This comes from last month issue of this newsletter.

In that newsletter we talked about your future in business will never be safe

Get to understand more in that issue here

I am very proud to note we started this newsletter last month of 2024 and promised to be sharing thoughts every 2 weeks.

12 months into it, there has been no one that have been missed.

In total 27 issues

Started with less than 50 readers now we are at 500 readers every issue.

I have created business and social partnership through this work

This is 2^nd last for year 2025.

Thank you for this journey which will continue becoming better and better

The Hidden reality

Our traditional learning structures is a very dedicated one.

Approximately 16 years from elementary education to your first degree.

That’s real dedication of a system

Kind of training neatly packaged in programmes, assignments, degrees and certificates.

But so far, we are graduating 1 Million from colleges and universities while best CEOs are still using 30% of their time trying to identify best candidate to hire.

Could it that type of education we continue to invest heavily are flawed especially preparing us for business operations.

Our skills deployment landscape is changing-

The most menial jobs are being done by graduates.

The smallest businesses are no longer for hustlers- graduates are behind them

I am very sure that these engagements are not able to connect with future hope of our graduates

We ask – why is that so ? Is the problem in small business and menial jobs opportunities that are available ?

I think the answer is in questioning what is this we call learning ?

Valuable Unpopular Learning

When I busk under 10 am sun, my imaginations feel like rhythm – ideas versus sweetness of sun.

At start of year 2025 I decided to offer free coaching to any willing micro and small business players.

By July, the number was 10 – the target I had.

It was small designed program on how to design business for growth.

As we continued, I came to understand why 78% are still in small business that never grows.

Only 3 were able to commit to programme to the end- today they always affirm- that was true learning.

What is learning then.

Our traditional education system never prepared us to build business. It was highly structured that elements that come through unpopular platforms falls away.

Even when they are available for free, they can’t detect. But someone can commit to Kes 0.5M masters program pushing guardians to fundraise to make their kins happy.

I also learnt a lot.

Bottom line, if you continue running a small business with no structured way to grow it, you will remain slave of grapevine stories how economy is bad, businesses can’t grow and so forth.

You don’t time to grow the business, you take time to learn and become right person to grow person.

This only happens through learning inform of coaching, observations, practicing.

Anything admiration you have in mind and no practice around the same, you are carrying burden that will never help.

I have continued to understand that real learning will not only come through neat packaging

Let’s learn un conventionary and change the culture on you way to growth.

10 Pillars for growing small business

1. Planning

Just commit to be more information hungry so that you can start relying on right information and not any grapevine to keep you busy

2. Effective communication and negotiations

It’s not everyone that reject you at start that mean to. You have missed golden opportunities in personalization of relationships.

3. Your business network

You can never grow business alone. Start aligning your support network and use very mature system to arrive at these networks. Then follow through one by one.

4. Power of continuous learning

You have masters and PHD. This will not survive you growing business. The business environment keeps changing. Allow your self to be hand held. Your effort cuts by 50%.

5. The art of marketing and sales

Many people are trolling with feeling they have best idea ever on this world. If you don’t have aggressive system to attract customers that will remain pipe dream

6. Community support

We are in society that is highly social. Can you start imagining how community you build is the one you can collaborate more strategically for business. Otherwise many have lost all their business time in burials, weddings, road trips and so on which have almost not return

7. Finance management

Do you understand the flow of your business money from the point a customer pays. Business exists to make money. Without that control you will be like person who sits near the sea to fetch water and pour back to same sea.

8. Staff management & productivity

Starting with yourself as the business leader / founder- how productive are you to the business. Do you commit to making deals as the true value of your activities to the business. Staff is number 1 capital deployed to business and if there is no structure to ensure atleast 80% of their time goes to business, then you are losing lots of money.

9. Serving the customer

We have witnessed many businesses who does all manner to bring customer but quotation to customer will take 3 days. And because you consider yourself everything, customer will keep suffering for poor services. Turn around time of service.

10. Business reviews and performance monitoring

What is that one number that when you get to know it, you realize a totally different perspective about your business. May be How customers enquired yesterday, how many individuals passed in front of your business whether said a word or no.

Bonus

11. Handling stress, disputes and personal health

You are the most precious asset for the business. If you are strong, business becomes sustainable. Handle stress with continuous measures and disputes like opportunity to work together.

 Thank you for reading all way.

We meet in our last issue for year 2025.

Gachoka

I am Gachoka Kang’ata (GK) very passionate about entrepreneurship. My mission- Sharing for Growth. Over 5,000 reading this newsletter monthly.

MD at Cygnus Consulting – working with mid-sized businesses on Continuous Improvement (CI) Designs – Operations Improvement & Excellence. So far, Cygnus pride having worked with over 50 Owners and decision makers. See more: www.cygnus.co.ke

Founder & dedicated coach of micro & small enterprises for growth. Looking forward to impact over 1000 small business in 5 years. See more www.poweringhouse.com

Follow me on socials https://www.linkedin.com/feed/ and https://x.com/CharlesGachoka