Don’t Blow It All at Once: The Smart Way to Fund Your New Business

So, you’re starting a business. First of all—congratulations. And also… brace yourself.

Now before you go full steam ahead, hear me out. This is one of those “I wish someone had told me this earlier” kind of conversations. And I’m here to save you from learning it the hard, expensive way.

You’re New Here—Act Like It

Let’s start with a simple truth:
You’re doing something new. You’ve probably never run this type of business before. So by default, you’re going to make mistakes. That’s just how this game works.

And here’s the painful bit:
In business, mistakes are expensive—they cost actual money.

So, if you pour all your savings into this business right from day one, and then make those rookie mistakes (which you absolutely will), you’re not just going to lose money…
You might lose everything.

The Rookie Mistake: Investing Too Much Too Soon

Here’s what most new entrepreneurs do:
They save up 30 or 40 million shillings, get excited, and dump the whole thing into a business on day one—confident, hopeful, optimistic.

But the truth is, they’re still amateurs.
They haven’t tested the market. They haven’t learned the terrain.
They’re still making guesses disguised as decisions.

And the result?

Losses. Big ones.
The kind that kill motivation, dry up bank accounts, and make people swear,
“I’ll never do business again.”

Start Lean. Stay Alive.

So, let’s talk strategy.
If you’ve got 40 million, don’t start with 40. Start with 10.

Yes, ten.
Take the smallest possible slice, and get moving. Learn the ropes. Make your first few mistakes (because you will). And when you do, the losses will sting—but they won’t break you.

Think of it as tuition.
You’re paying to learn a business the only way it can truly be learned—by doing it.

Ever heard of The Lean Startup? Add it to your reading list. Seriously.
It teaches exactly this: start small, learn fast, adapt quickly.

Cash Is Oxygen—Don’t Use It All on Day One

Here’s the thing people forget:
Your business will burn cash faster than it makes any.

You’ll be bleeding money in the early months—rent, branding, marketing, stock, licenses, endless small expenses.
And worse, many of your decisions won’t even be good ones (not yet, anyway).
You’ll spend on ads no one sees, tools you don’t need, logos that don’t matter.

And you’ll do it thinking you’re being smart.
Spoiler alert: you’re not.
But it’s okay—you’re learning.

The danger is when you make those mistakes using all the money you had.
When that happens, you’re done before you even get going.

Play the Long Game

Let me put it plain:
Building a business is not a weekend project.
It’s not even a one-year thing.
This is a marathon.

So act like a marathon runner.
Pace yourself.
Train your legs before you go sprinting.
Keep fuel in the tank.

Start small.
Experiment.
Study your customers.
Figure out what works.
Then invest more—gradually.

The longer you stay in the game, the better you’ll get.
And when you finally figure it out (because you will), you’ll still have some cash left to scale, not just stories of how you lost it all.

Let’s Stop Losing So Much Money

I’m sharing this because I’ve seen too many people go through it—
Great ideas, strong motivation, real hustle…
But bad timing, poor strategy, and too much money, too early.

We’re bleeding cash in this country from failed businesses that could’ve survived—if only we’d started small and built gradually.

So if you’ve got 30, 40, or even 100 million to invest, do yourself a favor:
Don’t blow it all at once.
Start with what you can afford to lose.
Learn.
Adapt.
Then grow.