Anitah Stanely is the General Manager at Certified Homes Limited, a real estate firm specialising in development of affordable apartments in Nairobi.
She shares valuable lessons on money and entrepreneurship.
- There will always be a form of competition in business. How you deal with it makes all the difference. The real estate sector in Kenya has become very competitive. I was able to find my niche by spotting the market gap. I noticed that proximity and affordability were not very adequately matched. I found a way to come up with a product that could give investors these two features. Sometimes, you have to combine existing challenges and match them with existing market solutions.
- You may never achieve your financial goals if you don’t change your approach towards wealth. Getting wealthy is not a destination. It is a journey. You can set very appealing goals, but they’ll never move from paper to the ground if you’re not ready to walk the process. Every good thing is a product of time. It takes integrity and resilience to establish a career as a successful realtor.
- Solve a problem if you want to make money. People will have no problem paying you for providing them with solutions. This means that for you to make good cash, endeavor to be a solution. Start by identifying what people are searching for, the goods or services they need but can’t get with ease, and generate your business idea around this. I tended to copy and paste what others were doing when I started my career. This approach didn’t work out too well.
- Not every glittering deal will make you money. Some deals are just scams designed and coloured to lure you into parting with your money. I learned this the hard way after losing quite a significant amount of money in a business deal. There were details that I didn’t see coming. This loss taught me that even due diligence needs more. You should check and recheck if there is a tiny bit of doubt.
- Proper financial management is the key to both personal and business success. To get this balance right, I have separated my business and personal accounts. When saving money, I use both current and fixed accounts. These accounts have worked well so far. I also do personal auditing to keep track of where my business and personal money goes.
- Money is good but it cannot buy everything. You can buy a doctor but not good health, bed but not sleep, food but not appetite. Go beyond your personal desires, needs and wants and use money to improve humanity. Don’t let your quest for money turn you into a dishonest financial mercenary.
- If you have a good job, that pays you well and respects your contribution, keep it. It’s the best thing you can do for yourself, your loved ones and the society at large. Don’t join the business herd if you don’t have the heart for it. There are some entrepreneurs who wish they could get your job.
