Category: Business & Economy

It doesn’t matter whether you sell a product or offer a service: If you become self-employed and set up your own, initially small company, you have to acquire new customers . After all, in order to make sales and be successful, you first have to land orders that bring in income and, ideally, lead to long-term customer relationships. However, customers will not come to you on their own – you have to actively approach the acquisition. However, there is often a lack of knowledge and experience as to how exactly new customers are acquired and what needs to be considered in order to find suitable orders. We explain how you can acquire new customers and what options are available to you.

Acquiring new customers: A necessity for survival

Acquiring new customers is often a tiresome topic that the self-employed don’t particularly like to deal with. Anyone who becomes self-employed has a clear product or service in mind that they want to produce, offer and sell. This can be the creative output of a designer, a craft operation, consulting and coaching or perhaps the manufacture of clothing.

What exactly is involved is initially of secondary importance. What unites many founders is the desire to concentrate on this core competence. However, that alone is not enough in the beginning to build a successful business. To stick with one of the examples above, you can be among the best designers in the country, with skills and qualifications that impress and outperform the competition, but if you don’t acquire new clients to begin with, you will still find yourself in financial trouble.

At a later point in time, when you have already made a name for yourself and are known in the industry or in your region, potential customers will also become aware of you in other ways, but if you do not invest enough energy to acquire new customers at the beginning , you will usually a big mistake.

It is a sobering insight , but it is important for the success and survival of every company: the acquisition of new customers is often a more important and larger part of the work for founders than the actual activity itself. However, the logic is simple. Only when the order situation is right can you work profitably and really use your skills.

Acquiring new customers takes effort

Most founders and self-employed people do not particularly enjoy taking care of new customer acquisition. However, this is not because it is not the actual work they want to do, but rather because it can be a great effort and at the same time requires a lot of perseverance to approach potential new customers, contact them and about your own offer to inform.

Many self-employed people have a particularly big problem with possible rejection . After all, wanting to acquire new customers always means taking the risk of receiving one rejection after the other. Instead of a good order situation, there are suddenly only doubts as to whether your own business model really works or whether you are already heading for a dead end.

In addition, the self-employed often take a rejection personally, which affects their self-confidence . For example, anyone who presents a product but does not receive an order because it is not of interest to the other person feels attacked and takes the rejection very seriously, even though it is of a purely professional nature.

Acquiring new customers is an ongoing challenge

New customers have to be acquired at the beginning in order to get a business up and running at all. Once this often rocky start has been made, regular customers can be built up, who also ensure corresponding sales through recurring orders. However, it is wrong to rely completely on it and to stop acquiring at a certain point.

Quitting completely with the active acquisition of new customers can work, but it is the better strategy to build on winning more customers in the long term and then also include them in your own regular customer base. In this way you can work in a targeted manner on the further and sustained growth of your company.

Tips and methods for acquiring new customers

It may not always be easy for you, but there are several good ways to acquire new customers, build up and expand your customer base. It is up to you which one works best for you personally, where you feel comfortable and what you ultimately decide on. For starters, however, it is advisable to try out different things and use them to develop an acquisition strategy .

We have listed various methods that you can use to acquire new customers and explain how they work and what needs to be considered:

The cold call

It’s the classic when it comes to acquiring new customers and almost everyone has heard of cold calling. At the same time, however, it is particularly hard and exhausting to make your own offer known and to generate possible orders. In addition, cold calling is sometimes controversial.

Basically, it’s about picking up the phone (sometimes writing an email) without prior contact and addressing potential prospects directly. This can be done through research, but often contact data is also purchased. If there is no interest, such cold calling usually ends very abruptly and it can be very frustrating to make countless phone calls without even getting an order.

The Referral Network

A completely different approach leads to the goal of the recommendation network. Instead of rushing in, putting your product or service in the spotlight and bringing about cooperation as quickly as possible, the first thing to do here is to build up a real network, make contacts and create mutual trust, from there serious recommendations are given.

Through the contacts you make, you get into conversation and thus have the opportunity to acquire new customers to whom you have been recommended. Of course, such a network also works in the other direction, so you too recommend the members of your network.

The reviews

Feedback and ratings from existing customers are an important tool for gaining additional clients. How this works can be clearly observed at online retailers such as Amazon. Here the reviews and ratings of other customers are often the decisive argument for or against a purchase – and thus for or against an order for the company behind it.

As a self-employed person, you too can take advantage of the positive feedback and recommendations from previous customers. For example, add a rating option to your homepage or integrate quotes from satisfied customers that are visible to other visitors.

The online acquisition

Of course, as a self-employed person, you should also be found online, preferably via your own homepage, which leads directly to you, your offers and all the information. That can help, but is often not enough to acquire new customers. If you have the appropriate budget, you can place additional advertising to be found even more easily and to build up a larger reach.

In addition to your own website, you should also find out where you can reach potential customers online in order to draw attention to yourself. For example, Facebook groups or other networks and forums can be particularly interesting. However, it is advisable not to just do clumsy advertising, but to attract attention with useful and good comments. This is not only better received, but also has a greater effect.

The customer information

You can only acquire new customers if you are given all the important information. After all, you want the other person to decide on your product or service and invest money in it. However, this will only happen if the other party is sure that they have made a good decision and made a sensible investment.

To do this, you need to clearly communicate what makes you different from others. What is different from the competition? What are you doing better? What can you score with? The more credibly you can answer these questions, the greater the likelihood of acquiring new customers.

Many have toyed with the idea of ​​leaving the employee life behind and trying to be self -employed. Stop making your skills, talents and qualifications available to other employers, but be your own boss and build a small business. But before you can even get started, the first big question arises: With which legal form do I start my independent career? Anyone who takes the step alone can set up a small business , which is often considered the quickest and easiest way to set up an independent existence. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when running a small business, such as customer acquisition.

Independence has its price: insecurity. In the end, success depends on the number of existing customers and whether they will come back. The acquisition of customers is therefore one of the (survival) most important tasks for young companies – with which, however, many founders have no experience or are even overwhelmed.

Many a freelancer finds it extremely difficult to acquire new orders or accepts orders that don’t pay off at all. The main thing is to be able to do something. The following recommendations and checklist show how you can get new customers and the next order more easily.

Acquisition Definition: Forms & Synonyms

What exactly does acquisition mean? The term originally comes from Latin; the verb “acquirere” means “acquire”. This means measures for customer acquisition, which can include the following forms of acquisition:

➠ Advertising
➠ Email advertising
➠ Mailing
➠ Personal sales
➠ Search engine marketing
➠ Telephone marketing
➠ Newsletter advertising

The following terms are synonyms of acquisition: customer acquisition, customer canvassing. By the way: If the acquisition is not about winning new customers or selling products, but about getting money or other resources, the process is called “fundraising“.

Cold calling and warm calling: the differences

Acquisition or new customer acquisition is considered by many to be the supreme discipline. Regardless of whether you are a freelancer, freelancer, self-employed or work in sales for a company: You cannot survive on good recommendations alone. Especially since the acquisition is a good opportunity to determine customer requirements. There are basically two different types of customer acquisition: cold calling and warm calling.

Cold calling

This is the form of acquisition “dreaded” by some sales people, because it is about convincing potential customers of your own products and services who have not been customers before. This initial approach has some pitfalls. In Germany, for example, cold calls to private customers (B2C) are prohibited unless you have expressly consented to this at an earlier point in time. Acquisition letters are also considered cold calls and, like cold calls, may not  be permitted in accordance to the law against unfair competition. In B2B (English for “Business to Business”, relationship between two companies), on the other hand, cold calling is not a problem.

Warm call

In warm acquisition, existing customers are used by making renewed contact with former customers who “jumped away” a long time ago. In some cases, existing customers were previously neglected, but now the potential is recognized or the contact persons have changed. This win-back is facilitated by the fact that the old contacts already know your product and thus often show you a leap of faith. This form of acquisition also includes contacting potential customers who are otherwise fleetingly known. For example, this can be joint memberships and networks such as Xing or LinkedIn. You can just as easily draw conclusions about online purchasing behavior.

Various acquisition paths lead to the goal

You know this from your own experience: someone tells you about a really great new thing and you get the urge to try it too. This works for products such as the current hype surrounding e-scooters and also for services, such as a new restaurant or a new hairdresser. From the point of view of those who offer these products and services, a distinction can be made between two different acquisition methods, whereby both cold and warm acquisition can be used:

Direct customer contact

This is the personal face-to-face approach, for example at trade fairs, in pedestrian zones, airports or supermarkets. Usually there are small gifts: Goodie bags are distributed, information material such as flyers, product tasting and inexpensive trial subscriptions are common measures to put potential customers in a good mood.

Indirect customer approach

There is a bit more diversification here: Instead of a direct approach, the indirect customer approach includes all external activities that can attract the attention of your target group. On the one hand, this includes the design of your website and the operation of various social media channels . On the other hand, there are targeted measures such as placing advertising and advertisements.

Advantages and disadvantages of different acquisition forms

There are many different ways and opportunities to make acquisitions. In the end, the question is: Which one really works and brings the most success when acquiring new customers? Each variant comes with different pros and cons, so you’ll need to weigh up what’s the best choice for your situation. We compare the most common acquisition channels and show the respective pros and cons arguments for and against to help you with the selection:

Acquisition in the newspaper

For a long time, advertisements in daily or weekly newspapers were a very popular and widespread acquisition method, and today there are still numerous advertising banners and advertisements from companies in newspapers and magazines. The benefits are obvious: it’s an easy way to reach a large audience quickly. If you sell tens of thousands of copies, you can potentially generate a multiple of the attention from other channels with one ad.

However, there are several problems with acquisition in the newspaper. So many simply overlook and ignore the ads and for modern companies it can seem very old-fashioned. In addition, there are comparatively high costs if you want to do a well-placed and thus conspicuous customer acquisition in a large and well-known newspaper. Finally, there is no way to measure the success of acquisitions in a newspaper. So you don’t know if the investment is actually worth it. Such an acquisition can be useful for regional companies, for example, in order to generate attention. Companies should also know their own target group and assess whether they are even part of the readership.

Acquisition on the phone

Telephone acquisition is an absolute classic. Potential customers are called to convince them of your offer. A big advantage is the very personal approach. You can respond directly to questions, problems and needs, explain very clearly what you offer.

Unfortunately, there are also some disadvantages here: Perhaps the biggest problem is the rare acquisition success. Only a few can be convinced directly on the phone, you are often turned off and are accordingly frustrated. Therefore, the time investment is enormous. You can also only contact business customers when making an acquisition on the phone, since cold calling is prohibited for private individuals. In most cases, other acquisition channels are available, but many companies continue to rely on phone calls. However, these should only be used as a supplement and should not be the main focus of acquisition.

Acquisition on own homepage

Nowadays, no company can do without a professional website. This lends itself to acquisition. The first place to seek answers to problems or when looking for products is always the Internet. Anyone who is correctly positioned and can be found here is making extremely successful acquisitions. The biggest advantage is that you can directly offer the solution to a current problem. For example, a potential customer searches Google for “roofers in Nairobi” – anyone who appears here gets a lot of attention and can look forward to many orders. If your own homepage runs well, the acquisition works almost automatically.

A disadvantage is that a successful and SEO-optimized website is not a sure-fire success. You need to provide good and relevant content, target the right keywords and also invest money. However, all of this is worthwhile to drive acquisition.

Acquisition via social media

In addition to the homepage, social media are becoming increasingly important when it comes to acquisition. Many people spend hours on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and the rest. Companies should not miss the opportunity to get some of the attention. A plus point is the direct exchange with potential customers. Feedback and communication is very easy via social media and can improve acquisition. The low costs are also advantageous in order to potentially address a very large audience.

Nevertheless, acquisition via social media is difficult because obvious advertising in the networks is rejected. The strategy should be better focused on building brand awareness, providing information and insights to drive interest.

Acquisition tips: step by step to your next order

Despite all the preparation, the following applies, of course: As an entrepreneur, you must stand behind your products and services 100 percent. Only if you can talk about your offer with passion and enthusiasm do you have the chance to convince potential customers. With the right preparation and strategy, the next job comes along:

identify addresses

First of all, of course, you have to know who is interesting for you as a customer. Technically, this is called lead generation. Without the right contact details , you cannot make any acquisitions. Targeted marketing measures can help you get the right leads. That also includes:

➠ Online advertising
➠ Content marketing
➠ Own research
➠ Own trade fair presence

Prepare Pitch

Many freelancers who are new to selling and acquiring their products get discouraged too quickly. This is often because they approach acquisition with false expectations. Unfortunately, one or two phone calls are rarely enough to get a new order. As a rule, a little more work is necessary: ​​entrepreneurs usually need at least seven contacts before the order is confirmed. Therefore, a solidly prepared pitch is the be-all and end-all of successful acquisition.

If you inform your counterpart extensively about the product and can bring good arguments why your offer is the right one for this customer, your chances of success increase.

make contact

Personal contact follows next. Hardly anything can top a face-to-face conversation, as facial expressions and gestures help to emphasize what is being said. Due to time constraints, it often stays with phone calls and e-mails. Despite the best preparation, making contact does not always go smoothly. The trick is then to remain calm and, above all, not to be discouraged. You can even use a customer rejection to your advantage: simply ask your contact person why he decided against your offer. With a bit of luck, you will get valuable insights that will help you with your next acquisition round.

Follow up and listen

The best product and the greatest service cannot be sold if the potential customer needs something completely different. An important prerequisite for successful acquisition is therefore the ability to listen.

Don’t just start talking about it, but also let the customer have their say. The more you learn about him and his needs, the greater the likelihood that your product or service will sell. It’s also a sign of appreciation when you listen to and respond to your customer – and this also has a positive effect on the sales process.

To graduate

If everything goes well, complete the job, successfully acquired. Some customers take a little longer to decide. It is therefore important that you do not give up too early and stop your acquisition measures. But you shouldn’t be too pushy. Every now and then a message, Christmas cards or New Year’s wishes ensure that you are remembered.

The monthly newsletter also fulfills this function, with which you can also offer real added value, for example by drawing attention to innovations or giving tips. When your potential customer finally needs your product, they already know who to contact.

Don’t be afraid of failure in the acquisition stage

Synonyms for acquisition such as “customer acquisition” already suggest it: It’s about “winning” someone for yourself (and your own products or services). It’s a bit like an application – you try to convince the other person of your achievements. Just as there can be a job rejection in the case of an application, salespeople and the self-employed have to take failures into account when it comes to acquisition. A no is rarely nice – regardless of whether it is about a potential partner, a job or a possible new customer. Three things are important here:

Never take the rejection personally

It is not you as a person who is being rejected. The product or service you want to sell can also be excellent. Perhaps the customer was already taken care of or does not need anything of the sort, or the competition was faster or cheaper. Not bad. The cancellation does not even mean that there is no interest in the future.

Learn to deal with frustration

Realize that rejections are normal, even prevalent, in the job. The more routine you gain, the less you’ll mind getting rejected. As the saying goes: “The customer hasn’t already bought.” So you can only win. And against the occasional stress, for example, sport or meditation helps.

Be realistic.

No salesperson can achieve 100 percent success all the time. You’re not always in top form either. Or the interlocutor got up on the wrong foot. Happens. So don’t expect too much. It’s important to aim high, yes. But they also have to remain realistic in order to motivate people in the long term.

5 tips for phone acquisition

Telephone acquisition in particular causes stomach ache for many self-employed and freelancers. But you shouldn’t, because it’s an excellent way to get the next order without much effort. The tips serve as a checklist and can be ticked off directly in the browser. And this is how the telephone acquisition can succeed:

• Defining the target group

Calling up and down the telephone book at random does not lead to the goal of telephone acquisition. Rather, you have to define your target group in advance and give it some thought. If you don’t know how to get new contacts, you can also contact so-called address dealers who can sell you addresses from your target group.

• Setting goals

Another aspect of acquisition is that you set yourself a quantifiable goal. Therefore, set yourself very specific guidelines. For example, they can look like this: “By the end of the week I would like to have spoken to 30 potential new customers and have the addresses of 50 new contacts.”

• Identify contact persons

Simply calling the head office and asking for an employee from the purchasing department or even the managing director unfortunately doesn’t get you very far either. For a successful telephone acquisition, you should know in advance who you want to speak to. Therefore, try to find the right decision-maker. For example, you can use professional networks or call the company and ask about the right employee. At the same time, try to get his direct number. Then hang up and call again. Equipped with a name and telephone number, the sales pitch runs better on the phone.

• Introduce concisely

The person you are talking to on the phone will probably not have much time to talk to you. Therefore, you should definitely not waste valuable sentences. Think about a short and concise introduction of you and your company in advance. You can even practice these in advance so that you have them ready in the specific situation. Perhaps a guide will also help you with the most important data, facts and questions that you would like to answer or ask during the interview. Immensely important: Do not stick slavishly to the guidelines or to your prepared presentation. The conversation should sound lively and not rehearsed. Both things are there to support you and to take away the nervousness before the telephone acquisition. But not to be said one to one in every conversation.

• Just start

You can take this tip with two meanings. On the one hand, it means that you should not start with the “toughest nut”, but choose a contact who is (probably) well disposed towards you and with whom you can easily reach your previously set goal. On the other hand, the tip also means that you shouldn’t spend too much time preparing for the call. If you research too far in advance and come up with a tiny guide, you will hardly have time for the actual acquisition. As with most other things, the more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Personal branding – for some, this term fits seamlessly into the series of numerous and overused buzzwords of recent years. In fact, personal branding describes a well-known principle that is often ignored or misunderstood: It is not about companies or brands, but about presenting one’s own person, personality and professional skills and making individual concerns visible. The development of an own brand and a positive reputation is at the center of this personal branding strategy. For applicants, professionals and freelancers, the potential benefit of this becomes apparent very quickly: they are found on the Internet, are soon considered specialists or even experts in their field – and get jobs or assignments. But how does personal branding work? We explain that in our extensive dossier…

Definition: What is personal branding?

Personal branding is the construction of a (usually digital) personal brand. Through various strategies and measures, it is not a product or a company brand that is to be marketed, but one’s own person. The focus is not on features or advantages of products, but on individual personality, skills and experience.

However, there are some different definitions. Sometimes personal branding refers purely to the digital private label, sometimes it’s about building a reputation in general. However, there is general agreement on a few key points:

Origin

Legendary management thought leader Tom Peters first used the term “personal branding” in 1997. The digital change and the increasing presence of profiles on the Internet and social networks not only opened up numerous opportunities for online reputation, but also risks if you were associated with the “wrong” attributes online. In the beginning, it was all about a person’s googlability.

Content

Personal branding is the digital form of the self-made brand. Personal branding is therefore always about a person and their image and reputation (personal brand) in public. Personal branding is therefore a part of reputation management. In some cases, the private label at work, i.e. the perception of bosses and colleagues, is also covered by the term.

Objectives

Why does anyone practice personal branding at all? Quite simply: The aim of image and reputation building is to communicate one’s own qualifications, skills and successes to the outside world and to position oneself (e.g. to improve one’s professional opportunities) or to gain expert status through targeted staging, selected presentation and self-marketing and to achieve sustainable opinion leadership.

Target groups

Personal branding is particularly suitable for public figures (celebrities, athletes, politicians), for the self -employed and executives – but also for career starters, career-seekers, coaches and artists. It is not uncommon for those affected to be accused of vanity (which is partly true), but especially for freelancers and small businesses, reputation and findability on the Internet are simply decisive for sales.

Building blocks

The essential components of a strong personal brand are – in addition to a clear message: one or more unique selling points , content relevant to the respective target group, an individual style and a credible, because consistent and reliable appearance. And of course growing references and contacts that confirm the expert status.

Why everyone needs a personal branding strategy today

An impeccable reputation is like magic – online and offline: it is able to enchant or even cloud the minds of others. It works no differently on the Internet than in real life: a good online reputation and personal brand protects against reputation attacks just as it helps to attract the attention of headhunters and potential employers.

Positioning the presence is as natural for some professions and experts as a business card is for others . In short: personal branding has long been a mass phenomenon. We live in the age of staging and media self-portrayal. Enjoying a competent public image and high social standing is an essential part of public personality and professional success. Whether as an applicant, colleague, boss or potential business partner – we are all googled and judged over the internet.

Our personal branding therefore has an influence on several neuralgic points in a career:

• When applying
• On promotion
• In job crises or job loss
• When placing an order
• If you don’t notice, you fall through the cracks

Personal branding is no longer just an additional benefit, but a fundamental necessity. The number of network activists who are making a name for themselves and the importance of their own digital brands are constantly increasing. Sounds like a threat, but offers many opportunities. By influencing important factors yourself and improving your online reputation, you work on your future success.

The social networks of Xing profile, Linkedin profile, Twitter account and personal blog acts like a virtual driftnet: once it has been knotted and ejected, attention and reach can be caught in it as well as prestige or fame.

With every employer and client you work for, you grow your business, contacts and skills. Even if you’ve worked for an employer for three or four years, you don’t identify as strongly. It is more important to build and maintain your own brand.

From the quip “It’s not about what you know, it’s about who you know” the Internet has long since formed a new derivation. It now reads, “It’s not about who you know, it’s about who knows you.”

3 questions to ask before building your personal brand

Personal branding always begins with oneself and with self-reflection . Before you take the first steps towards reputation building, it is important that you answer these questions:

• What should your brand stand for?

A brand only becomes strong when it differs from others and stands out positively. So do not concentrate on breadth, but on what is special, on your individual strengths (everyone has some!): What can you or do you know in contrast to others? Become an expert and put this expertise in the foreground. Gladly documented by specialist articles, interviews, references, contacts.

• Who do you want to reach?

In marketing-speak, the question could also be: Who is your target group? It is crucial that you are clear about what your readers, listeners, viewers are looking for. If you are doing self -marketing , for example when looking for a job, then your online presence should appeal to and convince either HR managers in general or specifically the recruiters at your target company. No matter what they are looking for – you provide the answers!

• What are the main keywords?

To stay with the example: HR professionals look for candidates based on specific skills and qualifications: For example, “Specialist for…” Your Xing or Linkedin profile, or even better your own blog, should contain appropriate search terms. And not too tight. This works particularly well, for example, by publishing technical papers or curating them (so-called curated content), i.e. linking, citing, commenting.

The dos and don’ts in personal branding – a checklist

Not everyone is a natural when it comes to creating a brand around themselves. To make it as easy as possible for you to start building your personal brand, we have summarized the numerous tips and examples of how you can proceed in a personal branding checklist for you.

Dos for personal branding

• General

  • Be clear about what you want to stand for: What is your message? What is your expertise?
    Develop a suitable brand name – or use your first and last name.
    Register your own name as a URL. If that’s no longer possible, at least check for variations or association with your brand name.
  • Check with KENIC whether the relevant URL for your brand title is still available, register it and open a blog or website there. Just nothing static: people there have to be able to communicate with you. Pure show sites are yesterday’s concepts.
  • Develop a uniform design concept for your signature and all brand components. They must be reflected in your website URL, email address and other places of publication.
  • If necessary, develop a personal claim, a motto, which will appear on your website and in the signature of your e-mail.
  • Also don’t forget the signatures in forums or social networks.
  • Design your own logo with recognition value.
  • Take a professional photo of yourself and use it to create a general avatar, a so-called gravatar for the internet.
  • Take a look around who is still active in your brand market. Get in touch with the best (and friendliest).
  • Try to spread your message across multiple channels: don’t just write a blog, but also produce videos or podcasts and broadcast them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and so on – where it reaches your target audience.
  • Make sure that you can be reached easily: by e-mail, by Skype, by using the contact form on the blog or by mobile phone.
• Social networks
  • Create an account in business networks such as Xing or Linkedin. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram also have a high reach (provided you take a lot of good pictures). Feel free to register profiles in several networks. However, make sure that your website is consistent and at least related: same name, same profile picture.
  • Link the pages to each other and include the links everywhere, but at least in your e-mail signature.
  • If you want and already have some reach, you can also open your own social network for like-minded people.
• marketing
  • Sign up for industry-related forums or social networking groups and contribute helpful information.
  • Provide food for thought and always remain friendly. Always remember: give first, then take!
  • Comment on articles on relevant blogs. No blah, please! This is the litmus test of your competence. If you show up there repeatedly as a helpful and informed expert, people will come to you later of their own accord.
  • Get involved in initiatives that deal with your topic and are in your interest – even if others came up with the idea first. Never work against competitors on the web, but with them. The viral effect is bigger that way.
  • Start a newsletter about your topics.
  • Write a book – or an eBook that you offer on your website for free download. Tell us about its appearance – via Twitter, blog or press release.
  • Think about how you can share your knowledge with others. For example, start a discussion forum on your topic on your website.
  • Point your readers to recommended products or websites from colleagues. They will be happy about it – and maybe even take pay back. But never count on it.
• media use
  • Create studies, surveys or other newsworthy results and pass them on to the press and fellow campaigners.
  • Give interviews. Offer topics that are as relevant as they are fun.
    Write guest posts in prominent blogs with a multiplier effect (these do not always have to be the best in the rankings).
  • Start and moderate expert chats on your topic. Try to use it primarily to help others or to answer burning questions.
  • Conduct interviews with prominent representatives, trendsetters, celebrities from your industry and publish them through your channels.
  • Visit relevant trade fairs, congresses, bar camps – and report about them (via article, interview, podcast, on video).
  • Give other people in your industry a reason to say something positive about you. The best reason is: they really help.

Personal branding don’ts

On the other hand, typical mistakes are made again and again in personal branding. You should therefore absolutely avoid these:

• They don’t choose wisely

Some choose their themes and priorities without prior reflection or analysis. This is how you position yourself on topics that you may not be (so) competent at, that only allow for little visibility or worse: have hardly any future potential. They are then committed to content that no one will be interested in tomorrow.

• You choose the wrong channels

They may correspond to your own preferences and customs, but not to those of the target group. Or to put it another way: you publish past your target group. Personal branding has no effect.

• They bring no continuity into it

A brand obliges. Continuous communication is crucial for reputation building. Anyone who starts out weak and then slacks off badly will do more damage to their brand in the long term than if they had done nothing at all. Those who can only do a little due to time constraints should rather start with a low frequency, but persevere.

• You delegate personal branding to others

Others let a personal branding agency do the work. There is no question that this saves time, but it costs money. And the quality can vary significantly. If you create soulless and replaceable SEO content, you might be found, but you won’t convince anyone. It takes real passion and competence – if these aspects are missing, the reputation will soon be different from the one planned. Always allow yourself to be shown examples – and read the articles carefully: How do they affect you? Would you want to be positioned like this?

Advantages of personal branding on the web

Personal branding has numerous benefits. Basically, it is therefore always worthwhile to work on your own personal brand on the internet. Not as a fake, as a façade with some ego make-up, but as an echo of your own personality, ability and knowledge – albeit in a positive light.

It’s not about a masquerade. Actors who just try to live up to expectations or an image will sooner or later be caught. Sustainable personal branding always relies on authenticity and tries to work out the existing personality more clearly.

However, personal branding is also about: acting instead of reacting! As the number of self-portrayals grows, so does the need for action. Because in contrast to the endless expanse of the web, the brand spaces there are finite and limited. The domains “ottonormal.de” or “ Wunschprodukt.de” only exist once. Instead of you, interested parties end up with the competition. “Nowadays, if you can’t be found on Google, it’s almost as if you don’t exist,” says bestselling author Jeff Jarvis.

Therefore, therefore and therefore: These are the advantages of positioning your own brand on the Internet in a nutshell:

• You show what you know and can do.
• You sharpen your technical and professional profile.
• You differentiate yourself.
• You become easily recognizable.
• You turn your interests into a branded product.
• Now you determine what people read about you on the internet.
• At the same time you demonstrate commitment .
• You protect yourself effectively against damage to your reputation.
• You gather new knowledge at the same time.
• You generate new ideas from your knowledge.
• You’ll develop skills you never knew you had.
• And mutate into experts over time.
• You might even become a trendsetter with your topic.
• They find previously unknown like-minded people, other experts.
• You get supporters.
• You gain a valuable network.
• You inspire others.
• You will also receive inspiration and suggestions in return.
• You become influential.
• You gain respect and media presence – for example through interviews.
• You become more independent.
• Also towards employers.

Possible disadvantages of personal branding on the Internet

A brand shapes. It develops luminosity and thus forms its own center of gravity. That’s what its supposed to do. But – and this is its greatest disadvantage – it also commits at the same time. Assuming you position yourself as an expert in social media and digitization at a young age and you succeed in doing so, then you can first take advantage of all the advantages described above. But after ten or 15 years you want to completely reinvent yourself professionally and are aiming for a change of profession and industry – then you may have a problem:

Your personal branding brands you. You are known as an expert in social media and digitization, not for your new thing. However, HR managers are looking for precisely the specialists in this area. Your established brand is now becoming a stumbling block and a handicap, no matter how positively it is perceived.

Personal rebranding: 3 steps to a new online image

It can therefore be part of the personal branding strategy to get rid of the previous image and build up a completely new professional reputation and profession. In this case, you should heed the following recommendations:

• Define

When changing jobs , the online brand can become a burden. The internet never forgets. If you want to reinvent yourself, you need a personal rebranding. The first step: define your new brand. Use the first time in the immersion to determine your position and self-analysis . How do you want to reposition yourself?

• To construct

Also important for the image change: a good and credible story. However, this kind of self-declaration should never sound like justification, but rather like a planned departure. There must be a red thread that holds the patches together. It’s good if there’s a period of time between ending and starting. A phase of reflection gives the change of image meaning. And for the creation of a legend to have its full effect, you should already have something concrete up your sleeve. So build up new online profiles and presences in secret beforehand.

• Present

Now comes the element of surprise. They are back – with a new image, a new job profile and a new online presence. Communicate and link the new position on all old and new online channels. Adjust your CV and contact details and change the look too: swap your portrait photo on Xing, give your Facebook page a new design, your Twitter profile a new background, your blog a new look. And don’t expect too much: It can take six to twelve months for such a rebranding to be completed.

 

To be successful in the workplace, you need to stand out from the crowd. What sounds so easy and self-evident is in reality a great mystery to many. Because no matter how well qualified you are, what certificates you can show, whether you have completed a bachelor’s or master’s degree and numerous internships – there is always someone who has the same or even better qualifications. What is needed is a personal brand that represents your strengths and has a reputation to match. How you can benefit from a personal brand in Kenya and how to build one…

Personal branding in Kenya: What’s in it for you?

Many applicants and employees believe that they do not need a personal tag. They consider their own professional position to be too small or insignificant. A mistake! A personal brand cannot only be built up in senior management, but is worthwhile in every area. Such an attitude shows an underestimation of one’s own worth and a lack of understanding of the importance of a personal brand.

Making yourself a brand can be worthwhile for everyone – especially if this project is implemented correctly. This includes presenting and marketing exactly those aspects of yourself that you want to use to impress others. If this succeeds, a personal brand has many advantages:

They show your strengths and personality , which makes you stand out from the crowd.
You develop a concrete profile with which you will be associated.
You will develop a reputation in your field that you can benefit from in the long term.
You build up a growing and functioning network .
You decide how you want to design your personal brand.

Today, more than ever, almost everyone is interchangeable. Even more so for the countless unnamed employees who, while doing important work, never achieve a status that could set them apart from all the rest. To put it bluntly: For a company it doesn’t matter who does the important work as long as it gets done. With a personal tag behind you, you gain more power over your own situation.

By concentrating on your area and interweaving your name as closely as possible with a subject area, you will go from being a replaceable employee to being a sought-after specialist and expert – which can not only be a great advantage for applications, but can also pave the way to higher positions.

Building a personal brand: This is how it works

Your personal brand plays an important role in the job and can also be formed there. By concentrating on special tasks and projects, making appropriate contacts with important personalities and making a name for yourself. However, a large and in many cases the more important part takes place online. Here you have the opportunity to position yourself specifically, to link your name to an area, a product or a keyword and to align your online activities accordingly.

In addition, you can reach a significantly larger audience here and you have a wide variety of platforms at your disposal to build up your personal brand: Especially in social networks and forums that deal with your topic, a targeted activity is worthwhile in order to build on your individual brand and perception work.

Anyone who deals with your industry should come across you. These can be your comments, with which you comment on relevant articles or posts, but even better are your own articles on the topic, which you publish on your blog and spread on social media yourself. The principle for a personal brand is therefore: Get out of anonymity, you can be found. These questions can help you find and build your personal brand:

1. What is your goal?

   If you want to build a personal brand, you first have to think about what goals you are pursuing with it. For example, do you want to establish yourself as an expert in the market to attract customers or are you looking for a new job? You can only really use your personal brand if you know your goal.

2. What is your personal brand?

   Perhaps the most important question: what exactly is your brand – what distinguishes you and what do you stand for? Become aware of your strengths and find aspects that make you different from everyone else.

3. Who is your target audience?

   Who is your personal brand aimed at? Often it is HR to find a job or customers to generate orders. Your personal brand and the actions associated with it should always be geared towards your target group. Ask yourself: What do I want the target group to know about me and how can I respond?

4. How can you achieve this?

   Once you have identified your target group, you still have to reach them. If you build your personal brand directly in your job, this is easy because colleagues, bosses and customers are in the immediate vicinity. The big social media platforms offer great potential online, but you should also go beyond that to participate in other forums and position yourself there.

Personal tag for applicants: 5 important skills

Applicants in particular can benefit from a personal brand to increase their chances of finding a job. In addition to time and commitment, a number of skills and abilities are also required, which applicants ideally already have or which they acquire during the development of the personal brand.

The second advantage: The skills that are important for building a personal brand also bring further advantages in the later employment relationship, since they are sometimes required by employers, but are at least valued in an employee.

• critical ability

  It requires a certain amount of self-confidence , but above all an awareness of your own strengths and knowledge. You can only represent your personal brand authentically if you have the ability to take criticism.

• empathy

  Empathy and knowledge of human nature are required. For your personal brand, empathy is particularly important in order to be able to identify the requirements and expectations of companies and HR managers in advance and to be able to react accordingly.

• persistence

  A personal brand doesn’t grow in a week, so applicants need perseverance, patience , and motivation to persevere. Immediate results should therefore not be expected.

• passion

  Ideally, your personal brand is based on your passion. What do you want to do or achieve and what do you want to stand for? Use the enthusiasm as a drive and basis – both for your personal brand and for your job search. Applicants who can convey your passion have a better chance of convincing recruiters.

• willingness to learn

  If you want to build and maintain a personal brand, you have to be willing to keep learning and to incorporate the new knowledge into your actions. Experimenting and finding out what works – and what doesn’t – isn’t always easy, but it’s an effective way to keep your personal brand in the long run.

Authenticity for a successful personal brand: attractiveness and authenticity

When advertising on your own behalf and building a personal brand, you must not forget: The whole thing only works with the necessary authenticity . Anyone who wants to sell and present themselves as something they are not will be exposed quickly.

Don’t just write anything on the flags. It must be understandable and credible why you position yourself in exactly this way and not in another way. Ultimately, this only works with a holistic picture, appropriate  expertise, experience and services. Talking about it, creating awareness and making your own brand known is just the next step.

Whether you call them investors looking for projects to fund in kenya, private investors, seed investors, informal investors, business angels or angel funders, these are the names used to refer to angel investors in Kenya. Business angels are private individuals who invest financially in a start-up or company at a very early stage and at the same time support the founders with know-how and contacts. But until startups have found such a private investor who secures their basic financial resources and nurtures the company baby, a lot of sweat runs down their foreheads. We will therefore show you where to find angel investors in Kenya – and how to choose them correctly…

Angel investors in Kenya: Angel investors for startups from heaven

In contrast to venture capital companies, which focus more on growth financing, business angels invest in startups at an early stage – so-called early stage or seed investments. Typical for such a angel investor participation are not only the small sums of capital with which the business angels get involved (often only up to Ksh10,000,000, rather less), but above all the know-how that the angels bring with them.

In technical jargon one therefore also speaks of smart capital. Most business angels not only act as financiers, but also as consultants, start-up coaches and door openers who use their network to get the first important business alliances off the ground.

In addition, the Angel investors in Kenya are quite picky. A good business idea alone is far from opening their cash box. Founders also have to convince…

• with their management team.
• a clear vision.
• a recognizable monetization strategy.
• Product or service traction.
• a lucrative market.
• and through your own financial commitment.

Anyone who only hopes that others or the business angel will shoulder the financial risk alone will usually get nothing.

If all of these points are correct, however, the following questions arise from the founder’s perspective:

• How do I get such a business angel?
• Where can I find my personal business angel?

We have put together the most important tips and networks for you…

Where can I get investors for my business in Kenya? List of angel investors in Kenya

Kenyan startup funding can be successful by trying to focus on the following areas:

• networks
  Startups have the opportunity to submit an executive summary of their business plan.
• start-up platforms
  These include portals such as Crunchbase.com, where founders can present themselves and present their ideas. Crunchbase could be described as an international startup database that is continuously edited. A good tool to put yourself in the limelight and thus to lure the media and investors – business angels, for example – onto your trail. The AngelList belongs to the same category, is a mixture of Wikipedia and a social network: create a profile, network, research and look for investors – startups can do fundraising here and woo potential financiers directly. But: This does not happen on its own. Without regular updates and research, the search will come to nothing.
• events
  There are also so-called accelerators and start-up support programs.

Below are some of the people listed under angel investors in Kenya:

1. Yaniv Gelnik
2. Aadil Mamujee
3. Ush Patel
4. Daniel Goldfarb
5. Mark Straub
6. Donna Harris

Searching for angel investors in Nairobi could be a better solution to finding angel investors within Kenya. Some of the business sponsors in Kenya or those that lend funds include:

• Angel Networks
• Financial foundations
  • Chandaria Foundation,
  • Safaricom Foundation, and
  • Agriculture Finance Corporation
• Venture Capitalists
• Industrial Development Fund
• The Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC)
• Kenya Industrial Estate
• Women Enterprise Fund
• Uwezo Fund
• Youth Enterprise Development Fund
• Crowdsourcing Micro Lenders

How do business angels invest in Kenya?

You can approach business angels in the early stages of the company. Although you bear a high risk, you also participate in the great growth dynamics and the increases in value at the beginning.

Some angels invest alone in a startup, others join forces to form mini-networks in order to efficiently bundle their networks, strengths and capital.

Depending on the calculated company value, the company shares are then between 20 and 49 percent. Founders should not accept more in this phase.

However, business angels do not want to buy a season ticket with it. Your interest and investment time are limited. Typically, after four to seven years , angels look for a so-called exit, in which they sell their shares – at a profit, of course – to another investor (or on the stock exchange). In order to make your startup more attractive to private investors, you should also think about possible exit strategies for Angels. As a rule, this is achieved by planning further rounds of financing in the business plan.

How do I choose a business angel in Kenya?

1. preparation

   In the beginning there is a focus on your own product. A brilliant idea, a solid business plan, a good presentation – these are the basic requirements for even being able to win over a business angel. You should definitely prepare a so-called one-pager (executive summary on one page) or a so-called pitch deck (maximum 15 pages) in which you outline the most important key data of the company. Anyone who shows up to investors without doing their homework looks unprofessional right from the start.

2. credentials

   Which startups has the business angel supported so far? How many? How long has he been doing this? What else is he doing? When did he get on and off again? In short: what is his track record like? Obtaining information, looking at references, squeezing other people about him – you should take the time, because there are also some money vultures and rip-offs in the Engels industry. By the way, they are called Business Devils within the industry . Be wary of them. Tip: Never advance money in order to supposedly get some afterwards.

3. Chemistry

   The chemistry must be right. A sentence made for phrase pigs, but no less true: Founders and angels spend a lot of time together, talking, advising, brainstorming, conferring – over the Internet or face to face. If you do that with someone you can’t stand, you’ll sooner or later lose interest. The private harmony must be right – you hear that again and again in the industry.

4. Location

   The world is networked like never before. However, physical proximity is still an advantage: A joint exchange between the founder and the angel investor can eliminate grievances faster than a round of Skype. Going to a trade fair together, door-knocking, discussing, drinking coffee, and so on… When Angel is a ten-hour flight away, all of that is more difficult.

5. capital

   The angel with the thickest checkbook is not always the best candidate. The more important question is often: How many shares and freedom of choice do I have to give up for this? Here it is important to carefully weigh up the need for financing and the scope for creativity. A business angel who supports you in the operative business and actively helps to build up a functioning company may be the better choice.

6. network

   Your business angel is optimally networked with other investors, lawyers, recruiters and marketing people. Advantage: He has your back and brings you together with external experts so that you can concentrate fully on your core business. After all, as a founder, you not only want to benefit from your angel’s mammon, but also from his contacts – from someone who will advance your startup and make it better known. Can your business angel do something like that? But also important: If a business angel holds too many shares, he may not have enough time for you. Industry expertise and references in abundance do not always have to be an advantage.

7. industry

   On the one hand, it makes sense to focus on people who have a wealth of experience in the respective industry. Example: Angels who have previously invested in other fintechs and know the pitfalls of the industry are ideal for a fintech startup. On the other hand, it can also make sense to take off your blinders and approach business angels who have not yet had any industry experience. Private investors are curious and enthusiastic – and thirsty for fresh ideas. Fear of contact with business angels from outside the industry is therefore a bad guide.

8. investor search

   A tip for advanced users: If you already have a business angel at hand, you should involve them as much as possible. Specifically: you should go with them to look for investors. A well-known name creates trust and credibility – and increases the chance for future financing rounds.

How to be taken seriously as a young founder

Work experience is certainly a helpful factor in starting your own business and finding investors. Nevertheless, more and more young founders are daring to take the step into self-employment, not least because there are much lower market entry barriers today, both technically and via the Internet. But young founders in particular have to prove themselves even more in order to be taken seriously .

The following tips will show you how:

1. Don’t let that get you down

   Every founder has to reckon with headwinds at the beginning. This can be even more severe for young founders. Investors will advise you against your plan, tell you that you can’t do it or even outright declare your idea to be absurd and bad. If you want to be taken seriously, don’t let that get you down. Demonstrate that you firmly believe in your idea and have strong and reliable arguments for it – preferably numbers. If there are even first results, first customers and market interest, the ice is broken and investors will pay less attention to your age.

2. Appear professionally

   An appropriate business outfit, the right body language and also a professional presentation, for example when you present your business plan – all these things have an enormous influence on the first impression you make. Here you can already set the course, whether you will be perceived as a serious founder with solid planning or as a young student with a dream. Of course, you should not pretend, otherwise you will lose authenticity.

3. Make the right contacts

   You still lack the experience? Then find a mentor or two before approaching investors. Benefit from the experiences that older founders have already had and use their knowledge for your own company and your personal career. Not only can you learn a lot, but you will also be taken more seriously if you surround yourself with successful and experienced entrepreneurs.

4. Use your age as a strength

   Even if age is often interpreted as a weak point, it can be your greatest strength: Perhaps you understand your (young) target group much better and can use this knowledge to set yourself apart from the competition. Or you have a critical look at the old structures and recognize which errors exist and how these can be avoided today. Make it clear that you bring a breath of fresh air.

We hope now you have an idea regarding Kenya start-up funding as it relates to angel investors.

Advertising, production, staff, material – starting a business can be expensive, which is why many resort to external financial aid. Bootstrapping is different: Here, founders only use their own funds to get the company off the ground. But how does it work without outside capital? We explain what is behind bootstrapping, what requirements it needs and how the implementation succeeds.

What does bootstrapping mean?

Bootstrapping is a form of financing in which the founding of a company is self-sufficient. The financial challenges are mastered through their own efforts and without outside help. No loans or financial assistance from outside. Founders do not go to the bank to invest several tens of thousands of euros in outside capital in the project. Those who become self- employed with bootstrapping therefore usually realize their business idea with a small budget.

The term “bootstrapping” (also “bootstrapping” or simply “bootstrap” is used synonymously) comes from the American usage and literally means boot strap. In the business context, however, it is less about the boot strap and more about a idiom from the English-speaking world. “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps” or “pull yourself over a fence by your bootstraps” means something like pulling yourself up on the belt.

It’s about reaching your goal through your own effort and getting by without outside help.

Bootstrapping in other disciplines: Bootstrapping is also used in other disciplines. In statistics, for example, bootstrapping describes a method for calculating confidence intervals. In computer science, this describes a process in which a simple system sets a complex one in motion. Of course, this article is about the form of financing.

This is how bootstrapping works

Founding without any additional money? That seems almost impossible. After all, some expenses have to be made at the beginning before sales and profits can even be generated. However, bootstrapping is not done out of necessity because there are no external funds available. Rather, it is a conscious decision .

And it can work, because outside capital is no guarantee for the success of a company. Rather, it is these seven principles that make successful bootstrapping possible:

1. Fast entry into the operative business

If you have a tight budget, you cannot wait, plan and prepare forever, but have to get into the operative business as quickly as possible. This means the core business with which you generate sales. If you want to sell something, you have to do it as quickly as possible so that money can flow into the company. Side businesses that are more secondary and the strategic business should be of very low priority in the beginning.

2. Reaching the break-even point quickly

A core goal of bootstrapping must be to reach the so-called break-even point at an early stage. This is the break-even point where costs and revenues are equal – so there is neither loss nor profit. In the further development of a company, after reaching the break-even point, profits can be expected and you start to make real money.

3. Offer quality products or services

In order to successfully implement bootstrapping, it is helpful if the founding idea is based on high-quality products or services. As a founder, you can then become active yourself in many areas and carry out different tasks in the company. The founding members should take over the distribution themselves if possible.

4. Careful decisions in human resources policy

When it comes to bootstrapping, you should rely on young talent. Of course, experienced experts bring a lot of knowledge with them, but they can hardly be paid for with the limited financial means. Top talents, on the other hand, have the necessary know-how and intrinsic motivation with lower salary expectations. You can develop with the company in the long term.

5. Be careful with rapid growth

First of all, it seems great when a young company is faced with great growth opportunities. Positive acceptance of your own offer and huge demand offer great potential. Due to the tight budget for bootstrapping, however, the growth should be approached a little more slowly, since the costs can also increase quickly and get out of control.

6. Enable always available liquidity

The most important thing about bootstrapping is that you are financially liquid at all times. This can only work if expenses are minimized as much as possible and income is maximized on the other hand. This does not mean that no investments are made at all. It just requires founders to make smart investment decisions. That they make the right investments and put the money they have in the right places to get the maximum benefit.

7. Practice good networking

Even if the basic idea of ​​bootstrapping is to avoid borrowing, it may be necessary at a later stage of the business. As a self-employed person, you should therefore maintain good contacts with banks if you do consider a loan at some point.

Requirements and who bootstrapping is it suitable for?

There is no ideal way of founding and financing a company that applies to everyone. Means: Bootstrapping is not automatically the path to success for everyone. For some founders, bootstrapping may even be the completely wrong decision because it doesn’t fit their personality and the planned career in self-employment.

In addition, some requirements must be met for bootstrapping to work:

• Capital
  Some equity is essential for bootstrapping. In the course of time, however, it is usually topped up by further financing options. The classic: grants from family and friends. Supplier loans and public subsidies help to realize the dream of having your own company.
• Willingness to take risks
  Entrepreneurs who choose bootstrapping as a form of financing need the necessary willingness to take risks . If you are afraid of using your money and investing in your own independence, you are not in good hands with bootstrapping.
• Willingness to compromise
  With bootstrapping, compromises have to be made at one point or another in order to get by with the limited financial resources. Perhaps the optimal solution is not possible in every area, but you have to find the best possible compromise . Founders who can make the best of every situation and don’t get bogged down in ideas of perfection have an advantage here.
• Generalist
  It is important that you are able to handle many tasks yourself. There is simply not enough money to pay an expert for every area . In advance, you should inform yourself accordingly and educate yourself further. The more you can rely on yourself, the better bootstrapping suits you.
• Self-criticism
  At the same time, it is necessary for you to be self-critical about your own work and performance . You have to do a lot of things yourself when bootstrapping – but you can’t possibly have core competence in all areas. It’s not efficient if you spend endless hours tediously programming a website only to end up with a bad result. Think about what you can do really well yourself and where the investment in specialists pays off.

Examples of bootstrapping

Many examples show that bootstrapping can work. Numerous companies have built their success on self-financing without many being aware of it. Various computer and programming companies such as Microsoft, Dell, Apple and SAP are examples of self-financing. But there is also bootstrapping in other areas, such as GitHub where version control software for software development projects.

Benefits and risks of bootstrapping

Bootstrapping picks up on values ​​and ideas that can also be observed in minimalism and frugalism : not spending money with both hands (which, strictly speaking, you don’t even have). Instead, use the few resources that are available in a resource-oriented manner. Bootstrapping is also a form of modesty : start small, grow organically.

Instead of making expensive purchases on credit to fool potential customers (and competitors), self-employment is promoted step by step in a very down-to-earth manner. This has some advantages – but of course there are also risks and disadvantages if you decide to self-finance the start-up.

Bootstrapping advantages

• You are debt free.
  Your company is not in debt from the start. You don’t have to pay back huge amounts of money to banks over the years. At the same time, this does not mean that borrowed capital will have to be dispensed with in the future. Later loans are still possible.
• You gain reputation.
  Doing it on your own strengthens your self-confidence . But it also impresses others. In this way, you will develop a good reputation in front of customers and business partners.
• Your area of ​​responsibility is manageable.
  As a rule, you are initially only responsible for yourself. If founding a company via bootstrapping doesn’t work, you don’t have to give anyone notice.
• The profits stay with you.
  Bootstrapping founders often benefit from the fact that no shares have to be sold, as is the case with investors, for example. This means that profits made remain entirely in your own pockets.
• You learn how to act efficiently.
  You have to focus on the essentials right from the start, making smart financial decisions. At the same time, you have to use very scarce resources sparingly, yet effectively and profitably. In addition, great effort and personal commitment are required – a good tool for successful founders.
• You are independent.
  Bootstrapped funding means no one can talk you into how you do things. So you can try out the implementation of your visions. In the case of borrowed capital, on the other hand, the investors have a say. And: There are certain deadlines to be met when the first installment has to be repaid.

Bootstrapping cons

• The beginning is difficult.
  A lack of investors often means not having any support for questions and problems, for example from an experienced investor and industry expert. The knowledge could be very useful, especially in difficult times.
• The company is growing slowly.
  Overcoming the first hurdles can be difficult when bootstrapping. Scarce financial resources make immediate purchases difficult, instead you have to wait. This requires more patience until you can achieve really big sales. At the same time, there is a risk that others with a similar business model will pass you by and your own company will have to accept disadvantages.
• You deviate from the plan.
  If financial resources become scarce, concessions are necessary that were not previously planned. Under certain circumstances, however, such deviations can also result in opportunities.
• You carry a double burden.
  It is not uncommon for companies to set up part-time. Because while your own company is not yet making any money, the running costs have to be covered. This leads to double taxation.
• You alone bear the risk.
  With bootstrapping, you have to keep an eye on yourself and your activities at all times. It is your own capital that you are putting at risk. If the hoped-for success does not materialize, you are left with the costs alone. Founders cannot afford to make several mistakes. If something goes wrong, this is often the end of self-employment.

The path to self-employment is not only associated with work, but also costs. Not everyone brings enough equity with them. Subsidies for founders help if your own funds are not enough. Funding programs or grants can be used to overcome the first financial hurdles. We will introduce you to funding for start-ups and explain what you need to look out for with the respective sponsors…

Find out about funding for founders in Kenya

Fill out applications, submit them to foundations and authorities and wait for funding? It’s not that easy in practice. Before you apply for funding for founders, you should inform yourself thoroughly. The more you know, the better you can assess the financial situation and act calculated.

Advisory services for founders are a good first point of contact. In such a start-up coaching, all possibilities are examined, explained and weighed against each other. Professional advice often provides insights that remain unnoticed in self-study of the topic.

Nevertheless, you should of course deal with information offers on subsidies for founders of authorities and other institutes yourself.

State funding for business founders and entrepreneurs in Kenya

In Kenya, prospective self-employed people are supported by subsidies for founders. The state tries to provide as many citizens as possible with the prerequisites for founding their own company – especially when there is little capital available.

Further tips for business founders

The state subsidies for start-ups have a number of advantages and are a good start, especially if there is little or no equity. However, there are alternatives that should not go unnoticed, depending on the founder and individual situation:

grants and funds

There are countless grants and start-up funds that support self-employed people from a wide variety of areas in Kenya. There are start-up funds that invest specifically in companies from certain sectors, others are aimed at young companies that are starting their own business after completing their studies. Thorough research helps to find a suitable model that you can use to get funding.

venture capital

Venture capital – so-called risk capital – is a chance for the self-employed to get financial support. In practice, however, it is not always easy: it requires an innovative business model , a large market and the prospect of rapid, scalable growth.

As a founder, you should also pay attention to a few selection criteria when looking for suitable venture capital investors (VC):

• Does the VC have a relevant network of partners, customers in your industry?
• Does the VC have enough capital for follow-up financing?
• How does the VC react in bad times?
• Do you and the VC have similar ideas regarding the exit and when?

The name risk or venture capital already suggests it: not only the investor bears a risk here – the founders financed in this way do the same. Completely free work is only rarely possible after such a round of financing. You now have co-partners with sometimes more shares than you do – so they have a say in every decision.

business angel (angel investors)

Business Angels show that funding for start-ups is not exclusively of a financial nature . Behind the term are usually private financial investors (or investor networks) who not only support start-ups with capital, but also with valuable know-how and contacts – the mixture is referred to as smart capital.

Business angels bring industry knowledge and experience with them, which is enormously helpful when starting a business. For young entrepreneurs, they are not only an investor, but also a coach and mentor. In return, the angel investor receives shares in the company.

If you have contact with business angel investors and they show interest in your business idea, you should consider the following criteria when making your selection:

• What is the investment sum?
• What is the reputation of the business angel investor?
• How up-to-date is his industry knowledge?
• How many contacts does the business angel have in your target industry?
• What is the quality of the contacts?
• What other support does the Angel investor offer – apart from money?
• How much influence should the business angel have on your decisions?
• How many shares does he want for his investment – ​​does he rate the company fairly?

Mixture of equity and subsidies

Solid start-up financing usually consists of a mix of equity, public grants, loans and possibly the – financial and professional – support of a business angel and/or venture capital. Of course, you have to weigh up the share of the various forms of financing in the start-up financing for yourself and on a case-by-case basis.

It is crucial that you tackle the start-up financing in good time in order to remain liquid and at the same time not jeopardize the steady growth of the young company.

What insurance does a founder need?

Every founder and self-employed person must insure themselves. Health insurance is mandatory for all founders. You can choose between statutory and private health insurance. Here you should compare the tariffs exactly. Also think about later, because some insurance can increase in price.

Every founder must check other insurances for themselves. Every industry has different operational risks. You should find out which types of insurance make sense for your industry. Examples worth considering are:

1. Disability insurance (BU)
2. accident insurance
3. unemployment insurance
4. business liability insurance
5. Financial loss liability insurance
6. business contents insurance
7. legal protection insurance

How do I apply my start-up with 10,000 shillings?

Not every founder collects millions from investors without further ado. Some startups are financially tight and have to turn over every penny. Problem: Somehow your idea has to be brought forward and made known. Preferably in an original, fun, interesting way. For example like this:

• Buy coffee

You buy 20 strangers a delicious (!) coffee and ask them to test your product. The probability that your guinea pigs will tell their friends about this episode is felt at 98 percent.

• Doing event jacking

The term roughly means that you use an event or event that basically has nothing to do with you for your own interests. For example, you advertise your groundbreaking sports results app when the city center is filled with soccer fans because of the Bundesliga game.

• Send test copies

Send test copies (or test receipts) of your product to selected bloggers. It is important to correctly identify the blogging multipliers in your industry beforehand. Encourage them to put your product through a real test and review it publicly. However, there is a risk of negative reviews.

Without financial start-up support, many business ideas cannot be implemented. Buying a new computer and printing business cards might still be possible with your savings, but when six-figure investments in real estate, vehicle fleets and machines are pending, solid start -up financing is required for the success of your start-up…

Definition: What is start-up financing in Kenya?

The term start -up financing includes all measures that are taken in the start-up phase to raise the necessary money . From this point of view, the listing of your costs (foundation costs, investments and money to bridge the start-up phase) is the first step in your start-up financing.

The biggest hurdle, however, is convincing a financier to invest in your idea before sales numbers show its likelihood of success.

Read more: How to be successful with your business after securing a financing option.

Financing options for entrepreneurs in Kenya

In Kenya, founders have a wide range of financing options at their disposal. What is a good thing on the one hand, on the other hand, means that some people lose track of things. It is often difficult to find the best individual solution.

If you feel the same way, you should visit online start-up platform. They not only provides an understandable overview of the various financing options in Kenya, but also filters them based on the capital requirements and the individual requirements of the founders.

The most important forms of financing for founders  or entrepreneurs in Kenya are equity, bank loans, public development loans and equity capital. Below we give you a brief overview of their respective advantages and disadvantages:

equity

Own funds should form the basis of any start-up financing. The rule here is: the more, the better. Because you can only use your own money quickly and flexibly . This is important, for example, if you want to compensate for missing sales or react to sudden market changes. More and more start-ups are carried out exclusively with equity and money from Friends and Family. How so? Purchasing is becoming cheaper and cheaper through global procurement and sales can now be organized via the Internet in such a way that no complex sales structures have to be created. In addition, more and more people appreciate the independence and freedom of an independent foundation that is not determined by external constraints. This form of financing is called bootstrapping .

Bank loan (business start-up loan)

The first step for many founders who depend on external financing usually leads to their house bank . In fact, classic bank loans for start-up financing are better than their reputation: the conditions are quite fair, especially for long-term financing (much less so for short-term overdrafts) and a bank loan preserves the independence of the founder – because the bank does not require a say in the company or shares in it. She just wants to see her money and interest back at the agreed time. The rule of thumb is: The greater the uncertainty caused by innovative business models , the lower the chances of getting a bank loan. However, this also applies the other way around: Business ideas that have already shown several times that money can be made with them are gladly financed by banks. We have compiled such business ideas for you here on the start-up platform. However, it becomes difficult to get a bank loan if there is no collateral. Banks are required by law not to take any unforeseeable risks. Therefore, an equity share of at least 20 percent is usually required. A high proportion of equity not only minimizes the risk for the bank, it is also seen as a sign that the founder is fully behind his idea and will do everything for the success of his company – after all, he himself has the most to lose.

Public promotional loans

Because start-ups and young companies contribute to a competitive economy and create jobs, the state supports them with a wide range of financing and funding offers. An important pillar are low-interest promotional loans for founders .

A big advantage of public development loans – in addition to low interest rates and long terms: Borrowers are often granted a repayment-free start-up phase of some years for their business to “pick”. This means that it is conserved precisely at the time when liquidity is scarce.

venture capital

It is particularly difficult for risky and innovative start-ups to get a bank loan. Then equity capital is a viable way of financing. With this form of financing, private or institutional financiers buy shares in a company and thus increase its equity.

Other names for venture capital are venture capital , venture capital, or venture capital . This makes it clear what the issue is: venture capitalists do not require collateral. They trust that a new idea will prevail and that their commitment will pay off in the future through profit sharing.

In return, as co-owners, they usually demand voting and influence rights in the company. Although this limits the decision-making scope of the founders, it can also be an advantage if the investors contribute to the success of the company through their experience and contacts.

Exceptions are so-called silent participations , in which the investors make a contribution and only expect a profit share in return. The founders keep the reins in their hands and do not give up any say in the matter.

Prerequisite to successful financing: A solid business plan

Whether it’s a bank loan or an investment, a business plan is almost always a prerequisite for obtaining financing. It shows that your start -up project has a chance of success and that you are the right person to implement it.

On the start-up platform you will find an ingenious tool that will guide you safely through all sections of your business plan and make your planning easier with digital number assistants .

When writing your business plan , pay attention to the following points – your readers will thank you:

• Write clearly and don’t bore with too many technical details.
• Put the economic feasibility of your project in the foreground – because that is what your business plan is primarily about.
• Use tables, graphics and pictures to illustrate your project.
• Make sure you have an attractive design.
• Stick to a generally accepted outline.

The numbers part of your business plan is often referred to as the heart. Be prepared that your potential financiers will take a very close look here. At the same time, make yourself aware that it is not important to calculate the numbers nicely. Not the venture with the highest profit prospects , but the one with the most plausible rationale (why do you think profits will increase on the curve you outlined?) will get the nod.

Your potential financiers are particularly interested in these numbers:

1. Capital and funding needs

   Whatever you have in mind, before you start a business, you should calculate how much capital you need. Keep in mind that you will probably also need money for your livelihood in the beginning – because it can take weeks or even months for a young company to make a profit for the first time.

   The readers of your business plan want to know right away what is expected of them. It is therefore important that the capital and financing requirements are not lost somewhere in the figures, but are immediately apparent. Mention in the summary, which is usually at the beginning of the business plan, how much money you need, what you want to use it for and by when you will pay it back.

   You should also clearly quantify your equity share. Especially with a share of less than 20 percent , you should have a good reason why it is still worth investing in your project.

2. liquidity

   Every meaningful business plan contains a liquidity plan for the first three years. It shows how the founder’s account balance will develop – i.e. how much money is actually available to him and when.

   A lack of liquidity is one of the most common reasons for start-ups to fail. Ideally, your liquidity planning shows that even in a worst-case scenario where sales fall short of expectations , you will be able to pay off your loan with interest.

3. profitability

   In your profitability plan , you compare the planned income with the expenses (for goods and materials used, operating costs, taxes). The sooner you are in the black, the better – for you, but also for your financiers.

   If possible, you should achieve a positive result in the first year and be able to live on the earnings in the second year at the latest. Be sure to resist the temptation to simply increase your projected sales in the profitability plan until you have a positive result. A reputable financier will see through this maneuver immediately and will critically ask how you came up with your numbers.

Forms of financing for your project

The question of financing is a neuralgic point for many founders on the way to self-employment. Although there are many different financing methods, it is not easy for them to put together the right financing package for them.

Irrespective of which form of financing is the right one for your project: with good preparation and a convincing business plan, you will gain the trust of your financiers.

There are a number of pitfalls when it comes to financing. So that you don’t stumble, here are the most important tips:

Planning realistically

Excessive start-up financing, for which you would have to pay an unnecessarily high interest rate and which might make you lose sight of making profits, will help you just as little as too tight a start-up financing. You should determine your capital requirements as realistically as possible. Nevertheless: It is essential that you remember to plan a sufficient reserve for the unforeseen and do everything you can to secure your liquidity. Planning an additional 20 percent as a buffer is a sensible rule of thumb that saves nerves.

Factor in taxes

Taxes can be a real stumbling block for founders, especially when business is going better than expected.
Let’s say you pay a low tax rate the first year because you expected sales to grow slowly. In fact, you make more money than you thought. After a year you make your tax return , which means that the tax office will charge you with a hefty back tax payment. Together with the tax assessment, you will receive the message that you have to make a higher advance tax payment with immediate effect – even retrospectively for the current year.

Our tip: As soon as you make imputed profits – this is often the case in a partnership where the entrepreneur does not receive a salary, often in the first year – you should regularly transfer a fixed proportion of your income to a reserve account or savings account. In this way, you are always prepared for any additional tax payments. Ask your accountant for the appropriate percentage or use 30 percent as a rule of thumb.

Saving helps

When the financing is in place, the loan is approved and you can finally get started, many founders get into a real frenzy: they spend the money with their hands. The premises are furnished in the finest fashion, mountains of advertising material are ordered or a chic company car is leased. But if everything doesn’t go as planned, there is no more money for the really important things: for salaries, goods or rent, for example.

Don’t let it get to that point. With every investment, check very carefully whether it is really necessary. The conversion of the escape routes , which the authorities have made a requirement for your company, is definitely one of them. An expensive reception counter made of marble, on the other hand, probably not.

Get creative: Not everything has to be brand new, many things can also be bought used. Start as lean as possible and first test whether your idea really works.

Always remember: Every additional shilling spent must first be earned again. For example, if you have a 20 percent profit margin on your sales, a Ksh1,000 counter means you would need to make Ksh500 in sales to earn it.

With franchising, you use a proven business model and adopt it for a fee. Although franchisees are self-employed, they do not run an independent business and are bound by the guidelines and regulations of the franchisor. Franchising works primarily in the catering sector, with fast food chains such as McDonald’s, Starbucks or Subway. Simply explained: what does franchising mean? Plus examples, advantages and disadvantages and a checklist of what franchisees should definitely pay attention to…

What does franchising mean in simple terms?

Franchising is a partnership-based distribution system. A new company (franchisee) takes over the established business model of an existing company (franchisor) against payment of an ongoing fee (license). The franchising partner may use the name, design and business idea of ​​the franchisor for a specified period of time. You could also say: With franchising, you rent a successful business model and can legally imitate it.

The most important features of franchising

• Proven business model
• Use against license fee
• Cooperative sales as a brand chain
• High notoriety through multiplication
• Partnership success

The decisive factor in franchising is that the franchisee remains legally independent with this business concept. It is not a “branch”, but a kind of concession sale – i.e. a form of indirect sales. Both parties – franchisor and franchisee – are contractually bound to each other. However, the franchisee may not change the business model, logo, design, online shop or products.

Franchising examples for Kenyans: meaning and concepts

The best-known franchising examples in the world include the fast-food chains McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) and the coffee chain Starbucks. All of them license their business concept to franchisees, who implement it independently according to precise specifications at selected locations.

Franchising in Kenya includes franchises such as KFC, Dominos, Pizza Hut among others. Carrefour is also another franchise in Kenya. Of course, as you have seen the most common franchises are fast food franchises in Kenya.

Franchise offers exist in these sectors:

• gastronomy
• Hotels
• Bakery products
• fashion + jewellery
• fitness
• cosmetics
• cleaning + repair
• tanning salons
• language schools
• travel agencies
• adult education

The goal is always that both sides benefit from franchising. The parent company provides proven rights of use for a fee, offers training on the concept and insights into a successful business plan, researches the best locations for the restaurants or shops and usually also takes on the central advertising for the chain. Conversely, the subcontractors and licensees undertake to comply with specified standards in order not to damage the brand.

Franchising pros and cons in Kenya

Franchising model in Kenya is not a jack of all trades. It has both advantages and disadvantages for franchisees to be aware of before signing a franchise agreement.

Benefits of franchising in Kenya

• No idea
  Founders or the self-employed do not need their own business idea for franchising. You simply use a success model and a proven marketing strategy. This makes the step into self-employment and starting a business particularly easy.
• Low risk
  As a franchisee, you take on a functioning business model. You will also have an experienced franchisor at your side. This significantly reduces the business and success risk, and planning security increases.
• Well-known brand
  You also benefit from a brand that is already established in the market. You don’t have to laboriously build up awareness, image, customers and fans.
• High level of trust
  Due to the high level of awareness and the proven business idea, you will immediately enjoy better creditworthiness with banks and other business partners.
• Inexpensive purchasing
  There are purchasing advantages through the chain: The costs for raw materials and ingredients can be reduced through central purchasing.

Disadvantages of franchising in Kenya

• Little leeway
  Because franchising chains usually strive for a uniform brand image, there is hardly any room for your own ideas, participation or creativity. As a rule, brand management remains the responsibility of the franchisor.
• Expensive/High fees
  The more successful the model, the higher the license fees. You sit in the nest you have made, but you also have to pay a fixed percentage of your profits monthly to the franchisor and originator.
• Restricted
  choice of location You can seldom freely choose the location of your branch. For example, McDonald’s is not really a restaurant chain, but a real estate company that rents and leases its stores to franchisees. This provides significantly higher income than a few percent of burgers.

Franchise checklist in Kenya: What do you need to look out for?

There are many franchise systems in Kenya with different programs and contract clauses. And for some, the advantages for the franchisor clearly outweigh the disadvantages. In the extreme one can even speak of a rip-off. Most franchisees fail after a few years because of this. The quality of the chains varies considerably. If you are interested in franchising in Kenya, you should pay attention to the following points (check which applies directly online):

1. market success
   If things go well, you will become attached to the franchise concept for decades. So check whether the model has not only been successful in the past, but also has a future.
2. Equity capital
   How much equity is required to participate in the chain? Some franchising companies ask their partners for for several millions plus other monthly fees. The potential gain should be well above that.
3. property rights
   Ask the franchisor for written proof that the brand name and company logo are registered. Otherwise there is a risk that a competitor will claim it and the business basis will be lost.
4. added value
   The franchise chain must have a clear competitive advantage that goes beyond the product: atmosphere, service, product quality and store design create an unmistakable identification with the brand that attracts customers.
5. Duration
   The contract should run long enough to recoup the capital invested. Up to 10 years are common, with the option to extend by 5 years.
6. price maintenance
   The headquarters may not dictate to the members at what price they have to sell the products. This violates the law against restraint of competition. However, non-binding price recommendations are permitted.
7. Services
   The franchise fees must be offset by concrete considerations such as location analyses, marketing, training and controlling. There should also be a network that supports each other. A sure indication of quality are several satisfied partners, who ultimately make a decent profit.
8. support
   Education and training should be a matter of course for new franchising partners. The same applies to long-term support based on experience. Be sure to check confirm about this and always and request for information. If a franchisor cannot meet this requirement, tread cautiously.

There you have it. With this article you should have most of your answers regarding franchising in Kenya answered. You should take an initiative and conduct research to identify the best companies to franchise in Kenya because they all do not come cut in the same size.

Founding a company is easy but being successful depends on what you do forthwith. Many startup companies have become successful through years of sheer determination and motivation. Examples of successful business startups in Kenya include Marini Naturals by Michelle Ntalami, Twiga, and many others. Do you want to become a successful business founder in Kenya? Then read on to see whether you have what it takes.

In this article, I present a list of the most successful entrepreneurs in Kenya to inspire you. I then go on to guide you how you too can become one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Kenya.

Other examples of successful entrepreneurs in Kenya include

1. Lorna Rutto

Lorna Rutto is the founder of EcoPost which collects and recycles plastic waste, manufacturing fencing posts from the recycled matter. She is now one of the most successful female entrepreneurs in Kenya.

2. Eric Kinoti

Eric Kinoti is among the top list of business entrepreneurs in Kenya because of his Systems East Africa company. The firm makes more than $1 million in sales revenue yearly. He’s been featured twice in the Kenya’s Top 40 Under 40 and voted the most influential individual at the SOMA Awards as well as being listed in Forbes’ Top 30 Under 30.

3. Catherine Mahugu

Catherine Mahugu is the Soko co-founder, an e-commerce platform that has formulated a great foundation in Kenya. She is one of the few female self-made millionaires in Kenya.

4. Ronak Shah

Ronak Shah is the founder and CEO of Kronex Chemicals Ltd, unlike other successful entrepreneurs in Kenya, Shah keeps  a low profile and he is an Asian-Kenyan. His company low-cost household cleaning products.

5. Mike Muthiga

Mike Muthiga is one of the most successful Kenyan entrepreneurs. He is the CEO and founder of Fatboy Animations which produces 3D and 2D animations for film and commercials. He took online classes and watched tutorials to master his craft. He has worked for Safaricom, Telkom Orange and many more.

6. Danson Muchemi

Danson Muchemi is the founder of one of Kenya’s leading e-payment services, JamboPay, which also has some interests in web application and network securities. The firm received the Google Innovation Awards in Financial Services in 2013.

7. Joel Mwale

Joel Mwale is the founder of Sky Drop Enterprises whose business operations include purifying water for supply to the public. He is among the Kenyan entrepreneurs that started small and became successful. He is started at age 14 by establishing a borehole in his community.

8. Mike Maina

Mike Maina is the owner of Pelican Signs and Marble Arch hotel off Tom Mboya Rd. He also won Ksh.712 million court case against the government awarded by the Environment and Land Court in 2017.

9. Richard Evans

Richard Evans is the owner of various businesses including Hemmingway’s Aaamu, Hemmingway’s Karen, and Ol Seki Mara hotels.

10. Francis Mburu

Francis Mburu is a Kenyan entrepreneur and successful businessman who came to the limelight because of the Ruaraka land saga.

11. Chris Kirubi

CK was a popular business magnate who unfortunately passed on. He was the most popular business magnate in Kenya with investment most sectors in Kenya.

12. Peter Munga

Peter Munga is Equity Bank’s founder Peter Munga, one of Kenya’s largest commercial banks. He is currently the most influential personalities in the Kenyan banking sector.

13. George Wachiuri

Optiven Limited was founded by George Wachiuri. When he was getting started he lost five million Kenya shillings after buying land that turned out to be a scam. Optiven is one of the most popular brands in the real estate in Kenya.

14. Rajiv Mehta

Tangerine Investments was founded by Rajiv Mehta. The company focuses on outdoor advertisements by utilizing public service vehicles (PSVs), street poles and litter bins to advertise.

15. Tabitha Karanja

Tabitha Karanja is the founder of Keroche Breweries. She is currently the woman representative of Nakuru County. She is arguably one of the greatest female entrepreneurs in Kenya.

16. Ruth Mwanzia

Koola Waters founder, Ruth Mwanzia grew up in a semi-arid region in Kitui, which influenced her choice of business venture. She is now one of the wealthiest people in Kenya and part of the successful entrepreneurs in Kenya.

17. S.K Macharia

Media industry mogul and owner of Royal Media Services is S.K Macharia. He has many ventures including Rossy Tissues. He has also invested in agriculture, real estate, banking and many more.

18. Mike Macharia

Mike Macharia founded Seven Seas Technologies at only 25. Currently the company is operating in eight African nations, which makes him one of the most successful Kenyan entrepreneurs.

19. June Syowia

June Syowia is the founder of and CEO of Beiless Group, an advertising and marketing agency focusing on digital storytelling and experiential marketing.

20. Michelle Ntalami

The founder of Marini Naturals.

6 characteristics of successful business founders and entrepreneurs

Starting your own business brings with it a whole range of big and small challenges. Many entrepreneurs are of course aware of this. Nevertheless, it is rarely questioned whether one’s own personality actually suits self-employment .

It can help to look for a successful role model and orient yourself towards it. Or you can choose the path of classic start-up advice – for example through a suitably trained coach . This is sometimes even subsidized by the state.

Although every founder always brings his or her individual personality to his company, there are frequent overlaps in some points – these typical characteristics of successful entrepreneurs in Kenya:

1. You have resilience.

   Starting a business is not a child’s birthday. A number of obstacles and setbacks await the budding entrepreneurs, both professionally and privately. It throws some people off course. But not others. And these often have a high degree of so-called resilience . Resilient people are resistant, get up purified even after severe blows of fate and do not let themselves be defeated without doubting themselves.

2. You are willing to take a risk.

   In order to implement your idea, it is necessary to take risks again and again. Of course, that doesn’t mean acting thoughtlessly. But successful entrepreneurs in Kenya can take a risk, to make an investment in order to advance their company in the long term. Anyone who is not willing to take risks will sooner or later stand in their own way.

3. You have the drive required.

   A company does not become successful by itself. In the first phase in particular, it is therefore up to the founder or entrepreneurs alone to do everything for success. That means hard work, long night shifts and no weekends. Two thirds of the founders start without employees, so every task that comes up gets stuck with them. Anyone who thinks that being self-employed would give them more free time is seriously mistaken. Especially the first time usually involves countless hours of overtime.

4. You have the necessary trust.

   Trust is essential for successful entrepreneurs in Kenya – and there are several things: You need trust in yourself, in your own idea and also trust in the professional environment. Ultimately, investors have to be found, customer relationships built up and, in the further course of the process, the first employees also have to be found. The core, however, is trust in yourself: those who do not believe in their own success will usually not achieve it.

5. You are adaptable.

   The advantage of a still small and young company is its adaptability . Many a business plan changes enormously in the first six months. After all, markets also change quickly, especially new ones. In fact, “survival of the fittest” means that not the strongest but the most adaptable companies and entrepreneurs survive. Anyone who appears inflexible right from the start may not only miss great opportunities to further develop their idea, but also block their success.

6. You bring passion with you.

   In any case, anyone who decides to become a founder needs passion for what they do. This does not mean that you are happy about every task. But it stands for being happy with what you do. If this passion and intrinsic motivation is missing , first your own satisfaction will decrease, then your performance. And at some point such entrepreneurs throw everything away in frustration.

Good reasons for founding a company in Kenya

Whenever the boss is standing in front of his desk yelling, a colleague is constantly annoying and a customer comes around the corner with the seventeenth special request, the desire to turn his back on the shop and start his own business grows. However, these flight motives are rarely good reasons to found a company .

As with job changes, start-up consultants never advise a “away from” motivation, but always a “toward ” one . In other words: It is not frustration that should drive you to found a company, but your vision. Accordingly, there can be good reasons for starting a business…

• market niche

  You have an idea for a product or service that satisfies a great need of the people. It’s a solution that doesn’t exist yet. But don’t just think of any great technical innovations on the Internet. This can also be an original bar concept at your place of residence.

• self-realization

  Your previous job isn’t getting you any further: You won’t reach your limits – you will be limited. And therefore stay below your possibilities. Self-employment can therefore help you to use and develop your (many) talents in the best possible way. And last but not least, there is this idea that you have been burning for a long time and that should finally become reality.

• partner

  Speaking of the idea: You and your friends have been thinking about this special business idea for a long time. The business plan is in place – and together they form the perfect team. In short: you are needed. This is also a good reason to start a business. Provided that you really all agree on the distribution of roles and complement each other.

Founder advice for Kenyans: Start with honest self-reflection

There are people who can work best in an environment with colleagues, clear guidelines and a – good – boss. That’s neither good nor bad, it’s just a type thing . So before you embark on self-employment, you should reflect critically and honestly on your motivation and goals.

Therefore, we have 15 questions for you that can support you in your reflection and preparation:

1. Why do you want to start your own business?
   One of the most important questions of all. We’ve already mentioned it: frustration is clearly the wrong motivation. However, if you follow your passion and want to make a long-held dream come true, this can be the right drive.
2. Are you willing to work more than 40 hours a week?
   Self-employment means – especially in the first few months and years – a significantly higher amount of work than in a salaried job. You work yourself and constantly , as the saying goes. This is not necessarily a negative, you just need to be aware of it.
3. Do you know your worth?
   As a self-employed person, you must be able to convincingly answer the question about the price of your work. This is only possible if you are aware of your worth.
4. Do you make new contacts easily?
   Of course, in order to attract new customers, you need to make the appropriate contacts. You should find it easy to approach people and build relationships.
5. Do you have a stable network?
   One of the basic requirements for acquiring customers is your network. It is not about the sheer number of your contacts, rather the quality and influence of the individual contacts play an important role.
6. Are you good with bookkeeping?
   Even if one or the other hears it reluctantly: As a self-employed person, you have to do your bookkeeping yourself. You don’t have to love it, but you should have the basic knowledge.
7. Can you meet deadlines?
   In self-employment there is no boss who stands behind you and points out approaching deadlines . You have to ensure compliance yourself.
8. Do you have your finances under control?
   This question is less about accounting and more about the way of life: Can you cut back and stay afloat for months with little order intake? Do you find it difficult to save and scrimp or are you willing to accept it for your self-employment?
9. Do you have equity?
   This not only means the start-up capital for founding your company, but also a financial buffer for bad times. You should be able to get by with little or no income for two to three months. Some customers will also take their time paying the bill.
10. Do you set limits?
    Admittedly, this question is formulated in a somewhat general way, but setting limits is extremely important for the self-employed in many areas. This starts with payment deadlines and ends with the agreed services within the framework of a project.
11. Are you 110 percent convinced of your work?
    That may sound like an exaggeration, but if you have even the slightest doubt about your services, your customer will notice and either lower your price – or go straight to the competition.
12. Do you have your time management under control?
    Especially if you enjoy your work, there is a great danger of getting lost in too many hours of work and of exploiting and overburdening yourself. Even the self-employed should treat themselves to a day off and defend it consistently against inquiries and appointments.
13. Do you have the support of those around you?
    Without the support of your friends and family, self-employment becomes an enormously difficult project. Not only do you lose important network partners and multipliers as a result, but you also lack the necessary understanding of long working days and unusual working hours.
14. Do you have a vision?
    Concrete plans for the development of your independent work and your offers are necessary. At least as important is a vision that you are working towards as a long-term goal.
15. Are you willing to learn and flexible?
    You know the saying “No plan survives the first contact with reality” ? It also applies to self-employment: You can only be successful in the long term if you learn to further develop your skills and react flexibly to changes.

The 3 biggest mental hurdles for Kenyan entrepreneurs

If you want to become self-employed, you have to overcome a whole range of difficulties and various hurdles : develop business models, clarify financing, acquire customers, hire employees, set up offices, generate income… Lots to do.

However, less attention is paid to the mental hurdles in advance , although many entrepreneurs usually struggle with them. That’s why we’ll finally show you the biggest mental hurdles you have to deal with as a founder and show you how you can overcome them…

1. The feeling of insecurity

   Just the thought of self-employment is enough for some to evoke a strong sense of insecurity . The bad news: There are several reasons to be unsure. The positive side: Uncertainty is not inherently bad and can also be managed.

   will i succeed Does the work pay off? Am I financially okay? How do I manage to win customers? There are many points that can cause uncertainty among entrepreneurs in Kenya, but at the same time they also draw attention. Possible risks are recognized early and errors are corrected before they can develop worse effects. Perceive uncertainty as an early warning system without letting it weigh you down.

   If the feeling shows up in advance and becomes too strong, good preparation will help above all . Research what market you will be in, what the competition looks like and where you can position yourself most promisingly.

2. The balance to private life

   Once in founder mode, everything else quickly becomes irrelevant . You are fully committed to your goal, you are focused on it from morning to night and ignore everything else.

   Although such an attitude shows your motivation and passion , problems are usually not long in coming. Anyone who wants too much at once, works endless overtime and only knows the word break from the dictionary is damaging to their health and social contacts .

   Even if you are successful right from the start and want to prove to all doubters that you can do it, you should still take time to balance and relax. You may not be aware of it, but your family and friends will quickly notice when you are out of balance. Despite a lot of tasks, stick to the end of the day and think of yourself.

3. The responsibility for everything

   Founder or not – everyone bears responsibility in certain areas. Self-employment, however, takes this to another level. Every decision contributes to the success or failure of your own business and the more you progress, the greater the responsibility.

   In the beginning you are responsible for yourself and your family, but at some point there will be employees whose salary you want to pay on time or business partners with whom you work.

   The fear of so much responsibility can downright paralyze you, so always be aware: mistakes can happen, but there is always a way back .

The strength of a country’s economy can be determined with what it imports into its borders and what it exports to other countries. For instance, if a country exports manufactured products, then its economy has advanced. A growing economy mostly exports agricultural produce, most of which is unprocessed. For instance, Kenya’s major export is tea. In future, when the economy will have advanced, agricultural produce will not be the major component of exports from Kenya.

I have prepared a comprehensive list of the major imports and exports from Kenya, if you’re interested to know then read on.

List of major imports of Kenya

The following is a list of the most imported products to Kenya:

1. Machinery and Transportation Equipment

Main import partners for the Machinery and Transportation Equipment: – China, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Pakistan, Switzerland, USA.

2. Petroleum Products

Main import partners for the Petroleum Products are  Saudi Arabia (the leading supplier), United Arab Emirates, and other Middle East Countries.

3. Motor Vehicles

Main import partners for the Motor Vehicles are Japan, USA, and Germany.

4. Iron and Steel

Main import partners for iron and still are China, Germany, Iran, Japan, UK, USA, and South Africa.

5. Resins and Plastics

Main import partners for resin and plastics are China, South Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka, UK, and the USA.

6. Packaged Medicaments

Main import partners for the

7. Wheat

Main import partners for the

List of major exports of Kenya

The following is a list of major exports in Kenya.

1. Tea

Tea is a major export of Kenya and a major foreign exchange for Kenya. Kenya’s leading export partner is Pakistan (over 20,000 metric tons). Other countries include Egypt, the UK, Russia, Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Sudan, Nigeria, Jordan, India, and China.

2. Cut Flowers

Another major export of Kenya is flowers. The biggest importer of Kenyan flowers are in Europe. The continent accounts for almost 70% of the market share in terms of value. US, India, and China share the rest of the imports.

3. Coffee

Coffee is also another major export of Kenya. Importers of Kenyan coffee are Germany, Belgium, South Korea, Sweden, Australia, Norway, Finland, the UK, Romania, and the USA.

4. Titanium Ore

Mined in Kwale, Kenya, we export Titanium Ore as slabs. Kenya exported Titanium oxides to Uganda ($116.81K, 37,225 Kg), Rwanda ($14.61K, 4,150 Kg), Burundi ($13.13K, 3,350 Kg).

5. Textiles

Kenya has been exporting textiles to other countries for decades. We ship Kenyan textile products to the United States, Uganda, Tanzania, China, and Congo.

6. Tobacco

Another major Kenyan export is tobacco. The principal export market for Kenya is Somalia, which accounts for over 40% of the market share in value. The list of other countries that import Kenyan Tobacco includes Congo, Egypt, Mauritius, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, South Sudan, and Tanzania.

7. Iron and Steel Products

Kenya exports around US$126.34 million worth of iron and steel products annually. The major import partners for this industry are United Arab Emirates, Uganda, South Sudan, Zambia, and Thailand.

8. Cement

Cement is also a major export of Kenya. The biggest importers of Kenyan cement are Uganda, with a share of 62% (16.1 million US$), Rwanda, South Sudan, and Dem. Rep. Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates

FAQ about major imports and exports of Kenya

• What is Kenya’s main export? The main export of Kenya is tea. It accounts for around 23% of the country’s total exports.
• What does Kenya export to the USA? Kenya exports several products to the USA, including cut flowers, coffee, Titanium Ore, and textiles.
• What are the major imports of Kenya? The major imports of Kenya include iron and Steel, plastics, and textiles.

Out of unemployment, into self-employment – the start -up fund in Kenya makes it possible. The thought behind it is often: If the job market doesn’t provide me with a position, then I’ll just create my own. However, it is not that easy with the start-up funding in Kenya. This is because: in order to be able to assert yourself successfully on the job market, you need a viable concept. And this is exactly what needs to be worked out beforehand. Without a mature concept, without prior consideration, you will not receive any start-up funding in Kenya. What you should know and how to get it… Here we will provide you with guides on how to get financial help in Kenya.

Applying for start-up funding in Kenya: how do you get it?

Start-up consultants observe that many unemployed people who could benefit from the start-up fund are put off by their agent in advance. To prevent elimination from available business funding options in Kenya, you should read the following points carefully.

The be-all and end-all of the start-up funding is good preparation. Some changes take a long time to become established.

It starts with you considering which form of self-employment is suitable for you:

1. Do you want to start your own business?
2. Are you planning to start a company with partners?
3. Would you like to take over a company as a successor?
4. Can you imagine franchising?

In order for your application for a start-up funding to be successful in Kenya, you should seek thorough advice beforehand. Advice on setting up a business also costs money.

What you need for a successful application of the startup business funds in Kenya

The following points are important in order to make the intermediary from the employment office positive about the start-up funding:

Business plan: You need to write a business plan – also known as a business plan or start-up concept. Here you objectively list your start-up project and add a financial and capital plan. This means that over a period of 36 months you present what your future income and expenses are likely to look like and what your funds for expenses will be based on. This will go a long way to get you accepted by one of the major startup funds in Kenya.

Qualification: For the start-up funding in Kenya, you have to convince the employment office that you have the necessary qualifications to be able to do this job successfully. Therefore, you may need to enclose your CV with proof of relevant training and further education for self-employment with your business plan.

Preparation and seriousness are a good starting point: Finally, it should be said that you will not get any further with excessive self-confidence alone. Before you apply for the start-up funding in Kenya, you must have worked out exactly how you want to organize your self-employment, because the employment office does not finance castles in the air.

If you’ve been thinking about becoming self-employed for some time, being unemployed can be a good time to make your plans more concrete. You now have enough time to obtain the necessary information and to develop viable business ideas .

Once you have made your preparations and have realistically calculated everything, you should be able to present your concept convincingly . Solid preparation and verifiable calculations are the best prerequisites for a successful application for a business start-up funding in Kenya.

Funding for startups in Kenya

Funding for startups in Kenya is on the rise due to the position that Kenya holds in the region. Startup funding can help you launch or expand your existing business. There are organizations that can help you fund your startup idea by giving your startup capital and also mentorship. So which are the funding companies in Kenya?

The government has also stepped in the shoes of other private entities. Some of the organizations below are examples of government grants in Kenya.

The following are some of the startups in Kenya? They may help you get government loans to start business in Kenya.

1. Youth Enterprise Development Fund

This is a government initiative to fight the high unemployment rates in Kenya. It aims at helping the youth fund businesses. Established in 2006, the fund has afforded many Kenyan youths with the opportunity to venture into business. The fund is available to Kenyan people aged between 18 and 35 years.

2. Women Enterprise Fund (WEF)

Women Enterprise Fund is an initiative by the Ministry of Gender, with a sole aim of providing credit to women as well as marketing their products and services.

3. Uwezo Fund

The Uwezo Fund was started in 2013 by the UhuRuto administration as part of their campaign pledges. It mainly focuses on women, people with disabilities, and the youth. It also offers mentorship programs to entrepreneurs.  The fund offers Kenyans a chance to get a startup loan ranging between Ksh50,000 and Ksh500,000.

4. Venture Capitalists

Venture Capitalists are financiers who help with funding for startups in Kenya. In Kenya, these include Venture Capital for Africa (VC4A), Nairobi Garage, and Seed Capital Investment.

5. Angel Network

Angel Network is a Kenyan startup that needs Kenyans to develop good business ideas. If they like your business idea you will receive funding and training as well as help you in daily management of the firm.

6. Industrial Development Fund

The Industrial Development Fund (IDF) was established in 1973 under the Ministy of Industrialization. Its purpose is to offer secured loans to startups, including medium and large enterprises. It is a good Kenyan startup funding for people looking for asset financing or to acquire industrial plants on hire purchase terms.

7. ICDC

The Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC) is a Kenyan startup funding for businesses. It provides medium-term and long-term funding for businesses. ICDC provides venture capital, joint ventures, asset financing and commercial loans to businesses. It is one of the tools the government is using in the quest for Vision 2030.

8. Agriculture Finance Corporation

Agriculture Finance Corporation is a Kenyan funding initiative that helps people in the agricultural sector. It was started after independence to help with the transfer of land. Agriculture is the backbone of the Kenyan economy. The corporation provides credit to Kenyan farmers. As a Kenyan farmer, you can depend on this entity for startup funding in Kenya.

9. Microfinance institutions in Kenya

Micro Finance institutions provide funding to entities in Kenya. They provide deposit facilities and credit to businesses. They include Sumac, Faulu, Musoni MFI and Zawadisha.

10. Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is lenders that you can locate in one place. They look at your business idea and evaluate its viability. Once they are satisfied that the business idea is viable, they will provide you with startup capital. Some of the best crowdfunding platforms in Kenya include Kiva, Indiegogo, Kickstarter and Zidisha.

11. Financial Foundations

There are many foundations that provide Kenyan startup funding. They provide grants and prizes and interest-free loans. If you have been looking for a place to find business grants in Kenya currently, then the financial foundations that can do that for you include Chandaria Foundation, Safaricom Foundation and MasterCard Foundation.

12. Incubators and accelerators

As part of the government’s economic policies to promote entrepreneurship and create jobs, incubators and accelerators have been springing up in Kenya. These institutions provide mentorship, training, seed funding, and incubation services for startups in Kenya.

List of Incubators/accelerators:

• Nailab
• mLab East Africa
• iHub
• Villgro
• iBiz Africa
• Chandaria Business Innovation and Incubation Center
• Afrilab
• LakeHub

13. Family and friends

Though not considered by many as a financial institution, family & Friends could be the only dependable source of business funding for your business idea in Kenya.

An idea only becomes a real business model when you write a business plan. Although there is no official obligation that prescribes a business plan for the foundation, it is absolutely necessary for a successful start. The business plan not only substantiates your idea, it sets the exact direction, contains extensive information about the planned company and is an important means of information to the outside world.

Whether banks, investors, business partners or the employment office, if you become self-employed out of unemployment – they all want to see a well thought-out business plan. The most important contents of the business plan are:

• Explanation of your business idea
• target audience
• Analysis of the market, competition and competition
• Sales forecast and profit forecast
• goals and strategies
• Needed finance and capital planning
• Background information about you as a founder

How to write a business plan in Kenya: Don’t underestimate it

Almost every prospective self-employed person knows that a business plan is essential for founding a company – especially if you are planning to apply for a start-up grant or want to get financiers (business angels, venture capital, …) on board. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs do not take this point seriously enough. Writing a business plan in Kenya is more or less seen as a necessary evil. Fatal! What often comes out in the form of concepts on paper does not convince anyone. Too bad.

Be sure to keep in mind that the business plan is the calling card and backbone of your young company. Anyone who creates a professional impression can not only convince others of their idea, but also lay the foundation for a successful future.

For who is a business plan made? Who are the target? Who reads business plans in Kenya?

The effort of writing a business plan in Kenya is worth it. These are your potential readers and target groups:

1. Employment office: If you become self-employed out of unemployment, you can apply for a so-called start-up subsidy from the relevant employment agency. The prerequisite for this, however, is that you can present a finished business plan.
2. Investors: Most financiers – business angels or venture capitalists – make their decision dependent on an existing business plan. On this basis, the so-called due diligence is carried out – i.e. the necessary risk assessment before any company investment.
3. Promotional and guarantee banks: If you want to try it first without participation, you can of course also use subsidies or a guarantee for financing (e.g. from banks). But they also always expect a sophisticated business plan.
4. Business partners: A third form of financing is through partners – perhaps because you are an important and cost-reducing supplier for them. But even if you are looking for suppliers yourself and who do not necessarily want to deliver out of the blue, the business plan helps to gain trust.

Before you sit down at your desk and just start writing, please remember: Even if you show the finished plan to someone else, you are primarily writing it for yourself. The business concept forces you to sort your thoughts, analyze the market and put possible strategies into clear words, make important decisions and be clear about what exactly you want to achieve with your idea and how you want to finance it or when and where the money will come from later.

Or to put it another way: The business plan turns a fixed business idea into a concrete business concept and construct for the next five years. At least.

Why a business plan is so important in Kenya

Aspiring founders are regularly put off by writing a business plan. Admittedly, this involves a lot of effort. Good business plans usually have ten pages, but can also have 50-70 pages – depending on how comprehensive the market and competition analysis or how complex the business idea and products are.

The business plan is not only a decisive step on the way to your own company – it also fulfills several important functions: First, he helps you to formulate the idea clearly and to think about products, target groups and financing. It is essential to convince lenders, investors and business partners of the business model and get them on board. A detailed plan can reveal deficits and weaknesses in the business idea at an early stage and help to improve them. However, it can also save you from starting a business that has no chance anyway and wasting a lot of time and money.

Detailed instructions for writing a business plan in Kenya

This is how the plan is structured: The structure of a business plan in Kenya is actually not as complicated as many founders always assume. The main work lies in the preparation, research and processing of relevant data. For these reasons, experts allow around six weeks for the creation of a well-developed business plan . Depending on the size of the project, the time required can of course also increase significantly.

However, even larger plans are basically structured in the same way and always contain the following and elementary sections. It is best to follow these instructions:

1. The executive summary

It’s the heart of your entire business plan, and in many cases it’s what drives interested investors to even bother reading the rest of the pages. All important company data is summarized here on one to a maximum of three pages: the business idea, sales and profit forecasts, short portraits of the founders and their background, the description of the market, the description of the products or services and the financing requirements. This summary is at the beginning and should therefore be formulated concisely.

2. The market and competition analysis

Experience has shown that this part takes the most effort because you have to do a lot of extensive research. Above all carefully. Nothing is more embarrassing in a later elevator pitch to investors when your numbers and analyzes are wrong or you overlook important competitors. Then the whole house of cards collapses. It is therefore important that you do not embellish anything here and describe in detail how large your future market is and how it is made up (market shares!) (target groups!).

3. The corporate goals and strategy

Once you know the market, the competitors and the target group(s) in detail, you need to develop a strategy: How do you intend to gain significant market shares? In which period? With what means and employees? The decisive factor is that you focus on it and make optimal use of capital and manpower – which are usually scarce in young companies. Anyone who gets bogged down here or writes their plan too rosy will fail at first and often fail.

Include a SWOT analysis

SWOT analysis is an acronym that stands for… Strengths (S), Weaknesses (W), Opportunities (O), and Threats (risks) (T)

Compared to each other in a strategic overall plan. It serves to determine the current position of the company ( status quo ) on the one hand and to develop the strategy on the other. You can already see weaknesses or risks in the business plan, which you urgently need to counteract with suitable measures, but you also notice how you stand compared to the competition.

4. The founding and management team

Of course, there are always individual founders – but the most successful companies are founded by teams. Because here the founders can compensate for weaknesses and significantly increase seed capital and intellectual capital. Accordingly, you should work out these strengths in the business plan: Who is behind the company? What background, what experience and what know-how do the founders bring with them? Numerous investors say again and again that they invest less in good ideas and prefer to invest in good start-up teams. For good reasons.

5. The financial plan

Nothing going on without moss. Of course, every young company initially needs start-up capital and later so-called growth capital – for marketing, advertising and employees, for example. The financial plan is therefore the second important part of the business plan. It is the reference for subsequent investment and loan negotiations and should calculate at least the next three, preferably five years. The more realistic, justified and detailed the forecasts, the more convincing. It is important that you not only calculate exactly what money you need and use, but also how much money you earn in which periods and development stages. In short: How do you cover the capital requirements – and when do you make a profit (break even point)?

The most common mistakes when writing a business plan

Writing the business plan is and remains a major challenge for many founders, which is also reflected in the fact that many mistakes are made, which in the worst case can be fatal and block success. It is all the more important to identify possible mistakes in advance and to avoid them.

In the following list you will find the most common and also most serious mistakes in the business plan, which you should definitely avoid if you want to be successful as a founder and do not want to trip yourself up in the initial phase of your own company.

• Errors in the information or analysis

  Mistakes are human, but especially when you are writing a business plan, you should do everything you can to avoid making one here. Incorrect information or incorrect analysis can have major consequences. Maybe you completely misjudged the market potential or based your entire idea on a misinterpreted statistic. This can go so far that the entire project is in danger.

• Errors in skills and competences

  Who in the founding team can do what? And why is that so important? Successful founders should have the necessary skills to master the start and to lead the company successfully. Investors can also be convinced in this way – it is very annoying when the business plan does not clearly state who has which skills and who is responsible for which areas. If basic qualifications are missing, it is therefore advisable to acquire them first.

• Mistakes in identifying risks

  Possible risks are often concealed in the business plan in order to present only the opportunities and advantages. However, this can turn out to be a big mistake if risks are not identified in the first place for this reason. Instead of adapting and reacting accordingly, you will be caught completely off guard and have no strategy in place to resolve the situation.

• Business idea mistake

  The business idea in the business plan should be immediately convincing and inspiring. The best reaction is a sincere one . This is exactly what the world has been waiting for! or that really solves a big problem! On the other hand, it is a big mistake if only a tired And that should work? or worse, a critical one . That already exists, doesn’t it? is answered.

• mistakes in finances

  Those who make a mistake in financial planning are faced with really big problems. A bad or simply wrong calculation not only means that you will not get any investors or loans, but can also lead to insolvency. If the costs are much higher than expected and the income is far too low, after a short time you will no longer be able to cover the running costs.

How to write a business plan summary

• Turn an idea into a business model.
• Contains all relevant information about the business idea.
• Defines target audience and sales forecasts.
• Important document for investors and business partners.

The biggest mistake an employee can make? To think he was working for someone else. It’s about an attitude that doesn’t just differentiate between those who just do a job and those who practice a profession – the attitude is a key to success.

Of course, the above aphorism does not mean that an employee should act as if he were the boss himself from now on. That could latently shorten your career.

But the fact that we are paid for our work by someone else often makes us forget that it is still our work, our plans and goals , our lives . It’s simply a matter of perspective.

Or to put it another way…  Even if we are employed:

• Each of us remains the owner of a one-man company.
• We acquire customers – employers.
• We negotiate – work content, salary.
• We generate turnover – income.
• We continue to develop – personality.
• We’re growing – promotion, job change, raise .

But even more important:

• We determine the course – our personal corporate strategy.

Of course, we get instructions at work, we have to come to terms with colleagues, we have to make compromises . But ultimately it was we who chose this employer, this profession. And we can modify or even change our choice at any time – which is sometimes easier, sometimes more difficult, but never impossible.

We are also the ones who decide how we do our work every day: as a work to rule – or with love and passion . Whether we are simply doing our job – or striving to get better, to develop and grow personally.

And that’s exactly what we do at the end of the day, not for our boss, not for our colleagues, not for the company – just for ourselves . Regardless of whether, when and how often we change jobs: nobody from our own company can fire us; the experiences, the development we make with it – priceless.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way

Rarely, really only very rarely, does success have anything to do with luck alone. Of course, sometimes it comes down to the right timing : Meeting the right person in the right place at the right time has been the basis for many a success story. But anyone who thinks that it always happens to the few other lucky ones who fate regularly bestows such episodes on is terribly mistaken.

Luck is not a stroke of luck , it is made much more often. And success is the result of ambition as well as responsible, decisive action.

Possible methods for this:

• Be aware of your goals.
• Always keep an eye on these.
• Don’t do your job well, do it better every time.
• Work with people who are smarter than you.
• Work out and save yourself financial freedom of movement.
• Never stop working on yourself.

Surely you can think of more recommendations (then feel free to share them in the comments!).

Definition: What are business models?

Business models are generally used to describe a company’s main functions, actions and interactions in order to create products or value and thereby generate profits. In short: A business model is what a company uses to make money. However, there is no uniformly recognized definition in the scientific discussion.

As a decisive factor , business models contribute to value creation. How an idea is implemented, marketed and brought to the customer often determines its success or failure. Choosing the wrong model can lead to failure – while a different business model could perhaps bring the breakthrough with the same idea.

Difference between a business model and a company’s strategy

Business models and the strategy of a company are often confused or equated in everyday language. More precisely, the corporate strategy is the plan and the procedure to differentiate yourself from the direct competition, to win customers and to assert yourself in the market. This can be done, for example, by focusing heavily on customer relationships and customer satisfaction.

However, business models remain unaffected , even if there may be overlaps. Two companies can have an identical business model but completely different strategies.

In our large overview, we have listed 16 business models and explain how they work. We differentiate between classic and digital business models. However, this separation is not always to be taken literally, since many of the classic models are also possible with digital products. Some of the examples mentioned can also be assigned to several of the business models mentioned.

Classic business models Kenyans can use

1. Direct Selling

Many companies use intermediaries to market their products or services and make them accessible to customers. Direct Selling omits this additional step. There are no wholesalers or retailers involved, but sold directly from the company to the end consumer.

Advantages are a larger profit margin for the company and lower costs for consumers. Prices are usually lower because fewer stations want to earn money from sales. On the other hand, there are higher expenses for your own online shop and marketing to draw the attention of your own target group to the product.

Examples of direct selling: Tupperware, Vorwerk, own online shops

2. Cross Selling

Once a customer has been won, companies benefit the most if they buy additional products at the same time. The so-called cross selling aims exactly at this. Even while shopping, consumers are shown and suggested other products that might be of interest to them. Therefore, there is often a specific reference to the purchase request – but cross-selling is also possible without a direct connection to the original product.

The aim is to increase sales if customers take as much as possible with them when they make a purchase. Especially goods that you might otherwise buy elsewhere.

Examples of cross-selling: Tchibo (many offers in addition to coffee), petrol stations (sale of food and magazines in addition to gas station revenue)

3. Subscription

In many areas, the focus is not on one-off purchases, but on subscriptions by customers. Instead of a one-off payment, a fixed amount is debited regularly – usually monthly – for the service. How long such a subscription runs depends on the product and contract. For customers, it has the advantage of not having to constantly worry about new contracts, extensions or additional purchases.

Companies benefit from better sales planning and long-term customer loyalty. Such subscriptions have long been known from magazines, but they are also becoming the standard in the software sector and for streaming services.

Examples of subscription: Netflix, DStv, Showmax, antivirus software

4. Franchising

With franchising, the franchisor grants the franchisee the right to use a brand or product according to specified standards. The contract between the two parties regulates exactly which fees are incurred for franchising, which goals have to be achieved and which requirements have to be met.

The business model is particularly widespread in the catering and fast-food chain sectors. Franchisors benefit from a lower risk and the opportunity to expand their own brand – also internationally. Franchisees can get started faster, take advantage of experience and reputation and have an easier start if the financial prerequisites are met.

Examples of franchising: McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, Carrefour in Kenya, KFC

5. Licenses

A license is granted to an individual or company to use a product or intellectual property in return for payment of a fee. The value created (e.g. software) is not used itself, but made available to users for a corresponding payment. Licenses run for a fixed period of time and must then be renewed in order to retain usage rights.

Companies secure ongoing income through the licenses, customers benefit from a lower license fee. Business models with licenses, for example, can ideally be used to market millions of software – with users returning every year.

Examples of licenses: Microsoft, use of copyright between author and publisher, apps and software

6. Addons

These business models initially attract with a very low price – the larger turnover is then made by the so-called add-ons. So customers can buy the most basic variant of a product or service, but those who want something more or better pay the extra. The aim is then, of course, to make attractive offers in order to sell as many add-ons as possible.

Some of these business models are specifically designed in such a way that certain extras have to be booked by many customers. Low-cost airlines, for example, offer tickets at rock-bottom prices – but if you want to take a piece of luggage with you, or want to eat or drink something, you have to pay extra. The advantage for consumers is that they can only pay for exactly what they want. In turn, companies can often generate better sales than with an all-inclusive price.

Examples of add-ons: airlines, insurance companies, car dealerships (special equipment)

7. Solution Providers

A solution provider sees itself not just as a seller of a single product. He offers complete solutions for his customers: from advice on purchase to installation, maintenance or repair. Other companies are also possible customers who are offered a comprehensive package for collaboration within a project.

In this way, customers receive everything they need or want from a single source. There is no need to search for and combine different providers to cover all aspects. Companies can charge a higher price for such a complete service and bind customers to their own offer for a particularly long time and intensively.

Examples of solution providers: Microsoft, Apple, SAP

8. Lock in

Every company tries not only to win customers, but also to achieve customer loyalty for as long as possible. The Lock-In business model focuses on exactly this – but not through rewards or perks. Lock-in keeps consumers on their own products through exit and switch barriers. If a customer wants to switch to a competitor, this is associated with costs, greater effort or other disadvantages.

This is often a deterrent, which leads to (forced) loyalty . For companies, this results in great customer lifetime value – every customer generates high sales over the long period of time.

Examples of lock-in: Apple, razor blades, coffee machines and coffee pods/capsules

Digital business models in Kenya

1. Ecommerce

Probably the largest business model is e-commerce (in German: online trade or electronic trade). It includes advertising, buying, selling and serving customers through digital channels. The online shop, which almost every company has nowadays, is typical of e-commerce. Many customers search and buy on the Internet – it is becoming increasingly difficult for local retailers to keep up.

Companies can reduce costs through e-commerce. It does not require expensive rent for a shop and also less personnel costs. End consumers are happy about the simple shopping option that works anytime and anywhere, regardless of opening times.

Examples of e-commerce: Amazon, Zalando, countless online shops

2. Dropshipping

Dropshipping is closely related to e-commerce. Especially in the last few years it has gained in importance and is finding more and more followers. The principle: Dropshipping is an online trade in which the seller neither manufactures the product himself nor has it in stock. In the case of a purchase, the order is placed with a wholesaler or producer and sent directly to the buyer from there.

So for this business model you don’t have to manufacture or store anything yourself. This reduces the costs enormously. Ultimately, you are primarily responsible for the online marketing of the shop in order to reach as many customers as possible. However, companies have little control over quality and customer satisfaction.

Dropshipping example: Amazon

3. Affiliates

Business models that work through affiliates rely on commissions for products or services sold. A simple example: You run a website where you write articles about technology. Now you can install affiliate links, where the products described can be bought directly. Every time a customer makes an order through your link, you earn a predetermined commission.

The aim is for both sides to benefit: the affiliate partner shares in the sales and the company reaches potential customers. Before you can use these business models, however, you need a corresponding reach on the homepage or a social media profile.

Examples of affiliate: partner programs, blogs, social media, Amazon affiliate

4. Freemium

The term is composed of the words “free” (free of charge) and “premium” – which already describes the core of the business model: customers can use the basic version of a product or service completely free of charge. For the full range of functions, no advertising and other plus points, however, the paid premium version must be purchased.

Customers can decide for themselves whether they want to pay for the full scope or not. The free offer attracts a large number of potential buyers. A large turnover is then generated from the large customer base through offers and attractive features.

Examples of freemium: Spotify, Xing, LinkedIn

5. Free models

The completely free offer of one’s own services is also one of the business models – and can be very lucrative. There are various ways to earn money with a free model. In addition to the free product, paid add-ons can be offered. This is popular, for example, with so-called free-to-play games. These can be downloaded and played for free – countless things can then be bought in the game itself.

Other free models earn money through advertising or by monetizing user data that is collected during free use.

Examples of free models: Google, Instagram, Facebook

6. Pay per use

Here customers are offered a business model in which the price depends directly on actual use. If you use a service extensively, you pay a correspondingly high amount – if a service is not used at all in a period of time, there are no costs. Pay per use can thus be seen as a kind of subscription, but without there being a fixed price per interval.

The advantage for customers is that they only have to pay for what has actually been used. In this way, you can control your own costs better. Businesses typically benefit from a fee, but exact revenue is difficult to predict.

Examples of pay per use: car rental, electricity in private households

7. Flat rate

Opposite business models rely on a flat rate. This means that customers pay a fixed price, but can use a service without restrictions. The principle became known through telephone and Internet providers. In the past, pay per use often applied here, but now everyone offers a flat rate for the service. For a fixed monthly price, customers can make calls and surf as much as they want.

Companies can convince customers with transparent costs and easy handling: Fixed costs, no restrictions, no surprises. At the same time, the number of users can be used to calculate very well.

Examples of flat rates: Netflix

8. Marketplace

A digital marketplace brings supply and demand together. Such business models aim to create the largest possible platform with many users. The more potential buyers, the more attractive for sellers – the more sellers, the more new buyers are attracted.

Marketplaces can earn revenue through advertising, commissions or additional features. For example, sellers can be asked to pay if their products are to be placed in a particularly visible manner.

Examples of marketplaces: Amazon, Ebay, Etsy

Develop and adapt business models

The selection and implementation of suitable business models should be well thought out. After all, you want to be successful with it for years and, ideally, decades. However, the following also applies: business models should be developed, adapted and, if necessary, converted over time. Famous examples show that even large companies can get into trouble otherwise.

Netflix and Blockbuster Video have similar origins as video rental stores and movie distributors — but Blockbuster was worth billions with more than 50,000 employees while Netflix was in its infancy. With video-on-demand and streaming, however, only one of the two adapted its business model. Today, Netflix has more than 200 million paying subscribers. However, the former market leader Blockbuster went bankrupt 10 years ago.

Business models of the future in particular require flexibility and constant development. Those who stand still remain on the track.

Before you start a company in Kenya, you should clarify for yourself whether you want to become self-employed on a part-time basis or not. The burden of starting a company can gets on your nerves. Your bid to self-employment must not be at the expense of your main job.

Requirements of establishing a company in Kenya

Below are the major requirements of starting a company in Kenya

1. National Social Security Fund (NSSF) card
2. Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) certificate
3. National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) membership
4. A national ID or passport
5. An active email address
6. Phone number
7. A passport-sized photo in soft copy format
8. Computer
9. Active internet connection
10. Browser
11. Business name
12. Company details such as directors
13. Registration fee and
14. a payment method such as a Visa card.

Further details on requirements to register a company in Kenya

You cannot start a company overnight. Many self-employed people spend several months pregnant with an idea before they implement it. For a solid planning you should consider the following points:

Your personal traits or characteristics

Perhaps the most important prerequisites when starting a company are your personal qualities. As a self-employed person, you will have to do a lot yourself, especially in the beginning. There can always be setbacks, which is why tolerance for frustration and perseverance are essential. You want to get your product out there, so you need some sales talent. As your business grows, you should have leadership skills.

Business idea

Doing what many do can be successful (see franchising). But if you don’t analyze exactly where there is a need, you may find yourself in a saturated market. Ideally, a successful business idea tries to provide a solution to an existing problem.

Business model

Next, you need to think about what your business model should look like. How will your business work, where will the money come from? What will you offer, who are your customers? Suppose you have a certain product – for example fashion – and are now thinking about how to get it to the man and the woman. To do this, you have to determine the sales structure: Do you go to stationary retail or do you want to limit yourself to online retail? You can also look for certain niches, such as oversize, ecological or regionally produced fashion. This is how you stand out from the competition.

Business plan

The business plan is elementary when founding a company . This will convince potential financiers and give you a framework for how to proceed. It contains a summary of your idea, a competitive analysis, who is involved (if you are not founding yourself) and of course very important: a financial plan. It brings together everything you need and what you intend to generate when and how.

Advisory

Numerous platforms offer their services as start-up advice. You should definitely take advantage of this advice because you will find important legal and organizational information.

Location considerations

Anyone who builds up a second mainstay alongside their job will probably start small in the back room. It is possible to set up a company in your home office if, for example, you do not need storage space . However, you should then have enough self-discipline to spend each day purposefully at your work. If you prefer one size larger, you have to rent a suitable shop. That means you have to think about the location: what rents are affordable, what are the transport connections like, is it attractive for customers as well as potential employees and managers?

Naming of a company in Kenya

Even if you want to start your own company: you can’t just use any name for it. The legal requirements for a company depend on the company form. The name search and reservation process in Kenya can be done:

• at any of the Huduma Centers countrywide,
• online using the E-Citizen platform and
• on a Safaricom mobile phone by dialing *271#

Legal form

The respective legal form not only plays a role in the name when you set up a company. Minimum capital and liability are other important points. In order to know which company you want to set up, you should deal with the differences between the individual types of company. Here you should pay attention to tax, legal and organizational differences.

Financing

If you want to found a company, you have to take various costs into account. Some are already in place when the company is founded. For example, the costs for registration in the company register of a limited liability company. Depending on the type of company, you must also be able to show that you have a minimum capital. There are also costs for the business registration. Other costs include various acquisition costs such as business liability, company legal protection and business content insurance.

Registration

Depending on the type of company, you will have to deal with various authorities. As a trader and freelancer, you have to go to the tax office. There you can apply for a tax number. The trade office for the trade registration is only decisive for tradespeople. If you are planning to set up a corporation, you must also go to the notary and the district court. If you are unsure which offices are suitable for you: You can find out such details from the start-up advice service.

3 classic ways to start a company in Kenya

The leap into self-employment can be realized in different ways. There are three typical ways:

self-founding (from scratch)

Self-establishment is the dream of many employees who want something of their own. They may have tremendous expertise in a field and be willing to take responsibility for a company. And you want to decide for yourself where to go, what decisions are to be made next. Since you not only have great self-confidence, but also various ideas, this path is suitable for you. But as indicated, you don’t have to start from scratch if you want to start a business. There are also the following options:

corporate succession

Another option is to buy an existing business: perhaps the previous owner wants to retire or make some other change. The advantage here: You also have a company that is established on the market and has a solid customer base. It could be disadvantageous if the customers are used to a certain treatment or procedure and you now proceed differently. A lot of instinct is therefore required for the transition phase . The company succession is not directly a new foundation, but you can give a company completely new and individual impulses.

franchising

If you are considering franchising , you are building on an existing concept. You don’t need your own business ideas and you don’t have to worry about marketing either. And here you are spoiled for choice: there are almost 1,000 franchise systems in Germany. Of course, it is best to choose one that matches your qualifications and wishes in terms of content. With this model, you benefit from a strong brand and have a manageable risk. Disadvantage: At the same time, you remain contractually bound to the franchisor for the duration of your business.

Commonly asked questions about starting a company in Kenya

1. How much does it cost to register a company in Kenya? The registration fee for all companies is KES 10,000. 1. Application and reservation of name.
2. Can I register a company alone in Kenya? Yes it is possible to register a company as a single director.
3. Do I need a company secretary? Private companies with a share capital of less than KES 5,000,000 are not required to have a secretary. However, all public companies must have a secretary. A company secretary must be qualified under the Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya Act.
4. How long does it take to register a company in Kenya? Setting up a company in Kenya can take anywhere between 1 day and 30 Days. This depends on the type of business you wish to establish, as well as the type of registration required.
5. What are the types of companies in Kenya? In Kenya, there are two main types of corporations (registered companies) that can be set up:
   • Private limited corporation.
   • Public limited corporation.
6. What is the business registration service customer care contacts? Use the contacts below to reach out:
   • Phone number 1: +254 020 222 7461
   • Phone number 2: +254 020 225 1355
   • Telephone number: 0900 620 206
   • Email: eo@brs.go.ke

Summary

The procedure on how to register a company in Kenya online is that simple. You only need to create an account at ecitizen.go.ke, then search for a unique name, fill in the required information, and finally pay the registration fee.

Isuzu is one of the major motor vehicle brands in Kenya, providing both private and commercial vehicles to Kenyans. Most Kenyans interested in buying an Isuzu car in Kenya are often stranded in Google’s search engine in a bid to find reliable and trustworthy Isuzu dealers in Kenya.

Not anymore, Bantu has taken the initiative to furnish you with a list of Isuzu car dealers in Kenya. You can select one that is nearest to you and contact them.

List of Isuzu Dealers in Kenya

1. Ryce East Africa Ltd

Location: Mombasa.

Contact: 0732 777 266.

2. Associated Motors Limited

Location: Mombasa.

Contact: 0724 583 555.

3. Thika Motor Dealers

Location: Karatina.

Contact: 0714 074 001.

4. Thika Motor Dealers

Location: Mlolongo.

Contact: 0706 450 050.

5. Thika Motor Dealers

Location: Machakos.

Contact: 0726 605 550, 0703 605 550.

6. Delta Automobile

Location; Nairobi.

Contact: 0709 380 000.

7. Kenya Coach Industries

Location: Nairobi.

Contact: 0722 237 231.

8. Isuzu East Africa

Location: Nairobi.

Contact: 0703 013 222.

9. Central Farmers Garage

Location: Nairobi.

Contact: 020 352 2435.

10. Ryce East Africa Ltd

Location: Nairobi.

Contact: 020 653 2658.

11. Associated Motors Ltd

Location: Nairobi.

Contact: 0723 650 650.

12. Mangu Auto & Hardware Limited

Location: Nairobi.

Contact: 0707 349 904.

13. Thika Motor Dealers

Location: Ruaka.

Contact: 0701 193 330, 0780 193 330.

14. Mac East Africa Ltd

Contact: 041 425 2810.

15. Africa Commercial Motors Group 

Location: Kericho.

Contact: 0721 736 464.

16. Thika Motors Dealers

Location: Thika.

Contact: 0721 726 654, 0706 726 654.

17. Africa Commercial Motors Group Ltd

Location: Kisumu.

Contact: 0733 635 183.

18. Africa Commercial Motors Group Ltd

Location: Nakuru.

Contact: 0736 928 928.

19. Associated Motors Limited

Location: Eldoret.

Contact: 053 206 3943.

20. Associated Motors Ltd

Location: Chuka.

Contact: 0712 641 193.

21. Central Farmers Garage

Location: Kitale.

Contact: 054 313 335.

Isuzu East Africa Ltd Contacts

Head Office Location: Enterprise Road, Off Mombasa Road, Nairobi.

Contact: 0800 724 724.

Email: info.kenya@isuzu.co.ke.