Evelyn Karungari Mungai is the executive director of Evelyn College of Design, the very first design college in East Africa which was started 40 years ago. She has also been in property and recruitment business.
Milestone: My biggest financial milestone has been my first property development at a time when few people had dared to venture into real estate. My partners and I came up with an idea and got those we wished to come on board to buy into it. The success of such ideas shouldn’t be primarily because you’re a woman. You just happen to be one!
Biggest money mistake: While I was the publisher of the PRESENCE Magazine 20 years ago, I decided to invest in a printing press instead of sending the publication to the printers. It was a great mistake; I knew nothing about printing and it financially cost me dearly. In Management book, you are advised to ‘stick to your knitting’. How true I found out, the hard way. In business, you must do what you are finest at, while acknowledging that there will always be mistakes and lessons on the journey to success.
Money maker between entrepreneurship and employment: It will always depend on your attitude towards risk. If you are employed, develop the habit of saving regularly, however little, from the first day of your employment. This is money you must hold back from withdrawing when times get hard. Put it away for 10 to 15 years. Later as you move up the career ladder and your salary increases, go for shares or bonds. Remember to get good investment advice on these. Don’t always think of the highest pay in employment. Do the work you enjoy, that makes a useful contribution to society, and that allows you to grow as a person. However, if you have a higher appetite for risk, dare to become an entrepreneur. Bear in mind, though, that many who try don’t make it, and don’t get rich at all.
Partnerships in business: They are risky and you must be much more careful than you might imagine. Sometimes, despite the due diligence you have carried out, you might still be disappointed. What I have found is that it all depends on there being common values such as fairness, respect and integrity. And how do you test for these? It’s not always straightforward.
Side hustles: Why would you want a side hustle? To test the waters? Create extra income? Think deeply before you start one. You might end up losing your job. Do it only when you have a clear line of demarcation between your employment and your side business. Assess the risks, including and not least to conflict of interest and ideally seek the approval of your boss.
Building wealth: I don’t think so much about creating wealth, but rather the values I’ve held on to, the lives I have touched, and the legacy I leave behind. That is why I started a children’s home to take care of HIV / AIDS orphans in the village where I was born. This is something I wish a lot more Kenyans would do. In the forty years I have been in business, I have never really hungered after material accumulation or been interested in ostentatious consumption.
Where women go wrong: we give up too easily. Over the years, I have come to learn that business is not for the faint hearted, but rather for those with the confidence to carry their vision to reality despite all the inevitable obstacles. To make it, you must never allow yourself to be discouraged – not by friends or family, not by peers.