By Geoffrey Kiragu, Founder and Director, Lesedi Developers Limited
I ventured into the supermarket business as a novice, exposing him to amateur errors that cost me KSh 5 million . I, however, learnt from the mistakes and tried my hand at real estate, bringing forth Lesedi Developers Limited Four years later, the company has grown in leaps and bounds, processed 4,832 title deeds, and served over 10,000 clients
Losing money to wrong investments is a phenomenon that most budding entrepreneurs experience during their initial years, a painful lesson that usually sets the pace for critical lessons going forward. I had invested in a supermarket and gotten too overzealous that by the time i picked the error, it was too late. One of the biggest gaps in the decision was the fact that i ventured into an industry he had little knowledge in.
With KSh 5 million gone down the drain, i not only licked his painful wounds but also went back to the drawing board hoping to bounce back bigger and better. It was at this point that it hit me that i had always had a passion for real estate but never explored available opportunities in the sector, that is how Lesedi Developers Limited was born.
With his focus shifted from the collapsed business, i started the real estate company through savings and a bit of top-up capital from friends. Given that i had learnt from his mistakes and picked vital lessons from my failure, i was able to dust himself and get back up.
I meticulously grew Lesedi Developers Limited from a small startup to a company that now boasts of processing 4,832 title deeds, 38 projects, and 10,200 clients within four years. “We now have parcels of land and housing projects in the Nairobi metropolis area, Thika, Juja, Nakuru and Murang’a,”
I also emphasise the need to separate business funds and personal money. I receive a monthly salary from the company just like every other employee. I also advise individuals seeking to buy land to do due diligence before settling on areas that could be repossessed in future for being road reserves or take years to develop.
Ask for the map, do a site visit, then perform a search at the lands’ registry to understand the geographical position and state of the parcel. The biggest money lesson is can share is to say that individuals should learn to spend within their limits
