Life outside the payroll

One morning a fortnight ago, Jane Ngina got an unusual letter on her desk. The short letter informed her that her employer, a tour firm, was relieving her from her position as a tour guide and administrative clerk until the company’s finances improved.

Yes, she had seen the company record fewer and fewer tourists in the past year and several cost cutting measures being undertaken, but it never occurred that her job was on the line.

The tour firm, along Ngong Road, was not actually closing down. It was thinning its payroll. And she was not alone. Four other employees, including the tea girl, were also shown the door.
Now Ms Ngina understands better the infamous talk about global economic meltdown and the subsequent job losses. The loss of her three-year-old job caught her napping and she is yet to get another job, despite enquiries at several other firms.

Experts now say losing a job at this time should not come as a shock. Many firms are either closing down or sending a large number of their workers home. “A job loss can befall anyone now. Even big corporate firms are retrenching staff as a means of cutting their overhead costs,” says Caroline Gichuki, a financial consultant with First Line Ltd.

Alternatives

Looking for another job, she says is the easiest option but it is advisable to look for other alternatives. “You are not getting a sack because you are unable to do the job. It is only that firms are finding conditions tough for business,” she says, adding that it is difficult for a person who loses a job at this time to get another soon.

“Firms are getting tired of endless enquiries for jobs. They are now pasting “No Vacancies” posters on their gates,” she says of conspicuous posters on many gates in Industrial Area, the hub of employment for low and mid-level classes.

But the loss of a job need not mean one sulks. Personal finance consultants counsel that there are various options one can employ to stay above the tide of financial oblivion. Among them is to start a small business that requires little capital.

But those set to plunge into business should be careful of their choice on what to engage in. “Try to get into a business that deals with basic needs. The harder times become, the more people shun luxuries.

People must eat and therefore demand for consumable products has shot up,” says Mr David Mworia, an investment manager with Prudential Capital Ltd.

At such a time, self-employment is crucial, and the service industry may require minimum capital. Mr Paul Gachanja, an economics lecturer at Kenyatta University, says the service industry is easy to enter. “We advise the young and energetic to venture here. Even if training is needed, it requires a short time. You can even start earning as you train,” he says.

For those already trained, and perhaps with some money, the experts suggest a re-training. This is because opportunities may have reduced for the course you are trained in over the years, hence the reason you were among the first people to be axed.

“Short courses are available in credible colleges. And with the experience you already have, that extra certificate can open doors for you,” he says.

Alternatively, one can offer freelance services and still earn something for the time being. “Fields like finance still outsource for services. For example, if you are an accountant, your services may be needed in many businesses, especially now that firms are required to have good books when asking for credit,” Mr Mworia says.

These freelance services can be interchanged with a venture into sales and marketing in various fields such as health and pharmaceuticals. “Remember, you also want to be busy. Competition is high and firms are looking for freelance sales agents. You definitely will earn,” Mworia adds.

But while starting a small business looks more viable, the aspect of financing can crack your head. Mr Mworia, who is also an investment advisor, says opting for a loan should be the least consideration.

“The credit crunch is with us. Banks are not willing to lend as there are many default cases. Without a job, a bank loan is almost out of question,” he says.

However, if one gets a nod from a bank, he or she should tread carefully. He emphasises that this is the wrong time to borrow. “In fact, some firms are downsizing because they are unable to service their loans,” observes the advisor.

Favourable

He urges women and young people to join groups and take advantage of the women and youth funds, sponsored by the government. The lending rates, he notes, are favourable to a small business person.

Says Mworia, “People are ignorant about these funds but there are others making life out of them, only a few years after they were inaugurated.”

Mr Gachanja supports this proposition. He says joining hands with people with similar experiences also lifts up ones emotional status. “It gives someone a sense of belonging and you may benefit from their vast experiences elsewhere,” he says.

But both experts warn of groups that will end up making you poorer. Sometimes you join a group and you end up paying loans for others. Do not just hop into any group,” they caution.

Talking of resuscitating one’s economic status, some economic advisors are also rooting for religious or Christian ministries as an alternative to start life afresh.

Some Christian ministries have programmes that target certain disadvantaged groups, sponsor their training in entrepreneurial skills and help them start small businesses. Mrs Gichuki says that even though training costs may need to be repaid, the terms are very friendly and are subject to you earning from the skills acquired.
The ministries can also extend a loan after training. No ministry would wish to train you and leave you high and dry,” she says.

An example of this is the Single Ladies International Ministry (Slim), a Christian ministry located at Zimmerman Estate. Started six years ago by Reverend Elizabeth Wahome, it targets jobless single mothers that it empowers economically through training in various handicraft skills after which they start small businesses.

Money visited the ministry recently and talked to women who tried this route when they were on the verge of utter hopelessness. Ms Wambui Matheri, Jacinta Nyambura and Catherine Mukuhi are young single mothers whose only worry sometimes back was where the next meal for their children would come from.

Ms Matheri, a mother of three, was the first wife of former dangerous gangster Matheri Ikere from the notorious Gachie village in Kiambu.

After her husband’s death, she languished in Gachie and suffered from depression for two years. “ I was reduced to nothing. My house had no furniture and no utensils. I begged for food and I got depressed,” She says.

Early this year, she was rescued by Slim. After a rigorous counseling, she was taught how to make multi-purpose liquid detergents, which she now sells at estates in the Kasarani area. She sells a 5-litre jerrican at Sh350 while a 20-litre jerrican is normally sold to institutions and hotels for Sh1,400.

“On a very good day, I can make six 20 litre jerricans,” she says. Though reluctant to disclose her exact profit, she hints that a 20 litre jerrican can earn a net of Sh500. She takes about twenty five minutes to make 20 litres of the detergent, meaning if she starts at 8am in the morning, she is through by 11am.

Sponsored

“If I get wholesale orders, I can make about Sh3,000 from one session at the ‘factory’,” she says of the room from which she mixes the detergent chemicals. She was first sponsored by Slim to buy raw materials.

“ We help members start life all over again. What we need is a person who is keen to change her life,” says Reverend Wahome, the ministry’s founder.

Jacinta Nyambura found herself divorced and jobless after she left the Kenya Air Force. She had been duped to leave the job to get married. The marriage did not work. With hunger biting her children and herself, she was forced to work as a barmaid.

She joined the ministry three months ago and is now training to bake all types of cakes. She is already selling them even before she completes the course. She can decorate and ice cakes, some as big as 10kg.

She is shy on the exact amount of money she makes in a week as income depends on the orders she has. “I sell a wedding cake at between Sh12,000 and Sh15,000. This is occasional,” she says.

Ms Nyambura also sells queen cakes at Sh 30 for a packet of four. On a good day, we can make sales of Sh600. The total profit is around Sh200,” reveals Nyambura whose children are now assured of a decent meal.

She intends to put up a cakes shop before the end of the year. “We shall help her put up one. We want her to get a stable client base then we set her free,” says Mrs Wahome.

Catherine Mukuhi, a mother of one, was a night-club dancer in some of Nairobi’s hottest entertainment spots, a life that exposed her even to risks of contracting HIV AIDS.

She joined Slim three years ago and was trained to make artificial flowers, doormats and bottling water. Her daughter helps her to make them in their house. Due to her experience, she also trains other new members when she is not out selling the flowers.

Ms Mukuhi sells each flower at Sh 500. Her profit is about Sh200 and she takes less than 20 minutes to make a bunch. The raw materials are bought in pieces and her work is to make new ones depending on desired designs. She sometimes make 10 bunches from which she earn about Sh2,000 at a go.

bmuiruri@nation.co.ke