Entrepreneur's Corner

Kenyan Clients Don’t Care Whether You’re In the ICU: The Brutal Truth Of Entrepreneurship

BY Soko Directory Team · December 2, 2024 05:12 pm

KEY POINTS

Client expectations are like a sacred pact. They do not care if the telecoms went down or if your employees were out sick. They do not want excuses; they want delivery. There is an old saying: "Rain does not fall on one roof alone." Your troubles are not unique, and they certainly don’t buy you sympathy. They only buy you time—time that quickly runs out if deliverables remain undelivered.

Entrepreneurship, they say, is like navigating a jungle without a map—full of wonder, danger, and occasional quicksand. Yet many a hopeful entrepreneur enters the fray, armed not with machetes and survival skills, but with the dazzling lights of over-promise. With the charm of a snake oil salesman, you dazzle potential clients, promising them the moon, the stars, and a sprinkle of fairy dust. But here’s the bitter truth that seasoned entrepreneurs learn the hard way: clients don’t give a fig if you’re battling fires or lying in the ICU. They only care if you deliver.

There’s an old African proverb: “When the mouse laughs at the cat, there is a hole nearby.” Over-promising to your client is the mouse’s laughter—false bravado hiding desperation. Entrepreneurs often raise clients’ expectations sky-high, driven by the hunger for that check, desperate to keep the lights on or pay last month’s rent. You pitch with fireworks, painting the kind of picture that would make even Michelangelo blush. But once the money lands, reality kicks in, and often, the delivery falls far short of the grandiose vision. This mismatch between pitch and reality is the entrepreneur’s hole, but unfortunately, there’s often no escape.

Clients, you see, are not your friends or family. They are not invested in your backstory or your struggles. They don’t care if the heavens are falling or if your office got swallowed by a sinkhole. Like a patient lion in the tall grass, they only care if the hunt succeeds. You get your prey—or, in this case, deliver as promised—or you don’t. There’s no sympathy for the half-hearted hunter who stumbles.

When you pitch beyond what you can realistically deliver, you become like the hunter who promises an elephant but returns with a skinny rabbit. The client, with a raised eyebrow, might let it slide once. But, oh, the gossip will spread faster than a bushfire in dry season. Your reputation, that fragile wisp of smoke, will disappear in the wind. As the saying goes, “A lie has many variations, the truth none.” Clients, if deceived, will find the truth soon enough and your business will suffer the consequences.

We’ve all seen it—a freshly paid entrepreneur, now flush with cash, suddenly forgetting about deliverables. Instagram lights up with lavish lunches, vacations, and flashy purchases. Snapchat chronicles the ‘hustle’ that looks suspiciously like partying. Meanwhile, the project sits untouched, deadlines loom, and the client’s patience wears thin. When the dust settles, the once-excited entrepreneur faces the grim reality of unmet expectations. The cash has vanished, and so has the client’s goodwill. “The axe forgets; the tree remembers.”

It’s a hard lesson, but cash flow is the lifeblood of your business. Those who manage it poorly quickly realize that entrepreneurship is not just about the hustle but about the discipline to maintain financial integrity. Once you’ve taken that client’s money, you’re under contract—no matter how glamorous or mundane the work, it must be done. Paying overdue bills with funds earmarked for a project is like borrowing tomorrow’s rain to water today’s garden—foolish and unsustainable.

Client expectations are like a sacred pact. They do not care if the telecoms went down or if your employees were out sick. They do not want excuses; they want delivery. There is an old saying: “Rain does not fall on one roof alone.” Your troubles are not unique, and they certainly don’t buy you sympathy. They only buy you time—time that quickly runs out if deliverables remain undelivered.

In truth, many entrepreneurs make the fatal mistake of believing that charisma can replace consistency. But clients don’t care if you’re the second coming of Steve Jobs if you can’t deliver. Your charm won’t pay their bills or solve their problems, and excuses won’t mend broken trust. “Words are like the spider’s web; only the weak get caught in them.” In business, your actions are the only currency that counts.

A healthy client relationship is not built on flowery pitches but on results that speak for themselves. Yet time and time again, entrepreneurs over-promise to secure a contract, thinking that the initial spark of excitement will carry them through. It rarely does. The real work begins after the pitch, when the glitz fades and only deadlines remain. If you’ve sold the client a fantasy, reality will come knocking like an unwelcome guest.

Deliver what you promise and nothing more, for the truth is this: clients aren’t dazzled by extras they didn’t ask for. They want what they paid for, on time and on target. Adding unnecessary frills can distract and complicate, making the core work suffer. “A hunter who chases two rabbits catches none.” Focus on the essentials and meet the core expectations, because a satisfied client will return, while a disappointed one will not.

In the age of social media, where complaints go viral faster than praise, the stakes are even higher. Your failures, once whispered in boardrooms, are now broadcast to thousands. The digital age has made the world smaller, and a single dissatisfied client can tarnish your reputation far and wide. Clients don’t want to hear about your troubles—they want their problems solved. Your hardships are irrelevant to their expectations, and in this cold calculus lies the essence of business reality.

So, dear entrepreneur, do not delude yourself into thinking that your challenges are exceptional. Clients don’t see your sacrifices; they see the results, or the lack thereof. To them, your struggles are like footprints in the sand—quickly washed away by the tide of unmet expectations. It doesn’t matter if you’re facing a storm; they only notice if the ship docks on time.

Remember, business is not a sympathy game. Clients are not moved by your tales of woe. They only care about the deliverables you’ve agreed to, and they won’t hesitate to find someone else who will meet their needs without the drama. As the proverb says, “He who loves, loves you with your dirt.” But in business, clients don’t love you—they love what you bring to the table.

In the end, the entrepreneur’s journey is a solitary one. The accolades come only after the job is well done, and no one but you bears the burden of ensuring delivery. Clients are, at best, temporary allies with a shared goal, not lifelong supporters. They won’t hold your hand as you stumble; they’ll move on to someone who doesn’t trip.

Let this serve as a wake-up call. Govern your finances, honor your commitments, and deliver as promised. Leave the fancy pitches at the door and bring your best to the work itself. For in the end, only the results will matter. “A bird does not change its feathers because the weather is bad.” Neither should you—clients don’t care about your storms, only that you navigate them and bring home the promised goods.

About Soko Directory Team

Soko Directory is a Financial and Markets digital portal that tracks brands, listed firms on the NSE, SMEs and trend setters in the markets eco-system. Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/SokoDirectory and on Twitter: twitter.com/SokoDirectory