Working hours in Kenya is strictly 8 hours from Monday to Friday, unless you are an employee of international organizations like the UN and World Bank.
It becomes increasingly hard for any employee to juggle between working for an institution and doing small business to supplement their income.This is made worse by the fact that some employers don’t want to see their subjects engaging in side hustles while working for them.
We have seen a number of employees being fired because they were openly operating a business when they were supposed to report to work. It is painful to lose a job especially when you don’t have an alternative but it’s also worth taking a risk by engaging in business while you are employed.
I always advice my friends who are employed not to give their employers 100 percent of their time. Remember your employer is not your friend; he may fire you any time, which may result to devastating effects. Sometimes Kenyans spend too much time in the office until they forget their talent. When they realize what they have missed, it’s already too late.
The best time to realize that you are doing something useful is when you start developing independent mind; you can’t do this while working for someone. When employed, your mind is always in a cocoon, you only think of working hard, getting a promotion and negotiating for salary. This is where poverty starts creeping in because there is no time salary will be enough; you are doing what we call a rat race.
In order to succeed and command respect in the society, business is the way to go. Even if you are employed, you can try the following business and see the results.
1. Selling women handbags
You can do this through social media or by selling to colleagues.
During weekends, simply visit Eastleigh,Gikomba,Kongowea,or any other market where cheap handbags are available and purchase cheaply, enough for the week.
Even if you will get a profit of Ksh 200 per day, it’s better than nothing.
2. Selling Lunch to co-workers
Most offices in Kenya don’t provide lunch to workers. Sometimes they have to travel some distance to take lunch. If you are a clever worker it’s good to start preparing lunch at your home and provide cheaply to your work mates. You don’t have to personally carry it to the office; you can employ someone to do it.
3. Starting a company to supply stationary
Every office requires stationary to operate effectively. As one of the most informed workers, you can start a company that supplies stationary to various offices, where your company is among the clients. You don’t have to disclose that you own it as long as it follows the tendering procedures.
4. Sell credit cards to co workers
This one is the easiest business to do in a Kenyan office. You only need to check into any Safaricom or Airtel office and buy the credit cards from there, then start the business of selling them to your workmates.
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