I Finally Landed a Ksh80K Job, I Quit After One Month and Went Back to Business

When I graduated with a degree in Accounting in 2022, I imagined my career would follow a familiar path. I would secure an office job, climb the corporate ladder and finally enjoy the stability I had worked so hard for in university.

Reality turned out very differently.

After graduation, I struggled to find employment. I applied for countless accounting jobs, attended interviews and rewrote my CV several times, but nothing seemed to work.

Eventually, I stopped waiting for an opportunity and created one.

I started selling flowers in 2024.

It was a small business at first. I bought flowers, pots and decorative plants, then marketed them to offices, restaurants and online. Slowly, customers started referring me to others.

As the business grew, I spotted another opportunity in mid-2025.

Many of my clients in my neighbourhood in Mountain View were constantly looking for convenient laundry services. I invested in a washing machine and began offering laundry services. Since I was living at my parents' home, I did not have to worry about rent. I set up the washing machine in our store.

By the end of 2025, both businesses had become stable.

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The flower business generated an average profit of about Ksh30,000 a month. I could buy flowers and pots for around Ksh700 and, depending on the arrangement, sell them for as much as Ksh2,500.

The laundry business performed even better, bringing in at least Ksh40,000 a month and sometimes much more during busy seasons.

Financially, I was doing reasonably well.

Emotionally, however, something still felt incomplete.

Whenever I met my university friends, the conversations revolved around office life.

They talked about meetings, promotions, appraisals, company retreats and office politics.

I admired that life.

Deep down, I felt I hadn't truly "made it" because I wasn't formally employed.

So when a startup in Westlands in January 2026 offered me an accounting assistant position paying Ksh80,000 a month, I accepted immediately.

I barely thought twice.

The salary looked attractive, and finally I could say I worked in an office.

The excitement lasted only a few days. Very quickly, I realised startup life was nothing like I had imagined.

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The company had very few structures. Every issue became a meeting. Some days, I spent more time discussing work than actually doing it.

Responsibilities changed constantly, and because the team was small, everyone seemed to wear multiple hats.

I also discovered costs I had completely ignored. I now had to commute every day. Transport costs quickly started eating into my salary. Then came PAYE and other statutory deductions.

The Ksh80,000 I had celebrated wasn't the amount landing in my account.

Meanwhile, my businesses still needed attention. Orders had to be confirmed. Flowers had to be delivered.

Laundry customers expected updates. After work, I often found myself doing everything I could to keep the businesses running.

By the time I finished, I was exhausted.

Weekdays disappeared into office work, while evenings and weekends became dedicated to catching up with the businesses.

I was working more hours than ever before but enjoying my life much less.

Then there were the office dynamics. Simple decisions became long discussions.

Small misunderstandings sometimes turned into unnecessary office politics.

For someone who had spent years making decisions independently, adjusting to that environment was harder than I expected.

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One evening, I decided to compare my finances honestly.

On paper, the office salary looked bigger.

But after deductions and transport costs, I was often left with about Ksh50,000.

On the business side, my flower and laundry businesses were already generating around Ksh70,000 a month, with the potential to grow even further.

More importantly, I controlled my schedule. If I wanted to meet a client, I could. If I wanted to introduce a new product or service, I didn't need anyone's approval.

That was the moment everything became clear. I hadn't accepted the job because it was necessarily the better financial decision.

I had accepted it because I believed formal employment was the only real measure of success.

A month after joining the company, I resigned.

Some friends thought I had lost my mind. Others assumed I couldn't handle office pressure. The truth was much simpler. I had finally realised I didn't need someone else's definition of success.

Today, I continue running both businesses.