When Nahashon Kiplagat was a secondary school student at Bartolimo Boys High School, he had already developed an interest in entrepreneurship.
Kiplagat completed his high school studies in 2011 and started selling charcoal to make ends meet.
He invested KSh 10,000, which he had saved from his pocket money, to start the business at his Kabarnet home in Baringo county.
Bizna Kenya reported that he saved KSh 20,000 after selling charcoal to his neighbours, an amount he spent to expand his venture.
Six months into selling charcoal, Kiplagat bought two motorbikes, earning him KSh 600 daily.
In 2012, he joined Mt Kenya University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in education.
During his third year of study, he discovered a business space leased out at KSh 400,000 near the institution.
However, he only had KSh 200,000, which was half of the amount needed.
Since the money was not enough, the businessman sought help from relatives and friends to top up what he had. However, his efforts were futile.
As such, he resorted to using his school fees as he believed the space could earn him some good money.
Who Owns Kenya reported that this put him at odds with his brother, who wanted him to focus on his studies instead of business.
“My elder brother told me to stop dreaming and focus on my studies. I knew they would never understand my passion for business. I had the feeling the house would yield me good fortunes,” he narrated.
After securing the premises, Kiplagat decided to start a pool business after he realised most students were idle after class. He wanted to keep them busy.
His biggest challenge was the start-up capital to acquire pool tables.
He was forced to sell his boda bodas for KSh 155,000 and took a bank loan of KSh 50,000. He spent KSh 150,000 to buy a new pool table and another KSh 50,000 to purchase a second-hand one.
His first month saw him make a meagre KSh 20,000, which was not enough to pay rent and pay salary to his employee.
Kiplagat did not give up and the business picked up. During the second month, each pool table earned him an average of KSh 2,000 daily, translating to KSh 120,000 monthly.
He opened another branch in Komora Centre, attracting students from the University of Nairobi (UoN) and surrounding colleges.
The entrepreneur makes over KSh 200,000 monthly and has employed some former schoolmates.
“I make at least KSh 240,000 monthly from my business. I have employed four people, some of whom are alumni of Mt Kenya University,” he revealed.
Source: Tuko
