Before you figure out who to blame, here are 3 mistakes that graduates make that cause them to suffer long after completing school.

1.Being Picky On Careers

The problem with most graduates is that they tend to “box” their minds into believing that they can only handle careers that are related to the courses and areas of specialization they undertook in campus.

Well, that’s where hell breaks loose because in most cases the so-called “relevant” job doesn’t come easily. The best way to link up with real life after college is to first open your mind to all opportunities that come your way. Don’t turn down that electrician’s job simply because you are an economist.

Don’t turn down that part-time teaching job at your local secondary school just because you have graduated in Bsc. Actuarial Science. The world outside here doesn’t care so much about what you studied in class – it cares more about what you can bring to the table given the slightest opportunity.

2.Not Being Ready To Volunteer

That white collar job may not come easily and neither will that dream business take a couple of days to blossom. That’s the reality. Out here you have to learn to sweat for success.

A good way to kick-start your career is by volunteering your services so that you can gain relevant experience first. So beyond the 6 month internship you took as part of your course-work don’t be hesitant to clock in one more year by volunteering in some institution.

You can look for charity organizations or start-ups and volunteer to serve. If volunteering opportunities still prove elusive don’t hesitate to take the initiative to start something like say a community based organization.

For instance, you can get 10 other like-minded youth and start planting trees and sensitizing the community about its importance. Or you can even start a part-time tuition class to raise the standards of learning in your area. Don’t worry about how low on the food chain you get to start – a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.

3.Going Back To Live With Your Parents

If you go back to your parents, to some extent they may show you that life is simple but at some point they will be tired to stay with a grown up. Therefore you will be forced to vacate maybe when it’s already late.

Don’t let them make things easier for you. Go out there and fight your own battles until you learn how to service on your own.

In conclusion, you may not have all the money required to start your business and luck may not be on your side as far as finding a job that’s relevant to what you learned in campus is concerned. But that should not put you down. Get your hustle up, stop the blame game and most importantly,swing to action

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Despite your best attempts to increase your income and reduce your spending, you are still broke. You’ve always wanted to reclaim your financial freedom, but it appears to be an impossible task. What might be going wrong? Why are you constantly broke?

Some of these reasons and their solutions are discussed below.

1.You save, but other needs arise, forcing you to withdraw cash against your will.

Yes you are disciplined, you don’t like to misuse cash and you work hard like everyone else. When you get some money, you save some and spend some.

But a few days later, other unforeseen expenses come up and you have to empty your coffers with the promise; probably false promise, that you will replenish the account. Unfortunately, the cycle continues month to month.

In that case it’s either you are living beyond your means or you have too much access to your money. To avoid this, try to find some side hustles that can help you create multiple streams of income.

At the same time, try to keep your money in a fixed deposit account or SACCO where the process of accessing it is a bit more complicated. Develop a financial plan and stick to it no matter the situation you encounter.

2.You Invest in Depreciating Assets

I am not telling you to be a miser and ditch your expensive phone for a kabambe. Neither am I telling you to use matatus for the rest of your life because buying a car is not the best way to spend money.

What I am trying to say is if you invest your money entirely in things that lose value over time e.g. fancy furniture, phones, clothes, electronics and cars then you will always be broke. Take stock of the things you own today – do your flossets exceed your assets? Try to achieve some balance.

For every 1 flosset you buy, try to back it up with an asset that gains value over time. If it’s buying a car, make an effort to get a piece of land of similar amount somewhere. If it is investing in an expensive phone, consider buying some unit trusts on the side.

In order to avoid being broke today or in the future, you must always obey this delicate balance.

3.Poverty Is In Your DNA

In most cases poverty is not a one-man problem… It is a generational issue. One of the most likely reasons why you are always broke is that your parents made decisions a long time ago that were not aligned to their and your future financial needs.

So today, by default, you have to pay for those mistakes and if you are not careful you will end up handing over the baton of poverty to your children as well and the cycle will continue.

So instead of waiting for the situation to miraculously improve, perhaps it’s time you start making some conscious decisions in your life in a forward-thinking manner.

Break the rules, implement some radical measures and most importantly stop focusing only on your immediate pleasures. Poverty is in your DNA and you need to flush it off your life through a radical surgery.

4.You Are Caught Up In the Gambling Craze

Whether it is sports betting, lotto, pyramid schemes or hot-shot business ideas that promise to bloat your bank account overnight, too many of us fall for scams that promise extraordinary return on investment. Unfortunately, 95% of those who pursue wheeler-dealer deals lose.

The other 5% that wins comprises a few lucky fellows who are being fattened in readiness for the guillotines. In the end, the poor man continues to lose his hard-earned money and the cycle of poverty reigns supreme.

So, unless you are a ponzi master or the so-called “betting experts” don’t gamble with your money. Pursue real, tangible investments instead. And if you must gamble, only spend what you can afford to lose.

5.You Don’t Know Where Your Money Is Going

You get your salary, plan for it off head and decide that you are going to have just a “little bit” of fun, clear some debts here and there, drink one for the road and maybe save the rest. But unfortunately, at the end of the day you realize that what you are left with is barely enough to run you till the end of the month.

Sometimes you even have to go for a salary advance or hop about for an M-shwari soft loan.

So where does all the money go?

First and foremost, this is an indicator that you are probably biting more than you can chew. Secondly, you don’t budget well for your money and even if you budget you don’t stick to the initial plan.

This is a case of lack of financial discipline. So start by inculcating some discipline, or else you will live to tell tales of how your friends succeeded while your money mysteriously melted from your pockets.

Remember, you are free to make whatever choices you want, but you are not free from the consequences of the choices.

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Ladies handbag company is profitable, low-cost, and suitable for today’s world

Starting a business in Kenya takes at least Ksh.10,000.

It is no longer a secret that the business of selling ladies handbags in Kenya is booming. When full-time employees use this business as a side hustle, it becomes even more profitable.

I’ve spoken with numerous ladies who are involved in this business, either part-time or full-time, and they’ve told me that while it’s difficult to get started, once you have referrals and a large customer base, becoming wealthy will become a reality rather than a theory. What you need to know is where to buy cheaply and maximize profits by maintaining a large profit margin.

To be on the safer side, ensure you have a good Facebook Page and a vibrant Instagram account. You can promote your page or tell your friends to like it and share with their friends. Facebook and Instagram have become the largest single source of customers for handbag sellers in the country.

The capital required for women handbag business vary depending on the location and where you intend to conduct the business.

If you have Ksh.10,000, you can comfortably start the business. However, you will be moving around selling to your friends since a physical location might be expensive. I encourage anyone to start the business from home and monitor its performance before deciding to operate from a stall.

The best place to buy women handbags is either Gikomba or Eastleigh, Nairobi. If you are outside Nairobi, please don’t allow those brokers in your town to make extra ordinary profits from you. What they normally do is to buy from Gikomba or Eastleigh and come to sell for you at exorbitant prices.

Buying in bulk at Eastleigh will enable those guys to reduce the price significantly for you, thus allowing you to make good cash from sales.

A single bag normally ranges from Sh.500 to Sh.1,800 and you can sell it between Sh.2,000 to Sh.3,500. This will make you double profit.

Once you’ve acquired your bags, take clear images and publish them on your Facebook Page and Instagram account, along with the price tag, but make sure to highlight NEGOTIABLE.

Alternatively, you can take some to friends or family members to look at and then buy if they like them.

As we always tell you, there’s no marathon race that has ever been won by those who did not start the race.Therefore, if you like the idea discussed above and you have what it takes to actualize it, then don’t wait to start! just do it.

If you are unemployed, have been tarmacking, or are struggling to make ends meet, this post is for you.

You may not have millions of shillings in the bank to start a business, but this does not mean you are without possibilities.

Allow me to surprise you. There are numerous concepts that can be pursued for little or no cost and yield significant profits.

All you need to do is give the expertise, work attitude, and a little marketing.

In a nutshell, this is referred to as “sweat capital”.

In the world of startups, “sweat capital” is more valuable than monetary capital.

Enough of imprecise statements. Let us get practical. Here are two business ideas that need minimal money to get started but can pay off handsomely.

1.Distributing black coffee

If you reside in a city like Nairobi, you’ve probably come across some individuals who sell black coffee at matatu termini.

Have you ever thought to ask how much they earn per day?

As it turns out, this initiative is one of those “opportunities that come dressed in rags” types of things.

To begin, you’ll need a 10 litre flask, disposable plastic cups, and a little effort.

Thermos Flask – Ksh. 5,000 for a 10-litre thermos

Disposable plastic cups cost Ksh. 1,000.

Sugar costs Ksh.400.

Coffee costs Ksh.200.

TOTAL – Ksh 6,600

As long as you are prepared to give it your best, there is no reason for you to walk away with less than Ksh.1,000 each day in profits.

How?
You might wish to ask.

A 10 litre coffee thermos holds 65 x 150ml cups of coffee. Sell each cup for Ksh.10, and you’ll make Ksh.650 per flask.

If you can make three journeys every day – one in the morning and two in the evening – we can calculate Ksh.650×3 = Ksh.1,950.

Subtract the cost of water, sugar, and coffee, and you can earn a cool Ksh.1,500 each day.

2.Smokes and Eggs Business

This little business can pay you Ksh. 48,000 per month.

First and foremost, you must capital of less than Ksh 10,000. For starters, you’ll need a smokie grill or trolley (around Ksh.6,000), a supply of smokies and eggs, and, of course, a source of fire.

Smokes can be purchased at the nearby Farmer’s Choice Shop, where a packet of 22 pieces for Ksh.330.

As for the eggs, you may obtain them from your local shop or from friends, and a tray usually costs Ksh.300 or Ksh.280, depending on the seller.

It’s also essential to place your firm in a crucial area. It is imperative that you locate your business in an easily accessible area. For example, in the vicinity of bus stops and train stations, around educational facilities, around pubs and clubs, around locations holding social gatherings, or really anywhere else you believe people may readily access.

With this kind of firm, profit margins are enormous. Let me guide you through this.

When you pay Ksh. 330 for a packet of smokies that has 22 pieces, each item is worth Ksh. 15.

So what if you were to sell a piece for Ksh. 25?

You instantly receive a Ksh.10 profit. Additionally, you receive very significant returns if you sell five or more packets in a densely populated location.

You will have sold 110 pieces if you are able to sell five packets a day, each containing 22 pieces. You will earn Ksh. 2,750 if you sell each for Ksh. 25. On average, you will have spent 330 x 5 = Ksh. 1,650 on expenses that day.

Plus the price of kachumbari, which typically costs Ksh. 100 for onions, tomatoes, and dhania. The total is Ksh. 1,750. The sale will bring in a total profit of Ksh. 2,750 – 1,750 = Ksh. 1,000. In other words, you will profit Ksh. 1,000 in a single day.

Your profit will increase if you choose to sell eggs as well. Consider the scenario where you typically sell two trays of eggs every day. That’s sixty eggs at a cost of Ksh.20 each, for a daily total of Ksh.1,200.

The daily cost of the eggs is Ksh. 600 for two trays of eggs. That indicates that you will profit Ksh. 600 for eggs in a day.

This is the finest part… Your projected monthly earnings/income if you choose to sell both eggs and smokies will be Ksh. 48,000.

These two companies are likewise stress-free. All they need is a rudimentary understanding of cooking and, of course, marketing and communication to attract and retain clients.

Don’t allow your pride stop you from taking advantage of these lucrative chances.