Motivational speakers: When they sell you false business hopes

Mrs Kasendi Mutinda collects eggs at her chicken farm in Ngengeka village, Kitui county. The farmer rears over 500 layers which gives her 12 crates of eggs per day. [Philip Muasya, Standard]

Have you listened to a motivational speaker who was giving business ideas to jumpstart that hustle and kept nodding your head in agreement as false hope was being sold to you?

How did you feel when your eyes opened to the reality, and that hope fizzled out quickly?

Have you attended the so-called seminars or listened to the drivels of one passing as a financial expert telling you of ways you can make that financial breakthrough in a short time and be financially independent?

Well, many have paid a ‘facilitation’ fee only to realise they gullibly bought false hopes.   Take the example of the poultry rearing business. You may have been sold this idea of making it big in that area with little startup capital.  

Think of dominating that market segment over your peers who may not have good business acumen, as they’re doing it more as a side hustle to supplement their income.

Convenience stores

Let’s say all you’ll need is Sh2,000 as startup capital. With this, you’re told to buy day-old layer chicks each at Sh100. That’s 20 layers in total.

And as they came of age, you would be assured of three trays per week.

 With an egg going for Sh20, and a tray of 30 eggs translating to Sh600, that would mean making Sh1,800 per week or Sh7,200 per month.

To cap it all, you’re assured of ways to bag a contract to supply eggs to organisations, institutions like schools, or convenience stores. Sounds like a good breakthrough with impressive returns on investment, right? 

 Wrong! That’s the part used by any motivational speaker to inspire and instil false hopes in people. The reality check is when you hit the ground running to put that idea into action. The motivational speaker assumes you’ll share the same house space with your layers, not understanding that a chicken coop comes at a cost.

You may find needing materials worth Sh5,000 at least if you’re not using recycled materials like old mabati and timber to construct one to house 20 birds.

And here we’re speaking of a modest coop.   The birds need to eat, and the growers’ mash can be more costly than your startup capital. Some breeds are voracious feeders.

He too doesn’t realise the birds will need medication and vaccination from diseases like Newcastle. On the so-called ready market, go to established businesses like restaurants, and you’re likely to be told they source their eggs from elsewhere and may have long-running contracts with their suppliers. Motivational speakers are simply snake oil merchants.