blackrose Limited.
Although he later joined the workforce and was
employed at East African Breweries Limited (EABL) for
seven years, Oyaya’s interest in entrepreneurship
never faded.
In 2011, Oyaya quit his well-paying job shortly after
being promoted to a managerial position to start his
own business in the entertainmen t industry.
“I have always had a passion for events. Even in
university I was a hustler: showing movies, hiring out
sound equipment, organising birthday parties and
even renting out pay TV to other houses,” says
Oyaya. “But when I decided to start my own business
I did not want to continue hustling.
I wanted
something more formal and organised. I decided to
open a club first.”
In the last two and a half years, he has started
about a half a dozen businesses in the
entertainment, retail and construction sectors under
his company Blackrose. Oyaya owns five clubs and
restaurants, a DJ outfit, a furniture manufacturing
firm and an interior design company.
Management style
Oyaya says he chooses to empower his 12 managers
to run the businesses and devotes his time to
coming up with new ideas. He argues that
micromanaging a business can stifle growth and
limit its expansion.
“If you never give the people you employ ownership,
you will never make money. When I go to my clubs
the waiters don’t even know I am the owner because
the managers are in charge of everything from hiring
to stocking. That gives me the time to do other
things, innovate and start new businesses. Giving
people responsibilities and giving them room to
execute is something I learnt at EABL.”
Looking back, Oyaya says he is glad he followed his
passion for business. However, making that step to
quit his job was not an easy one.
“I was in charge of events at EABL and I had been
thinking about starting my own business, but I
always felt that I wasn’t ready.”
At the time, Oyaya’s wife was enrolled in university,
they were building their home, his children were
going to an expensive private school and he had just
bought his wife a new car on loan.
“The thing I worried about the most was losing the
medical cover my family enjoyed. I was scared. I was
praying that no one would get sick after I quit my
job,” says Oyaya, adding that he finally took out
medical cover for his family and all his employees
five months ago.
The 35-year-old entrepreneur explains that after
quitting his job, he went through a stage of
confusion, finding himself free all day and even
began applying for employment. It took him six
months to make his first cheque running his own
business.
“I was getting very worried. I was now thinking of
things I could sell to get by. It was very hard. The
reason why it took me so long to settle was because
licensing a business in Kenya takes so long. There
were so many licences we needed and no one
advised us. There is a cartel that harasses
entrepreneurs and takes full advantage of their lack
of information.”
Expanding his business
Having overcome many challenges along the way,
Oyaya is keen on expanding his business. His next
venture? Setting up canteens in informal settlements
in Nairobi. Oyaya outlines why this venture will work.
“In the CBD people go to supermarkets but in the
slums it is the kiosks that sell everything. You only
need one employee and one licence for one shop and
there are no electricity or water expenses. You
require very little money to open one canteen and
you can make KSh. 500 (US$5.82) as profit per day.
Now, what if you opened 100? In Kibera slum alone
you can have 1,000 shops and they still won’t be
enough. How many slums do we have in Nairobi?”
Oyaya believes the retail sector is the low hanging
fruit as Africa’s middle class expands and low
income-earners struggle to fend for themselves and
climb up the social ladder.
His biggest lesson in business has been investing in
human resources and ensuring professionalism in all
his businesses.
“You will find someone operating a bar with one or
two waiters and a barman who also serves as the
manager because the owner wants to make 90%
profits which is never long lived. You have to invest
in people and motivate them to perform efficiently. If
you try cutting costs by compromising on human
resources you will run one shop until the day you
die. If you want to expand, you have to embrace
professionalism and hire good talent.”
Embracing failure
Oyaya reckons that entrepreneurs should also
embrace and learn from their mistakes as well as
attend professional courses to improve their
capabilities.
“I have started businesses that have failed. I choose
to look at failure as a learning process,” he says. “Our
education system is wrong. It teaches kids to never
fail. The focus is on being number one and nothing
else.”
This best or nothing mentality, Oyaya warns, makes
people afraid of failure and taking risks, and formal
employment with a monthly salary is considered a
safer option.
“I have a friend who sells sweets and makes over
KSh. 500,000 ($5,824) a month and another friend
who wears a suit and tie every day, drives a company
car but takes home KSh. 30,000 ($350) a month.
When we sit down, it is the guy in the tie and suit
who will brag the most because he works for a big
company and drives a company car. Meanwhile, the
guy who sells sweets and wears jeans all day is
quietly thinking of where he will open the next
shop.”
Oyaya warns young entrepreneurs not to focus too
much on image but rather start businesses that
actually make money. He adds that most young
people would not want their peers to know they sell
mandazi (Kenyan doughnut) for a living and would
prefer to be software entrepreneurs for instance.
“Do what you really love and start small. Let the
business grow gradually. Be proud of what you do
and do it well,” he advises. “I see most young people
eager to make money overnight. You have to patient
and put in the hard work.”
While he has no regrets about venturing into
business, Oyaya cautions that it has its downside,
citing an event last December in which he lost KSh.
600,000 ($6,989). Such unexpected losses, he adds,
can have serious repercussions on his entire
portfolio.
“As an entrepreneur I am not just responsible for my
family, I am responsible for my employees. It’s like
having more than 100 dependents,” he says Oyaya.
“But I enjoy this. I wake up at 9 o’clock and eat
breakfast as I watch TV. No one asks me why I am
late for work.”
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