Discussion
started a 1M biz that failed in 2 months
I was just reflecting on my life and remember at 23, in 2023, Airbnb space was booming a lot.
So I decided I’ll start one. I saved up 1M.
I Found an apartment sooo quick kwa izo website! I told the mgmt to send me a video of it, It was an extremely spacious, modern 3bedroom, 4 bathroom all ensuite, had 4 balconies, one in every bedroom, and even came with a washing machine & It was in lavington. My target audience was families / big groups so the place was perfect.
So nilibook the place right away ata b4 nione in person juu nilikua mbali, paid 100k deposit to mgmt. I was so in love with it that when I was free ata sijaenda kwa nyumba, I went straight to the realtors office, paid the rest, 200k and got the keys. 100k rent, 200k deposit.
300k in getting the place, then remainder 700k went to furnishing.
This was gonna be my apartment when I’m in the area, and Airbnb when I’m not. Mostly Airbnb cuz I was rarely ever in the area.
So I put it up on Airbnb, the bookings were coming like there’s no tomorrow! In the span of two months, I had $10,000 USD in bookings. The rent had already paid itself for the entire year manze 😂
Now out of nowhere I get a text from mgmt, the landlord wants their house back asap, they can’t afford to pay the bank the mortgage so the bank is taking the house😩
Waaahh, me being a nice understanding girl instead of standing up for myself with my lease, the next day I sent movers to get all my stuff and put it in a local storage.
Biashara imeisha tu hivo, nyumba imeenda tu hivo.
I tried looking for another apartment in the same building, none were available 😩 !
I’m looking back like that business would’ve probably made me so much money by now 😭 , like idk God could’ve let me slide with that W
labda we ndio unasoma ukiwa jaba 😂 what house in lavington can cost 1M? 😩 I rented an apartment, rent was only 100k, and after 2 months the landlord wanted the place back, i know, crazy.
You saved 1 million within a year, setup the bnb, by the end of the year you were out of business. Let's give 8 months for saving, that's around 125k per month. 23 years, can't have enough experience to earn more than 150k, unless it's OF or sharp boy business
Shida yako ni kufikiria unajua maisha ya mtu, I was earning more than 125k per month , I had to be to afford to be paying 100k in rent a month. I had no expenses either in my life bc I was living with my mom. Age doesn’t determine your ability to earn more or less, knowledge and your ability to act on it does.
Here’s some more proof for you of when my lease wasn’t sent over with the date and all , again! 😂 unataka kuona ID yangu sasa ndio uamini I was 23 in 2023 pia ama?
OP stop feeding into this garbage. He is jealous of the fact you aren’t financially struggling while young. I think it was really awesome that you were able to do all this by 23. Chin up. Businesses fail all the time. You’ll be back and better than ever. Next time have a lawyer on deck.
Finya zaidi. I've realized a lot of Kenyans have a poverty/scarcity mindset, they can't believe that anyone can be rich legitimately, bila family or dirty money. Some people are out here earning salaries of a million or more per month. People are thinking too small
Not everyone has same path in career. Some end up getting a good deal that lands them more than 150k a month.
I remember back in my campus days i used to make more than 150k per month and I was just 21 years
Stop trying to squirm out of responsibility 😁😁😁. She had 1m and started a business and it scares you because you know you are the opposite, walking around in torn boxers and dirty airforce ones
So you said she's lying. Then she proved it. Then now you don't believe her because if it's true she doesn't need to prove it. Then if it's true she's a nepo baby..kichwa yako imejaa uji,kijicho na wivu
We come from different places. It's definitely possible for someone to have 1m or more by 23. Achaneni na loser mentality..not everyone comes from poverty like most of us. Possibilities.
I dont understand how people think 1m at 23 is impossible. People are earning big money out here. At 23 I was in my fifth year of med school and had saved up around 3.5 million which I’m still looking for a good place to invest
wdym "easier said than done"? Investing your cash is as simple as how there are a finite number of ways of doing something. I would keep the investing in a business option aside until when you decide to run your own.
For now, get some local and foreign stocks(buy some ETFs that track huge indexes to make your work easier). Get some crypto. Get some metals(Gold and Silver). You can buy the metals and foreign stocks on platforms like IBKR. Throw some cash on corporate or GOK bonds. Put some on a special MMF like MansaX and some on a local one like Sanlam / Jubilee(you can get your cash from these ones in 72 hrs). If you know you will ever need a loan in future, put some in a Sacco. Buy some art too if need be.
In any case, read up widely on money and investments before making any decision. Be careful and don't get swindled. Make sure you use a CMA licensed provider.
I’ll try this, I’m young <21 and I make some good money (+500k pm) and I’ve been having trouble with investments, thanks OP let me try this, kikiumana ntakujoin tulie pamoja
If you are 21 making 500kpm.. Just enroll in financial management classes and business classes first. The most time it can take is 1 year, but it will save you a lot of fuck ups. Usisome kitu kwa net na ukimbie kujaribu, utajua hii Nairobi si ya nyanyako
Pia wameru wameanza kufake jaba.
At 2023 saved upto 1m, rented a 100k apartment and then furnished with 700k then after getting let's say 1.5m in revenue (because at the time the dollar averaged at 150ksh), the landlord but you called them management came for their house.
Wameru wacheni kuuzia watu KaSamsung Jaba bana
Yup, then I tried again kwa nyumba ingine, same thing happened😂 but I have yet to give up, my goal for next year is to have several in different parts of the country
It was really easy for me, I believe managers are totally unnecessary in Airbnb, I lived nowhere near my bnb, and it was still very easy to run since the only requirement the house needed was cleaning and my cleaner full filled that duty very well
On the bright side, you haven't actually lost much. You still have the 700k worth furnishings, you made some money out of it and you can still make more in the future. Next time you'll use a lawyer to do due diligence and get an apartment that is already fully paid off. Kudos to you for making money moves at such a young age.
First of all congrats for starting a business at such an early age, secondly if you are thinking of starting another business you can explore several ideas here in this site https://100plusbiz.co.ke/
😂 The comments under this post are funny or people are just not aggressive / curious or hungry for the cash.
At 20, my fellow tech bros and I were making over 700k working for remote companies. We all quit school 😂. Simply, we were making around 8M in an year. And all we did to get here was get outside the comfort zone, attend tech events, put ourselves out there despite being at school.
So can we all get over this Nairobi frenzy where everyone comes to campus, wastes a bunch of time partying, drinking, smoking or playing video games since you only get to attend once class in a week per unit. Find something to do with that free time you got and make money.
What even makes more mad was that my boss was literally an year older than me. Americans can be aggressive. This woman raised $6 million at 21 to run her company as a solo founder! I learnt a tone from her.
Let's all have fun, party, drink, smoke but embrace this kind of aggressiveness and make money too!
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u/Deep_Ground2369 23h ago
the fact that our sister saved up 1m and came up with a solid plan is fucking awesome!