Amb. Dr Kiran S. Suthar HSC, OGW, is a Board Member at the Kenya Hospices and Palliative Care Association – (KEHPCA).
I am a retired businessperson and long-time philanthropist, and a retired public relations and external affairs director at Highlands Mineral Water Company. I am also an investor and advisor at Janta Ventures. This is an investment business that seeks to empower exceptional African founders and entrepreneurs to build transformational ventures and businesses by equipping them with the community networks and resources they need to succeed. The business deals with manufacturing, distribution, and treatment.
My grandfather started this business in 1962. It was a family business. Then I joined him in 1991 as the public relations and external director. Prior to this, I was employed at a small Meru hardware shop in Meru County. I worked at the Meru hardware store for eleven years as a sales executive.
I had been saving some money from my job because I knew that eventually I would be an entrepreneur. With the savings I had and a partner whom I met along the way, we were able to invest in this business, revive it and restart it afresh.
I am grateful to God because we experienced many successful milestones. The highest of these was when investors bought us out. This meant that I had capital to support my family fully and that we had built a great business that had taken five years to break even.
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I have previously loaned money to other people who failed to repay. I ended up losing friendships that mattered to me. But I learnt who I could trust and who I could not trust. I also learnt that I trusted people too much and that cost me my money, my peace and my wellbeing. I learnt not to lend money to just anyone. I also learnt that not everyone seeking financial help has the right motives.
There are so many lessons that I learned through doing business. Like the importance of hiring right and having a great team to support your mission and vision. At the beginning I struggled with this, because I just hired almost anyone who applied, which cost my business a lot. Nowadays, I only hire for character and skill and not just because one is qualified.
I save money through investing in bonds, for example the central bank infrastructure bonds. Previously, I used to save up my salary in my bank account. Then I discovered that at the end of the month, I saved very little. I ended up spending all of the money I saved, and sometimes invested all of it into my business.
It is important to be employed first before you go into business. This will give you the necessary experience and the time needed to build up capital. Entrepreneurship requires a lot of discipline and sacrifice and working as an employee is the best way to learn and prepare yourself.
When you get a lot of money, don’t let it change who you are as a person. Do not let it boost your ego so much that you start looking down on people. It’s good to be humble, ask for help and help the less fortunate in society when you can. Keep chasing your dream and trust in God. Things will get better in time if you’re well prepared for them.
A version of this profile feature on Dr. Kiran S Suthar appeared in the Saturday Magazine. The Saturday Magazine is a publication of the Nation Media Group.