Business Talk

There are many ways to make money in the music industry in Kenya. You can earn money on YouTube, live performances, digital sales, sponsorships or become a brand ambassador.  You can work in the music industry as a producer, musician, record label or music promoters in Kenya.  Therefore, if you are thinking of getting into the music industry, there are many opportunities and areas you can venture into. *Lucrative Ways to Earn as a Musician in Kenya* You could be wondering, how do Kenyan musicians make money? The following are excellent ways you can generate money through the music industry in Kenya. *YouTube Channel* You can earn extra income by uploading your music on a YouTube channel. If your channel becomes popular, Ads will be displayed on it.  Whenever people click on an advert on your channel, you earn a commission.  There are many platforms through which you can use to collect the money you make through YouTube. *Selling Merchandise* Musicians can make extra cash by

The moment graduates complete their undergraduate education, their hopes are up there, you can’t convince them that jobs are scarce in the country; they will even spit at you. Six months down the line, you meet a number of them in the street, dejected, resigned and embarrassed to speak out their cases, but we understand them anyway.  Most of them have sent over 1,000 applications to companies and no one has been sympathetic enough to give them even an internship.  This is the moment a graduate starts becoming innovative. If you find yourself in such a situation, you better stop thinking about employment and figure out a suitable business to start so that you can scare away some common conditions like depression.  If you succeed to secure employment when you still own some business venture, well and good but don’t allow yourself to be a slave of your academic papers. The people you see around driving big cars, living large and spending like nobody’s business are all entrepreneurs; unfor

The entertainment industry in Kenya and around the world is a great industry to venture into. Many Kenyans own a TV, a DVD player, or a laptop making movies and series a great entertainment option at the comfort of their homes. Some own TV decoders but accessing the current movies and series requires them to pay for a premium subscription. We also have international online platforms such as Netflix and Showmax that give access to TV shows, movies, and series on a subscription basis. Both services are deemed expensive by many people and have pushed many towards movie shops. Movie shops in Kenya have been seen to bridge this gap for many Kenyans at a low price. With as low as Ksh.20 and a maximum of Ksh.50 depending on the location, Kenyans can enjoy the latest series or movies. The movie shop business is one of the lucrative small business ventures for young Kenyans. As a young aspiring entrepreneur, this is a good and profitable business idea to pick especially if you are a

“If I had the money, I would start a business, invest in real estate and do so much more with my life”.  How many times have you said one of these statements to yourself? You have the ideas but never enough money to execute them.  Your financial success is hugely dependent on your relationship with money. What is your relationship with money like? Is it one filled with insecurity, discontent, jealousy and lack or is it one filled with abundance, love and respect?  Like any other relationship, you have to invest time and put in the work to understand it and make it successful. A great relationship with money will lead you to financial success and help you build wealth beyond what you ever imagined possible.  In order to build a better relationship with money, it is necessary that you become aware of some of the myths and lies you’ve been telling yourself or that were told to you by others that are sabotaging your financial success.  *(1) THERE ISN’T ENOUGH MONEY TO GO AROUND*   The trut

The online space is a gold mine opportunity for entrepreneurs to run their business even without owning a physical store. Common platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are widely being used in Kenya just like across the world to open and run online businesses. Carol is one among thousands of small business entrepreneurs in Kenya whose business operates mostly online. She runs Karols Apparel, an online clothing retail shop on Instagram and Facebook that offers trendy wears for both men and women. Carol is a Community Development graduate from Egerton University and her love for fashion drove her towards the fashion business. *Starting up* I started my business in 2019 after I lost my job at Carrefour. It took me 6 months to get another job and I lost it in March 2020 due to COVID. That’s when I decided to start the business officially and concentrate on it. I didn’t have money or a set capital when I started. My business started with Ksh.3,000 borrowed from a friend. I jus

Well, what if you succeed? Why have you chosen to see this half-glass of water as ‘half-empty’ instead of ‘half-full’? The fear of failure is the most crippling reason why many of us will never start a business in our lifetime. We admire successful entrepreneurs as if they knew from the beginning that they would succeed. You should know that they had the same doubts like you do. They all feared for an uncertain future, an irregular income and total failure. What if you fail? What if your business idea doesn’t sell or work? While these are very important questions, you may never know the answers unless you try. In the world of entrepreneurship, success and failure live in the same house. If you’re afraid of failure, there’s a very thin chance that you will ever taste success. How do you win a boxing match if you’re afraid of entering the ring? Business is, and has always been, about taking risks. That’s why entrepreneurs are known as ‘risk takers’. There is always an element

Every household in Kenya uses onions. If one wants to cook githeri, one uses onions. If one wants to cook vegetables, anything, name them, one uses onions. What does this tell you about onions? This implies that there is a market for onions and many people are not aware of it. Venturing into onion farming is a lucrative farming business if people took it seriously. Do you know that you can make one million shillings from an acre of hybrid bulb onions for only three months? Now you know and it is high time you stopped complaining about the lack of jobs and created one for yourself through onion farming. The current market price of hybrid onion is 50 shillings per every kilogram. A well planted and cultivated acre of hybrid bulb onions gives you twenty thousand kilograms (20,000). This means that twenty thousand kilograms times fifty shillings gives you a cool million.  It takes about 4 months for onions to fully mature and ready to be harvested. High yielding varieties in Ke

Investing in real estate is a wise investment decision to make due to high returns associated with it. You can buy real estate e.g land for investment purposes and leave it vacant for its value to appreciate.  If you are one of such people, here are some of the things you could do to earn some income from that vacant land as you wait for it to appreciate. *1. Beekeeping* Beekeeping or honey farming has huge untapped potential. Whether a small or a large chunk of land you can reap big by starting this kind of farming. It is simple and relatively cheaper to start. An ideal location would be one away from noise and human disturbance. *2. Dig a Borehole* Water is important in almost everything that we do. Digging a borehole is an easy way of getting some extra income from your land. If your land is closer to a town, you can set up a water kiosk and earn money from it. *3. Camping ground* If your land is in close proximity to a tourist area such as a lake, a park, or a mountain,

Gaming is fast becoming a popular pass-time activity in Kenya; and since most people cannot afford to buy and maintain private gaming consoles at home then you can capitalize on this opportunity to launch a small business.  One good thing about setting up a gaming lounge is that you don’t need to a lot of pre-training to get the wheels of the business rolling. A strategic location and ability to keep up with trends are the two most important qualities required in order to conquer the market. Here is a step-by-step guide (inclusive of capital breakdown) that will help you get started. *Step One: Pick A Location* Your choice of location can either make or break your business. Previously, a location in the Nairobi CBD would have been highly recommended but nowadays there are too many outlets there and competition is cut-throat. Consider looking for a cheaper location, preferably near an upcoming college/university. Think of areas like Chuka (Chuka University), Kabianga in Keri

With rapid urbanization taking place in most parts of Kenya, more and more people are switching to using LPG Gas for cooking.  Cooking gas is cleaner and more convenient as compared to using charcoal or kerosene. That’s why the idea of starting an LPG retail business is not only a timely one; but also an environmentally conscious one.  Let’s dive into the details on how you can implement this low-cost business idea (and how much you can potentially make).  *Step One*   Like with any other business the best approach to setting up a cooking gas retail business is by first conducting research. This article will help you – but it is even wiser to carry out some on-ground research to get the finer details.  Some points you need to pay close attention to during your research include:  *Ideal location for the business  *Rules and regulations of the industry  *Challenges  *Safety measures  *How to manage the business  *Step Two*   If you are satisfied with your research and are sur

Now before you rush into investing your money in any investment product, I think it’s worthwhile you read the following tips on the best investment product to invest your money in. What should you invest in? *1. Invest in something you understand* There’s a strong inter-relationship between business and investing. Just as it’s advisable you start a business with a thorough understanding of the industry you are going into; the same is applicable to investing.  Sometimes I find it funny that people actually start a business or buy an investment product based on the recommendation of a friend or their financial adviser. Others invest in an investment product just because someone succeeded with that same product. Without financial knowledge, people look for someone to tell them what to do and where to put their money. Just like Lemmings simply following their leader, these people race for the cliff and leap into the ocean of financial uncertainty; hoping they can swim to the ot

More entrepreneurs in Kenya are now venturing into the mini-supermarket business especially in residential areas and growing towns. For the longest time, Kenyans had been used to the supermarket concept being limited to big supermarket chains such as Uchumi, Nakumatt, Tuskys, Naivas, Quickmart, etc. And, those in areas away from the urban were used to wholesale stores and small retail shops. Now, most places in Kenya have smaller supermarket formats and there are smaller chains emerging. Today, almost every local shopping center you go to in Kenya has a mini-supermarket. A mini-supermarket is a good business idea especially if you have the capital to set up your store and stock it up. With regular stocking up and fair prices, you might just give the retail shops around a run for their money. *Starting Samadens Mini-mart* “We started in 2016. But I had this business in my mind for a long time before we even moved to Ruiru in 2003. I believe in making that extra money and my

Maybe you must have found yourself in a situation where you urgently needed money in the form of a loan. At that moment, you could not go to your bank because maybe you have an existing loan, had defaulted on a loan, and on an extreme case, had been listed on CRB. Having been listed on CRB meant that you could also not contact any other financial institution, leave alone your bank, for any loan. Mobile lenders and Apps could also not assist because you are still listed on CRB. That is a situation most Kenyans find themselves in when they need loans.  Interestingly, the only way you can overcome this financial need is to have someone willing to lend you money without considering your credit history. Because let’s face it, if no financial institution is willing to lend you money in Kenya, who can?  Of course a shylock! You will however need collateral like maybe your TV, fridge, or microwave…anything that has monetary value to get these loans. This is what is called Private L

If you are a patient investor who is willing to risk it all and wait for returns in 5 years or so, then Eucalyptus farming might just be the right business idea for you. Not only is this an opportunity to create some income but an avenue to help the country achieve a 10% tree cover by 2030 as well. But is there market for these trees or is it just hype as usual? Well, don’t take my word for it. Statistics from the Kenya Forest Service show that Kenya imports Ksh.7 Billion worth of timber from countries like Tanzania every year. Local forests can barely sustain the nation’s demand hence the need for farmers to step in to fill up this gap. Eucalyptus trees in particular have a wide variety of uses including as: electricity transmission poles, props for construction industry, production of essential menthol oil, timber for furniture and fuel wood for industrial and domestic use. Demand for mature Eucalyptus trees is very high in most parts of the country and this trend is expe

Doing ladies handbag business is profitable, cheap to run and ideal in the modern world. To start the venture in Kenya, requires at least Ksh.10,000. It’s not a secret anymore that business of selling ladies handbags in Kenya is a booming venture. It becomes juicier when those engaged in full time employment engage in this business as a side hustle.  The best places to source for women handbags is Eastleigh Nairobi. And the best towns to start the business include Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and Nakuru. I have interacted with many women engaging in this business, either in part time or full time, and thety have intimated to me that starting is hard but once you gain referrals and enough customer base, becoming rich will not be a theory but part of you. What you need to know is where to buy cheap and maximize profits by setting wide profit margin. To be on the safer side, ensure you have a good Facebook Page with at least 3,000 followers. You can promote your page or tell your