There is never a perfect time, feel the fear, but do it anyway...

Catherine Mumbi, 35, is CEO, Simply Mammoth Solutions. PHOTO | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • I think right at the very beginning. People around me often told me that I was unemployable. That I was too passionate, too strong-headed with an insatiable appetite for risk-taking. I knew employment was not for me but it took me six years to gather enough courage to up and leave my comfort zone. 
  • I am very persistent. I remember when I was still new in this field, I never turned down a job, even one I hadn’t done before. I would take the job and then learn how to do it later. I am also passionate about what I do. Work for me never feels like work. 
  • My best investment decision has been choosing my team. I get to be who I am because of the people that I work alongside. As for bad investment decisions, I have made countless. I like to think of them as lessons though. 

Catherine, a marketer, was employed for six years before deciding to build her own company. She now runs Simply Mammoth Solutions, a marketing, creation and project management consultancy. 

1. What were you doing at 21?

I was a happy-go-lucky university student. At this point, I thought that studying hard and getting employed was the answer to all of life’s problems. 

2. When did you realise that an 8am to 5pm job was not your destiny and what triggered this realisation?

I think right at the very beginning. People around me often told me that I was unemployable. That I was too passionate, too strong-headed with an insatiable appetite for risk-taking. I knew employment was not for me but it took me six years to gather enough courage to up and leave my comfort zone. 

3. What is the most valuable lesson you picked from your time in employment?

I learnt that it is people that make organisations, not policies. That is how I run my company. People, both employees and clients, come first. It doesn’t matter how efficient your systems are, you need people to run them. 

5. Which two attributes of Catherine would you attribute your success to?

I am very persistent. I remember when I was still new in this field, I never turned down a job, even one I hadn’t done before. I would take the job and then learn how to do it later. I am also passionate about what I do. Work for me never feels like work. 

6. If you could go on this journey again, what would you do differently?

 I would not change a thing. Who I am today is a sum total of my triumphs and my failures. 

7. Would you say you are satisfied in your professional life? What is your definition of success?

Yes. I love what I do. I want to be great at it. My definition of success is gaining fulfilment from all areas of your life. I love my job as CEO and I have an outrageously awesome relationship with my husband and my children. That is my definition of success. In the foreseeable future, I want this definition to include being of service to my community. 

8. What is the wisest investment you have made to date? What about the most ill-advised?

My best investment decision has been choosing my team. I get to be who I am because of the people that I work alongside. As for bad investment decisions, I have made countless. I like to think of them as lessons though. 

9. Any hidden talents?

I can play football (chuckling) 

10. What is the most valuable

advice you would give the young person reading this?

Feel the fear, but do it anyway. There is never a perfect time to start something. 

My success secrets 

1. I am persistent. I may not always get it right, but this never stops me from doing it again. I like to think of myself as a believer, a dreamer and a risk taker. I think I got this one from my father. 

2. I am willing to learn. I believe this trumps even natural talent. 

3. Success in business isn’t only about finding something that has never been done before, it is about doing what you choose to do differently. Eventually, you will get noticed for it. 

4. I believe in making a career out of what you love doing. I did. 

5. I work hard and long but I do not forget to play as well.

The last book I enjoyed reading is The Success Principles: How to get from where you are to where you want to be, by Jack Canfield. It’s a great guide to success in all areas of your life.