My Business Was Booming But I Saved Every Shilling Until It Collapsed

When most Kenyans talk about a failed business or hustle, they blame competition, the economy, and high operating costs. 

Mine failed because I saved too much! That still sounds ridiculous even as I write it.

If you had met me a few years ago in Kawangware, you would have found me behind the counter of my kiosk selling milk, sugar, flour, bread, cooking oil, soap, and matchboxes.

The profit margins weren’t big, but with the volumes, I was making good money. The kadogo economy is big in Kawangware. 

My family had come together and raised enough money to help me start it. I had been struggling as a single mother, and instead of always sending handouts, they opted to set up a business for me. 

It started with a boom. Customers came, and the money started streaming in well. 

Also Read: I Thought Offgrid Living Was Paradise, I’m Back to Nairobi Full of Regrets

Yet every evening as I counted the day's sales, there was more panic than excitement. 

My biggest worry was disappointing my family and having to ask for top-ups or rent rescues. You see, before that shop, life had not been kind to me.

There were days when my children slept hungry because I simply had nothing to cook.

There were weeks when landlords knocked on my door so often that every knock made my heart race.

Even after life improved a little, those memories never left me.

So every shilling that came into the shop had only one assignment in my mind.

"Sort ya rent kwanza.”

By the third week, I had enough sales to cover the rent for both the shop and my small single room where I was staying. 

For a few hours, I felt relieved.

Then another thought entered my head. "Now I need to save for next month's rent."

That became my routine.

Money would come into the till, and instead of buying more stock, I would hide it away.

If shelves started looking empty, I convinced myself customers would understand.

They didn't.

Also Read: The Ksh2 Million Mistake That Taught Me Rental Investment Isn’t Always Easy

Someone came looking for maize flour. I had run out. Sugar? Finished. The fridge was almost empty.

The problem with places like Kawangware is that there are many alternatives. And if someone finds you are not stocked on two, three occasions, they replace you as their shop of choice. 

The painful part was that I had money. It sat safely tucked away because my biggest fear wasn't losing customers.

Six months later, the shelves were almost bare. The business quietly died.

It took a brutally honest conversation with my brother for me to finally hear something that made sense. 

"You were protecting the money instead of making the money work."

They were right. I was permanently managing fear that I forgot about running the business. 

My brother bought whatever remained of the business, and on my request, hired me as the attendant on a salaried position. For the first time, I began watching how someone else handled money.

Sales were tracked, and the money was used to replace the stock in advance. Expenses were addressed and sorted without delay. Whatever remained in profit was either reinvested or saved for emergencies. 

That opened my eyes to the danger of a scarcity mindset.  Today, I still save, but I no longer save every shilling that enters my hands.

I separate money according to its job - Rent, school fees, emergencies, investments, etc. 

Now I remind myself of something every time fear whispers that I should lock every coin away.

Money has to move before it can multiply.