- Mental health and wellness are paramount for you to be ahead of the curve in the workplace.
- Dr. Walter Okibo, an entrepreneur and lecturer at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), advises people to invest in their own investments.
- The government should harness these skill-driven and innovative approaches, supporting young innovative minds to achieve a change in the economic, technological, and agribusiness sectors, among others.
As the saying goes, good, intelligent artists leave the stage when the claps are still high.
How often do you, as a professional, go for business coaching sessions?
It’s fair to say that in Kenya and Africa at large, we have a bad professional culture of only seeking business coaching when hard-hit by challenging financial experiences such as problematic loan repayments and bankruptcy.
In an interview with Scholar Media Africa, Rachael Otundo, a valuer, business coach and politician, says that employees should strive to be their own employers by the time they reach 45.
This is because, according to her, one should have already been nurturing personal projects that have been growing, and by this time, they are now mature investments that generate a lot more income than the salary.
“When you hit 45 years, you should be on your way out to leave room for young graduates to get employment,” Ms. Otundo advises.
The master plan
“I left office as an employed valuer at 45. This was late because I intended to leave office as early as 43 years.
I had started personal projects that needed my attention and they offered an avenue for me to exit and continue my profession in a private avenue,” Ms. Otundo lauded.
She advises employees to put in place investments early when they are still young in their careers.
When approaching 40+ years, these projects will be strong and guarantee even better pay than staying in employment.
She adds that at 45 years, you should be an employer, not an employee. This way, jobs are created by leaving space for younger minds and creating jobs by employing others.
Personal investments
Dr. Walter Okibo, an entrepreneur and lecturer at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), advises people to invest in their own investments.
“People who invest in personal investments rear them like babies; they give all the attention to these investments because they would not
want them dying.
This is because they are the sole source of income. But when one has a full-time job and a side hustle, he or she tends to give less attention to one because of being comfortable and thinking that one insures the other,” Dr. Okibo added.
He advises people to diversify their financial bases and open as many avenues as possible to have financial abundance.
He also says that operating from financial abundance places you in a healthy operational state.
“Have money that works for you even when you are sleeping or not working. Learning the art of being the master of your money will help you to become a successful person,” Dr. Okibo encouraged.
Peris Bosibori, an entrepreneur and lecturer at Kisii National Polytechnic, advises people that money attracts money.
Through this, she encourages people to invest in many projects. She adds that it does not matter the size of the investment; just invest the venture will grow with time.
Wellness and professionalism
Business and business coaching are intertwined with mental health. Mental health and wellness are paramount for you to be ahead of the curve in the workplace.
While putting in the effort for your business to succeed, it is also important for you to work on your mental wellness. A healthy mind is a productive mind.
Institutions should invest in psychologists’ services to assess the mental status of their staff and help them stay in the right mental state for maximum productivity.
Regular walks, taking breaks, maintaining a manageable workload, cultivating healthy work engagements, and seeking counseling services are some approaches employers and employees can adopt to stay mentally fit while running their businesses.
Online job opportunities
According to Wycliffe Likhaya, Kisii County Secretary General of Kenya Red Cross, in this generation, a lot of training is offered on online job opportunities.
Most people, however, tend to ignore or underrate these job opportunities.
“People should embrace these jobs because they are contemporary jobs and can bail them out instead of waiting for in-person employment.
Let people get training on these online earning platforms and explore the opportunities,” Mr. Likhaya advised.
In the words of Prof. Robert Gateru, the VC Riara University, “In Africa, we are blessed that we have so many problems waiting for graduates to solve. Once you solve a problem, you don’t need to market yourself.”
Your skills will always make you visible to more and more employers and help you get more opportunities.
He says that young people should be innovative and create jobs for themselves instead of complaining and waiting for the government and other entities to create opportunities for them.
Skilled
Many students, especially in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, have been exposed to various skills usable in innovative ventures, opening up wider gates for them in the market.
In a research conference held at Kisii National Polytechnic, students from different TVETs showcased their projects.
Such projects included banana wine (made from pineapple and banana peels, a project by Nyariki Maraga of Kisii National Polytechnic), alco-lock (an alcohol detector that automatically locks the steering wheel when the driver is drunk, designed by Nirmal Patel and Umar Sokwala from Kisumu Senior Academy) and the black soldier farming project (an agribusiness and environment-driven project by Valarie Lagat), among many others.
Government support
The government should harness these skill-driven and innovative approaches, supporting young innovative minds to achieve a change in the economic, technological, and agribusiness sectors, among others.
Creating more avenues for youth to gain vital skills is also timely and would allow for diversity and competency in the job market.
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But also, when you earn, it is also vital to stick to financial behaviors that your financial muscles can sustain. Prioritize what matters.
