Thread by @shobanes

Yooooooooh...
Life really comes at you fast. So, some time last year, after I was out of work, I go to meet a friend of mine. Known the guy for 6 years or so. Man's a fitness instructor. Proficient with martial arts. He wants to quit his job and open a dojo but has little money.

I'm jobless. Undecided on what to do. But I have savings in the account. He asks me to partner. I'll invest in the business model mostly and he will bring the clientele. I mean, he has been in the industry for about 8 years. Is a personal trainer so he even has a client list.

I weigh my options, do a feasibility study and it makes sense to me. There are no huge returns but the potential is good for a startup. Luckily, there is a premise I know that just got vacated. I know the owner, so I negotiate on rent and goodwill. Money is tight since ni savings

It's a huge space so we partition. Gym side, Aerobics, lockers, changing rooms and showers Etc. By the time I'm done with rent, re modelling, basic setup, i'm so much money deep. There's no turning back now. Lol. Bei ya AC pekee heri kununua tuktuk. 😂😂😂

I didn't even know floor padding was that expensive. Haha. So now I'm panicking because i'm so deep in. Na ni kama kazi plus licensing haiishi. So I tell him to start with the martial arts as I purchase steps and most of the gym side equipment. Fuck it right? First month is GOOD!

True to his word, man has a good client list. By week 2 we have over 15 fully paid up clients and more with deposit put down. Lol. So I figure, maybe it's not such a bad idea. Heck. I even go back to working out. I bring out my set of gloves and targets. Haha. Steam steam panda.

I've trained Goju Ryu martial arts at competitive level and I box so I was on familiar grounds. I knew what was going on. Client list is growing fast. I finish building the locker room and buying equipment. But some cooking biz comes up in Nairobi. I have to travel for some time.

Now, I'm from working in a legal background but the cooking business is also starting up. So I have to take this as it may open more doors. If both businesses stabilize. We'll be rich rich. Nisha panga hata vile nitaenda holiday Zanzibar December kurudishia mwili pole. 😂😂😂

Anyway, so the cooking biz is a little slow. The client drags and so I have to say in Nairobi for a while. At this point, I don't have the luxury of rushing to Mombasa to check up. Makosa!! Mans starts getting shifty with accounts and payment explanations. Shit. Now i'm stressed.

But I talk to a friend who goes to the same place and he tells me, 'Kuko poa sana. Siku hizi hata tuna shift tatu.' Kuna watu wa asubuhi na jioni.. But the accounts are not adding up. Anyway, i'm so occupied with passion that I let it slide. Second mistake.

I mean, biz is good we even have a session for kids. Yaani... Tuko sorted full full.
Usiku niki lala naona tu vile ntaingia kwa list ya movers and shakers ama 'Top 40 under 40'
😂😂😂
🔥🔥🔥

So money is coming in from the food biz in Nairobi and it cushions me against overheads and unforseen expenses. 3rd mistake. Kila biashara ikae kando. Lol.
Aaaaaaanyway... So mans starts being regularly available on call. One day he goes off the whole weekend. FUCK ME!!

On Monday I make plans and dash down to Mombasa. We have to get serious. I really can't afford blank spaces. I'm down on money flow, no regular pay and well over 500k deep in a biz i'm not available on daily. I get to the gym and IT'S CLOSED!!
Mans? MTEJA!! Double fuck me!!

Coincidentally, I bump into my friend who also trains there. He asks, 'Kwani mlifunga. Nimekuja 4 days sijaona mtu.'
YOOOOOOOOH!!
Since Thursday/Friday? Hakuna mtu? Shiet.
So I get the spare set of keys and some equipment is missing. Saa hii something in my gut is VERY wrong.

Simu haziendi through. So I decide to Whatsapp him.
Mayoooooooo...
Nafungua hivi profile pic ya whatsapp and wait for it...MANS HAS A SELFIE IN DUBAI!!!
Fuuuuuuuuck...
You know those Dubai jobs? Yeah. He took one and left. With all the unbanked payments and sold equipment.

I go to his place and his wife confirms. 'Yeah. Alipata kazi flani alikuwa anasubiri Dubai akaenda.'
Kumbe all this time, this guy roped me in to get a cash flow stream to build some money. And in what way? Made me put up hard earned money in business then he left.

On that morning, I went to my house, locked myself in and felt my heart and soul shattering into pieces. Hopes, dreams, savings. Everything was gone in the blink of an eye. Mind you I had taken a 2 year lease on the facility. I was fucked. Bila lube, bila mate.

I couldn't think straight for a while. I was needed back in Nairobi. I didn't know what to do about the premise. I was broke. Like dirt broke. I had to pay rent for the place as I figured out, I had my house in Mombasa that I needed to pay for and I needed to eat/live somehow.

I eventually vacated the premise. It hurt. It hurt as hell. I was not even 4 months in.
I sold what I could and put that money into the food venture. Now i'm here. I take a step at a time, a day at a time. Building up again slowly. It will take time, but it has to be done.

I guess that's life. We live and we learn. We live to fight another day.
Nowadays kulala huwa 3 hours max. I'm trying to play catch up with what I lost. Ni posbo? Mi sijui. But i've been down. Na sikai hapa. Tunapiga job, hustle, siku moja itajipa kwa majaliwa yake Mungu.