Job loss is a situation that leaves most people broken, unable to move on with life. Some get stuck completely and resort to extreme measures. A few wallow in a desperate job hunt process that does not guarantee them success.
This however was not the situation for Ken Macharia, who once worked for a top telecommunications firm in Kenya as a civil engineer. Macharia was among the KenCell employees who were retrenched in 2007. The company has since evolved to become the present day Airtel Kenya.
According to an article that was published by Business Daily, Macharia now owns a solar-installation company that brings in 10 Million annually.
In addition to that, Tafsiri Energy taps only into the biggest companies in Kenya including Ole Pajeta-Sweet Waters, Masai Mara National Reserve, Olarro Camp- Masai Mara and Sawela Lodge Naivasha among others.
Mr Macharia says that his business idea came when Kenya’s energy regulations required that developers of residential and commercial buildings use 100 litres of hot water or more daily to install solar water heaters.
All was not easy however for the 29 year-old before he grew his company to what it is now. He revealed to Business Daily that he secured a job at an IT firm, Digitell Communications Limited, in Nairobi shortly after he lost his job at KenCell. At his new job, he coordinated installation of communication masts, a job similar to what he did at his earlier job.
At one point in life, he had to sell his car to get capital for his business idea. He used the money to purchase some solar kits that saw him kick off his business. He also reveals that his first ever contract was worth Sh1 million from businessman Amin Merali, the chairman of hotel chain Neptune Hotels. He was asked to install solar kits on one of his hotels, a contract which Mr Macharia viewed as a vote of confidence in his fledgling energy firm.
It is interesting that Mr Macharia only has diploma graduates for his firm, himself also being a diploma holder in civil engineering. He says he trusts his employees to perform a thorough work.
“I have a strict policy that my team of about six employees has to get the work done right the first time,” he says.
Just as any Kenyan who loses a job, it was not easy for Mr Macharia to change his lifestyle from an employee, definitely with a good pay to an entrepreneur.
He revealed to the national paper that he, for instance, was forced to change his mindset and attitude towards finances, work ethic, values and how he spends time.
For those despairing over job loss, Mr Macharia’s success is a lesson to go by. All you need is to twist your mindset to believing that life must go on, job loss notwithstanding.
