“No one listened to us because we had no collateral worth talking about. But it is interesting that the same banks that gave us a cold shoulder are now knocking on our doors loudly and incessantly offering us a menu of credit facilities. However, we can’t take it now because we are able to stand on our two feet,” he says.
Being denied credit by the financial institutions has been a blessing in disguise for Mr Kogei: “We learnt that you can start small and slowly build your own capital,” says the indefatigable but unassuming businessman whose slight frame belies the gigantic challenges he has overcome to build a thriving firm.
Mr Kogei says employers and employees ought to give safety and health issues at work the seriousness they deserve. “Safety and health at the workplace is critical.
It is unfortunate many companies and even employees do not appreciate the gravity of the situation,” he says adding that the fact that this has not been taken seriously speaks volumes on the huge potential there is in this area for entrepreneurs.
“We have merely scratched the surface of an area that sometimes could be a matter of life and death. There are some basic things that are taken for granted at the workplace yet they are critical to our health,” he says adding that even the sitting position has a huge bearing on our overall health.
RESILIENCE
Mr Kogei says his passion fuelled his resilience and stubborn belief that what he was doing was right and held great promise.
“I never at any single moment doubted myself or questioned the viability of what I was on to. This unshakable belief was one of the driving forces that saw me weather many a storm and surmount numerous hurdles strewn my way. The more challenges I overcame the more my confidence level rose,” Mr Kogei asserts.
Another factor that has underpinned Mr Kogei’s success is the quality of work his firm does.
This has seen him get many clients through referrals.
“We never compromise on quality and this has been at the heart of our growth,” he says adding that there is no shortcut to success but the long, winding and slippery path.
His advice to potential entrepreneurs who have viable ideas is just to act on them.
“If you wait for an ideal moment, when all elements will neatly and perfectly fall in place before you start it will never come and your idea will be stillborn. Start with the little resources that you have and gradually scale the greasy pole of business,” he says.
Another ingredient to his success is his employees. He says he does not treat them as his workers but colleagues.
MANAGEMENT
Conversely, he also tells them to treat him as one of them and not their boss.
“Whenever we go to the field for an assignment there is neither a boss nor an employee. We work as colleagues,” says the unassuming and affable businessman whose slight frame belies the fact at he is battle-hardened having surmounted huge challenges to build a multimillion company.
Many a times, his clients have asked where the boss is yet he is right there standing among his colleagues (read employees).
Another powerful arrow in his quiver is incredible hard work. He says when there is urgent work, he goes to work on Saturday and Sunday.
“When I have a full in-tray, weekends find me unawares. Sometimes I go to the office only to find it empty, that’s when I know it is weekend,” says Kogei.
He never went for Christmas last December thanks to a demanding schedule. And for the four years since he started the company, he has not taken a holiday.
At the moment he is increasingly delegating duties to his staff so that when he goes on “a major holiday soon”, work will flow.