I am Sylvia from Nairobi. My business involves selling gas cylinders and gas to residents of Umoja, Embakasi and Donholm.My story is long but I can summarize it to important points.
The year 2013 remains in my memory forever. I was an accountant at a restaurant along Mombasa Road. It was August, almost end month, and during this time, auditing of our accounts was being conducted. Since I was in charge of accounts, any blame was squarely on me.Auditors had come from KPMG to conduct a thorough audit before the company declared profits. By bad luck it was found that Ksh3.3 million was missing. Honestly ,I didn’t know who took the money but since I was the accountant, everybody said I was the one who took the cash.
On a Monday morning, the previous week, my boss knocked on my office door and before I opened to welcome him, he hurriedly commanded, “Sylvia, leave anything you are doing and follow me to my office”.I knew things were not good. I composed myself and followed him to his office. Immediately I entered, he told me, “sit there. As you know, we audited our books and found that you stole Ksh3,3 million. We have no option but to send you home as further investigations are conducted. If we feel that we need you we shall call you”. He handed a dismissal letter to me.
I went straight to my desk, weeping and cursing. For the first time I felt God had abandoned me. I thought the world had come to an end. I packed everything that belonged to me and started the journey home. When I was leaving, I could see other staff members watching me through the window, others laughing aloud.
Reality came to hit me a month later when my landlord came for rent. I had saved Ksh 600,000 which I had planned to purchase a car. I took Ksh18,000 and paid the rent. Then followed other bills and household expenses. I realized the money was moving fast than I thought-for two months I had spent over Ksh70, 000.What also surprised me was that I was hungrier than never before.
During my stay at home, I tried to apply for a couple of jobs but none was forthcoming-until I decided I try something else. In fact, the more I stayed at home the more I didn’t have energy to look for employment. My experience from my previous employer discouraged me to the core.
While I was at home, I decided to dip my hands into business but I was never sure which business would fit my goals. I thought of MPESA but I some friends discouraged me.I did my background research for two weeks, reading online and asking friends about any viable business. It’s only one friend who suggested Gas Business. This college friend was thinking of starting one but she didn’t have capital. I decided to grab the opportunity.
Since I was desperate to earn a living through anything, I didn’t mind making my hands dirty.I said,”if this is what will earn me a living,I don’t care what people think about me”.I woke up one morning, moved from one business premise to the other in search of a vacant shop.This alone took a week. Eventually I got a room which I paid Ksh45,000(Three months deposit)
I withdrew Ksh 200,000 and bought gas in wholesale price. The following month my shop was stocked with gas…and that is how I started my gas business.
Since 2013 I have been engaging in gas business; initially I had a single shop in Umoja,I later opened one in Donholm and employed my cousin. In 2016 I opened 2 other shops in Embakasi.In total I have 4 shops.
I buy an empty gas 13kg cylinder at Ksh 1,500 and re-sell at Ksh 2,000.If a client comes with an empty cylinder,I sell them filled gas at Ksh 850-Ksh1,000.In a day I sell 10 to 15 gas cylinders,filled ones.If I re-fill with Ksh500 and make a profit of Ksh 350 to Ksh500 per single cylinder.
In the four years I have been into this business, I have learnt a lot. One lesson I can’t forget is, unless we move out of our comfort zones, you won’t realize your potential. Sometimes bad things happen to us so that more exciting opportunities can come our way.
I am happy because each of my shops earns me at least Ksh 1,500 per day.In a single day I pocket in the north of Ksh 6,000.I am happy that I can now afford to pay my rent, save at least Ksh 100,000 per month and also support my extended family. I have also managed to invest in land.From the time I started the business,I have saved a total of Ksh3 million.