Stella Mwaniki is the co-founder of Virtual Assistant Africa, an online-based business that provides administrative, social media management, copywriting, graphic design, brand management, project management services.
There’s an opportunity in every crisis. When the 2020 pandemic struck, most businesses were affected – shut downs and massive layoffs. My partner and I were doing some consultancy work and we lost a major client.
That gravely affected our consulting business so we had to think fast. With guidance from a friend, we took our services online and launched Virtual Assistant Africa.
The timing was perfect since the pandemic came with restrictions of movement and physical meetings. We started growing our virtual client portfolio – a client after another, and it has been going well since.
When we started out, we resolved to not only run a business for profit. We sought to create a unique business that could empower others and be a learning board for other people – particularly young entrepreneurs, to earn an income by working remotely.
And our mission is continental – hence ‘Africa’ in our brand name. We want to be part of the solution to the unemployment challenge in Africa – and we have already begun.
We run an online community of over 1,000 Virtual Assistants (both new and experienced) where we share knowledge on virtual assistance and remote job opportunities.
I was once rushed into a partnership just at the peak of my consulting work. The opportunity seemed lucrative and without much thought, I jumped ship only to realize later that it was the worst move of my professional life.
I learnt that business partnerships have almost an equal commitment to marriage. And so one should carefully select and vet the potential partner. Do you even share the same vision? Also don’t be rushed into any form of business partnership – take your time.
Because chances are you’ll end up holding the short end of the stick, unfortunately you get to realize this later in the partnership. We didn’t share the same vision with my partner and all through I didn’t know I was getting the shorter end of the stick.
There is a difference between saving and saving for the sake of it. I used to save for the sake of it. I just loved seeing those zeroes increase. But I soon realized that the increase in zeroes wasn’t increasing my wealth or investment portfolio.
This is a method that will never take you far. Today I save for a purpose. This means having clear and specific goals of what I intend to do with the money and this has been my greatest motivation to save. Don’t borrow for consumption, and diversify your investment portfolio as much as possible.
I have learnt these two lessons painfully; an investment firm went under with most of my money and the process of recovering has been uphill.
I have found entrepreneurship to be deeply satisfying. I can’t trade flexi hours and the freedom that comes with it. I get to spend more time with my family while doing what I love the most.
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But this is not to say employment is bad, I was there before I ventured into entrepreneurship. Some of what I learnt is what I’m using today in my business.
There are three things I have found to be critical in life. Sometimes opportunities knock just once. You hesitate to open the door and it’s gone! Secondly, money is not an end in itself, it’s just a means. So stop obsessing over money. Lastly, strive to live a life of significance – that’s the way to build a legacy.
In addition, learn to pay attention to your gut feeling. You know that feeling you feel deep down but you ignore or find a way to silence it? Most times it has your best interest. In hindsight, I would have saved myself from making some money mistakes if I paid even half the attention to it.
A version of this profile feature on Stella Mwaniki of Virtual Assistant Africa was also published in the Saturday Magazine. The Saturday Magazine is a publication of the Nation Media GroupSaturday Magazine is a publication of the Nation Media Group.
