 Good morning once again Welcome to why in the morning and today is on Tuesday. And as we all know Tuesday is all about business Entrepreneurship, so we are going to our first guest today and he's a very interesting man a man who has employed over 2,000 people so far for us on the show who welcome to the show Okay, you're welcome, Sana. So you're a housing contractor and the CEO of Pacific Reality Investment So tell us a little bit about your story will you answer where you started? Okay, thanks a lot for hosting me today. My name is Farouq Sanmurethi Gechofi CEO Pacific Reality Investment I come from the trees with construction of affordable housing and also development of affordable housing My journey in construction industry is an interesting one whereby I started like seven eight years ago The first year as a any business person tell you you not get business so it Demanded a lot of what you call perseverance and waiting to get the clients Yes, and then you get the first customer you make what you call the baby steps You either make losses you make profits. So I'll say from when we started I started the company single-handedly Running the show being the foreman being the you know the operations and the accountant in the same same industry Then we got our first customer Um, we did a house for then the good words plan there that we are doing a housing At a fund up rates. Okay, that's where we are able now to get other customers from what you call the furrows So currently we we played ourselves as one of the best contractors in the housing. Yes Then for the last two years consecutively we have won the best Affordable housing contractor in Kenya. Yeah, okay. So where are you guys located? Yes? Where is your location? Our offices are in Roy town, right? I don't know. I don't know. He's around kangaroo to please call the doom browser next to the call Petra station If you want to find us on social media, we are on ww.pri.co.k And then also we have a very active Facebook page Pacific investment So why housing why not any other business what motivated you what made you like say this is what I'm going to do This is my dream. I would say First I did my first house When I was not in the construction industry and there's some many charges that I faced from the bureaucracy from the system that we do Approvals and then also fund is the muscles and the casuals and a lot of challenges on the same aspect And then also it happened my first Employment when I finished high school. I was one of what you call the vision on Django So I had a few experiences before I went to campus. So I did Django for like two years consecutively Insights being like a side boy and everything. So you also had that experience. Yes, then after campus I went to a different route. I went into the industry Then again after going to the territory for like three to four years Yes, I found myself in a construction company where I started as a messenger Then so I was able to learn the ropes about construction. They say so based on those challenges and what I started previously I was able now to focus in construction and then also I saw an each in the fundable Housing segment because as you have seen even the government is Spring the one about the what you call the affordable housing currently or agenda for yeah So you didn't study for like construction University College. Oh, can also be a construction. Why why not? I'd say sometimes Before we find your path. Yes, you might you know going to many ways So for me, I did business administration. I never did construction, but then also my family I would say like my dad has been a mason for quite some time So I think I found the passion from there and then again also after also involving myself in construction Seeing what is happening on the construction industry. I was able to run the ropes Through the process and then after trying a lot of business. I've done a lot of businesses This was a business that I was able now to find my route And what's like what's your starting capital like? What did you start with? For for any business. Yes, I would say capital should not be the big issue What you need is the drive the passion And then also to to to to meet customers expectations and then also to do what we call like you provide solutions to problems So so when I started I didn't have that much capital Just did a office setup and then from the office setup you able now to Advertise yourself through social media And then again once you get the fast work that work if you do it well It will sell you I will give you more opportunities in the industry And then once you the the company start growing you also need to also to Support trust and integrity and the process that you do so I would advise our young people that you don't need capital to start any business What is the passion the goodwill and you see that the perseverance and you make it okay So tell us about Pacific reality investments. What do you guys deal with? What are you about? What differentiates you from any other any other business at Pacific investment? We we provide what you call one-stop shop for construction services We have a team of the professionals are aging from the architects are the engineers are conserves electrical engineers Mechanical engineers and then all the mercenary the roofing team the interiors every aspect of construction So when you come to our office, let's say for the first time You meet with the project manager project manager take you through what maybe you want you want a banger You want a machine if you want a commercial development So we take you through all the processes like now we say like the inception processes to know what you want We put it on paper. We do for you We assist in getting the county approval processes and then we do the actual construction for you and our construction Process is also done in faces whereby once the houses complete we give you what we call a tanky We give you a complete project people will be able to check our website and our Facebook page They'll be able to see all those processes then again once we complete the house for you We give a warranty and for one year at least to make sure that just in case the reasoning that you need need to be done On the house, we are able to come back and check on it We also advise you because there's some people by land I'm pretty that you cannot be able to do the permanent houses or maybe you bought a land where it was maybe a dumping site So when you come to us We have a team that goes to the site to do what you call a physical site visit They do the preliminaries and then we advise you accordingly then our cost is also based on the taste and preferences of the customer But I would say we are the cheapest at the market rocker level. So we're able to give you the best in construction Okay, you've mentioned so many things that need so many people to do them. So I'm just wondering How do like how many people did you start with and how many workers have you employed right now? I would say when I started as I said earlier started alone Yes, then as you proceed now you you find there is a need to employ an Arctic There's a need to employ an architecture engineer. So In our company, let's say like permanent employees are the professional guys guys who have done Engineering architect and everything so you have a team of more than 40 guys on that segment And then also now we have what corner filled filled guys like the casuals the muscle is and everything So in a given time the minimum that we get are like a thousand employees And sometimes we even go to an extreme of doing two thousand employees and then we cover the whole of the Kenya and Listen to your so started project in southern Sudan So we have we have done a very big project in southern Sudan and then in the county in Kenya I will go to Kizumu if you go to Budurangi you go to Mars a bit you find Pacific Yeah, and what are some of the challenges that you faced when you started and even right now? Where you are? We face a lot of studies as a business people one is that when you start you start a company People to trust your brand. That's one of the challenges and even banks to support you I always say that the banks always want somebody who has taken off They don't want somebody is trying to take off from the ground So you find when you are looking for the finances in the banking industry you get a lot of challenges Number two is finding the right employees to be able to to to propel your business Because construction is like a tree you need a lot of cabins as I've said there is a lot of teamwork that is needed So getting a right employs or a challenge and then another challenge we face is the institutions the government institutions Like for us we are registered by all construction bodies But then let's say when you want to do the approval for in a building we face a lot of challenges From the bureaucracy of the county government those processes, you know when they come to do the inspections They they have a lot of challenges of corruption and everything I think that we face is what we call infrastructure Because you find most of Nairobians are only plots, but then again, they're going to be able to access their plot because of due to poor Road network There is no water. There is no power So we face those challenges as we in this business of construction, but you're hoping the government is we will be able to At least check on these issues. The other thing is also financing for customers because a construction is also How to say the capital intensive if you want to put up a house So most guys were like in formal sector Currently they don't have somebody who can be able to finance them to do the construction We do a lot of bank projects as well People who are in employment they're able to take that advantage of what you call construction mortgage But then we have now people who are in informal business I would like the kebab idiots to be financed. Yeah, so if I wanted a house built Am I the one who's going to go and look for the fundi? Am I your company? You will provide me with everything from the start till the end of the house We give one stop once you come to us. Okay. Give us an idea. This is what I want Is the budget I have we shall provide you from design Approval and to the actual construction So the only thing that you need to do is just you sit back come and watch your project as it takes shape So we ensure that we give all the processes and we built for you up to the stage of finishes Now as a customer so we also give you a chance to make what we call a taste and preferences Because any project we say they are unique every customer is unique with your needs So what we do we have an application in office We are by if like now we have a 40% of our business which are diaspora guys We are not in Kenya so for them to be in touch with your project We give them what you call daily updates and then when it comes to the stage of the finishes you the client We give you a chance to choose the materials you want for the finishes the kind of paint You want the kind of roofing sheets you don't those things the lighting everything because it's your project We are selling a house for you. Yeah, so if I wanted a house That does that also mean that the land Am I going to am I going to get advice from you guys about where I want to build am I can come on board with my own ideas? Yes, how does that happen mostly I'll see bulk of our customers. They own land So they come with the idea of construction, but then also we find people don't own land They would want to buy a land so we have partners in real estate. There are people that we partner with We you give us your budget so we can source for you land number two is if you have land Our first step is to also do a site visit to tell you whether that land is viable Whether it is a practical to be in that area because also when you buy land you need to know a lot of details Yes, there is what you call zoning there by rose within the estates and also there is what you call informal settlement So when let's say you want to invest like 10 million And then you buy a land with thin and a that's not controlled We can advise you to either sell that land and buy where you have what you call a gated community to avoid Building your very beautiful house and then now people come and do apartment around you In another case also when you want to do apartment I you need to do apartment in our area where by we have a lot of traffic because of clients and even the target and then each That you are targeting so able to advise you on those basis Yeah So if for a young man or a young lady who wants to enter into this business and who wants to become like you Who is looking at you as a mentor? What would you tell them? What would you advise them what tricks and what what what will you tell them to do? My advice to young people. Yes, people want to venture into business one You need to be Somebody who has a lot of integrity and honesty You need to solve people's problem if you solve people's problem You'll make money number two once you get a chance to serve somebody is very important to be honest and truthful Another thing is there is no is a money I'll tell people there's no is a money in a successful company that you see people start from down there So you don't need to start from top there. You don't need a lot of capital To start any business So the only thing that I would say is just start small and then learn the ropes as you progress once you learn the ropes as a progress ensure that you maintain the passion and the drive that you end when you starting that company and that will take you very far because the Currently we have people who see success for people and they think that they may be they you know, they bumped into success Success is a journey. Yeah, sure. So you'll advise a young person to actually work under someone If I want to get into the construction company I come and work under you then from there can grow my dream because Squeezy no one wants to work under anyone everyone wants to to start their own business So will you advise someone to work under someone first or to just move on with your dream? It depends. It depends with somebody's passion and everything But what I would say if you get a chance to work under somebody Be patient because you find you employ somebody today and they want to start your company tomorrow So we would advise if you want to to to progress well if you're working in a construction company or any kind of company Take time to learn the ropes then you can be able to start your your business Now when you're starting your business ensure you tell your employee. I want to do a busy day because you see sometimes there are people who Start business thinking that if I work at You know at one agent a and since I was maybe the end of Department B. I can be able to move with all the clients so that I can start my business You'll feel miserable. So trend carefully Run the ropes and then you'll be able to succeed at some point I may be last but not least maybe you can tell us where you're located or where we can find you on your Social media platforms your physical location if someone wants to reach you. Where can we get you? We are located in a right town a place called the Dune Braza, which is next to Lake Kauai position We are just around Kanguru Road. Our social media page is Facebook Which is Pacific Realty Investment Limited and then also we have a very active website Ww.pri.co.k If you want to reach our office, you can reach our office on 0722 31816 0722 31816 Okay, thank you so much for your story. It's really inspiring and People will definitely get back to you. So this that was Farasun Gishovu Housing contractor and the CEO of Pacific Reality Investment