By Mical Imbukwa
Dr. Esther Muchemi’s life is driven by the philosophy that “No mountain is too big to be conquered.” Indeed, on her success journey, she has slayed countless giants.
Before she became the founder and CEO of Samchi Group, an umbrella of ten companies, she had to make a hard decision, as she puts it.
Dr. Muchemi had risen to a level of a salaried partner in the auditing career she had built for close to 16 years. She had good salary, a certain class of people she associated with, she could afford to go to clubs like Muthaiga golf club, but she was leaving all that luxury behind for an area of uncertainty.
“I had to deal with myself and the first step was, to accept that I was coming from a high level and starting from square one. I even had to tear my credit cards for I realized that I had to live within my means,” she says.
As she notes, she had to also decide on reshaping her social life and for some time she was a laughingstock of both friends and foes. People could not understand why she made a “bad” decision of leaving a glorified career to become a “dukawala” (kiosk owner).
“The issue of capital was also a big obstacle and it might surprise you that even with the big salary, I never had enough savings to start my business. By the time I finished partitioning my shop, I only had Kshs. 50,000 left and to be honest, that is what I used to start my business,” the CEO says
This mentor whose inspiration is to know who she is and that she is called for greatness, always pursues her greatness, regardless of the circumstances. This is evidenced in her companies, Samchi Telecommunications, Jumbo Comm, Mergut Telecoms, Samchi credit (micro-finance Company), Samchi Heights (real estate Company), After 40 Hotel, Heavenly Wings Food Company, Space International, Shikilia Stores, and Samchi Digital
So how did her Safaricom accessories kiosk transform into an empire?
Success thinking, driven by success principles, is crucial, and Dr. Esther has employed them in her journey. She says for instance she wears honesty and integrity on her sleeve and that has really brought many helpers her way.
“From the onset of my business, I built an environment of honesty and integrity. There are a times I didn’t have money and people would give me millions to go buy stock. So I always tell people and especially the young ones that capital is not always a major limitation. Character counts,” she states
Dr. Muchemi believes that values are very important for they form such a key foundation for who you become at the end of the day. They guide your purpose which she believes you should identify before you embark on a journey.
On this, she notes that, the reason why she quit her career, which was great to everyone else except her, is because she asked herself the “why” question and realized that her why was not to be fulfilled in the auditing journey.
“To be honest, today I wonder whether I knew where I was quitting to, but even though I didn’t know where I was going, there was an underlying factor that I knew I wanted to be found where I am most comfortable,” Dr. Muchemi notes
She wanted to pursue her goals, her destiny and inheritance and as she puts it, she had reached the end of the wall as far as auditing was concerned and needed to call herself back to a meeting and avoid blaming everybody else about her future and what she intended to achieve.
As outlined above, character is crucial in success pursuit. And building character begins with habits – the daily acts. According to Muchemi, it is developed through routine that becomes a discipline. To this effect, she has her daily practice.
“I have a daily routine, but outside that, there are things I do that look almost like a robot. For example, I am very organized. I am a diary person. It is very difficult for one to get me outside the diary. As a CEO, my meetings are very well coordinated and that is why I have three PAs that support me,” Dr. Muchemi states.
Muchemi wakes up between 4.30 am and 5.30 am during the weekdays and starts off with meditation (prayer, worship, reading the word). Then she exercises, takes water, showers, dresses up, and takes breakfast before she leaves the house, full of energy and determination.
“On the days that I don’t do it, I actually end up getting more tired. It always feels like something is missing, because when the body doesn’t get what it is used to, it asks for it. You notice that what I have talked about is preparing my mental frame. I want my mind to be settled so that I am enabled to think properly,” she says
Besides having a clear roadmap of where she wanted to go to, Muchemi had people she looked up to. She acknowledges that mentorship is very important, but notes that it is up to the mentee, to look out for their mentor.
“It is not until you internalize the success that you want to have that you can actually get it. Having said that, I have seen a lot of young people looking out at people and for people that I wonder what they have in common. Because I always say, if you want to follow me, you must know my journey, my why, my what, you must know my how for argument’s sake,” she says
Still on mentorship, Muchemi has written a book, “Give Me My Mountain” and she hopes that through her journey, people will pick lessons. “The stones and thorns that have pierced me now that I have walked the journey, if you follow me, you can learn from me. The situation, the circumstances, and the problems I have solved, I want you to get into my world and feel the problem as I give you the answer”
Even though Muchemi has built an empire and has slayed several dragons, some dragons still linger. As a woman in leadership, she has had to face the patriarchy, something she has conquered with firmness developed from good upbringing.
“I am very grateful that my father brought me up well and introduced me to a world of equality. I didn’t know that there was a difference between a boy child and a girl child. The education opportunities my brothers got are the same ones I got. It was always a level playing field,” she says
Her book as she points out introduced her to a world of inequality and to this, she says that being a man or a woman has everything to do with God. Neither gender is perfect. We are meant to complement each other.
“Because of that, I want to push women not only to look for favors, because that is not sustainable, but to arise and utilize the opportunities that you have been given, without looking up for help, especially help that is not morally right. If you push yourself to be your very best people will soon recognize you.” the author says.
The business mogul urges women to call themselves to a meeting at wherever place they are in life and go on a self-discovery journey. This is something as she says; she had to do when her husband died for she always thought that her identity was in her husband.
“Being a CEO, that does not give me my identity. Those are only titles. What really matters at the end of the day is, who are you? Once you discover who you are, you pursue your purpose, you pursue your destiny, you keep on your lane, no matter what everybody thinks or tells you,” she states
Esther Muchemi, in her conclusion, stresses that on the journey of goal pursuit, there will be problems and distractions, but no matter what, you should neither be derailed nor give up. Your greatest motivation should come from within you and not from other people.
