Business ideas

Catesteveh

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Long post alert!
This might be helpful to those who desire to venture in matatu industry (long distance)
Small small advice,

1. Pick a Sacco that covers more routes if you want to do long distance... You can do 4NTE or 2NK, don't focus on one route so that if you get a chance to maybe do Nairobi-Eldy, you can still go bila TLB constraints if the Nairobi-Nakuru route is clogged...
2. Pick a driver who is chap chap sio wa kungoja wafikiwe na number, also a driver who lives in the same town as you, that makes sure that gari hailali nje. Ikilala nje expenses are usually from the earnings not his pocket. Kama ni 5k,unapewa 3500 juu utamlipia lodging na dinner.
3. On the driver, go to the stage of the Sacco you picked.. Pick a driver who is familiar with how the Sacco runs and the dynamics of the stage. Don't pick blindly thou, do some kidogo due diligence, nunulia mtu wa stage ka chai and just have a conversation.
4. For a whole month be hands on, pick a fuel station where the car will be fueled and itakuwa inalala kila jioni and be present for that month when it's being fueled until umejua consumption vizuri and how the driver handles the car. Gari ni full tank always, no debate.

5. Servicing mostly ni once a week, kawaida oil change. Have one mech who is familiar with the hiace. Service will cost you around 3k for a diesel engine depending on where you are.
6. Lastly, finances...don't use the 3k target, hizo ni gari za direct. Be on the know imebeba na how much na imerudi na how much juu ziko kwa invoice ya hapo stage. Already unajua consumption. You know the cheapest Nairobi to Nanyuki is xxx and the price changes with time...
...cont...so you know whichever day, you cannot get less than xxx when the prices are at the lowest. That is your bottom line but not the target. When you get that xxx amount at the end of the day. You subdivide, the car always takes the higher chunk....
...cont...in a day,half of that money you put aside for the car because in the near future you will need tyres, you'll need insurance. The other half depending on your discipline you can do whatever, save kidogo and use some for the daily expenses. When you do that...
...cont...utapata at the end of the month, you'll still have quite an amount even after kutoa za tyres and insurance and just kawa emergencies for the car...
7. If you want to make something out of that matatu(Long distance), it won't come from the daily earnings that easily. Maintain your car so that when it comes to selling it, it will fetch a good amount because of its condition. The math will math if you are disciplined...
8. Before anyone comes to me with their mehemehe, I have been doing this since 2014,I started with long distance then slowly moved in to manyangas which is a whole different ball game. If uko na haraka ya pesa, don't get into the matatu business.
9. Lastly, which goes back to the driver being familiar with the Sacco and route. There won't be those 'nimeshikwa' cases because anajua what to do. Make sure gari and driver wako na all documents and dated, kanjo, tlb, psv and all and utakuwa tu sawa.
10. Ya mwisho kabisa, hii biz si ya mnyonge. You need to be hands on all through na driver sio beshte yako. Never believe anything they say unless gari imeanguka 😂😂😂. Discipline both from you and your driver will see you grow your fleet. Not a walk in the park but worth it.
 
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