BY VICTOR ADAR
Being creative is what fires up Josiah Adiema, co-founder of Lean Leap Consultants, a company that not only focus on communication and training but also capacity building in fields that include social media, debate and public speaking, public policy, and governance.
He is building the business with his spouse, Scarlet Chemarum, and brother-in-law, Jared Okuku. The trio started toying with the idea in 2017 but they mooted it in 2018 amidst busy schedules. Suddenly, it was registered in 2019.
“We finally put our foot down and legally registered it,” he says. “The niche for training and capacity building arose from the needs of various clients that we met both in the government and non-governmental spaces. And the good news is that we come from a common understanding of knowing where we want the firm to be.”
There is no denying the fact that business ventures are primarily financed through savings, loans, or angel investors. The most memorable moment is when Adiema’s lawyer friend suggested that the partners just raise the company registration fees and pay up legal fees when money starts flowing.
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“This was such a relief but even so, we still took a whole year to get this started since we would raise it in bits given other commitments but at some stages, we ended up even using what we had saved for company registration,” he explains.
Mr Adiema estimates that about Sh15, 000 was spent on registration and Sh40, 000 more for initial investments. He had to get some few items like a camera, a stand and internet connectivity.
Currently, it is just the three partners who are employed by the company but whenever there are extended events, they have a pool and network where the manpower especially for social media influencing engagements and training are drawn. It is done on a need basis, and on small term contracts, he says.
A lot is happening in the business scene and fear is rife among most companies. Some are rebooting while others are diversifying to remain a float. As businesses take different dimensions to try and cope with the coronavirus pandemic, Mr Adiema seems to be focused and vibrant. To him, being creative is what makes things work.
It was easy to venture into communications since two of them come from a communication background (Chemarum and Adiema studied journalism and public relations) while Mr Okaka has been in the industrial training and capacity building space for a long time. The positive side of such a blend, he says, is that there is a lot that the partners can learn from each other.
The challenge that the joint communications firm is facing at the moment, though, is showing the value to “hot” clients. Breakthrough was to come in 2020, the year that the partners were to step out of their way to get clients and make some progress. But after a few months of business, stumbling blocks notably, Covid-19 pandemic, crept in. It altered all the on-location events that were planned. Adiema says that all jobs got suspended even before they started.
The other crisis story is the stiff competition in the area of business. Whereas this is a challenge, he says it is also an opportunity to “never let your guard down and constantly look for ways to be valuable amidst the competition”.
Most importantly, as a budding firm, he has noted that clients take time to believe in the capability of the people to work with. To remedy this, whenever he gets a client, his word becomes his bond. “If you promise legendary service; you must deliver legendary service,” he says.
For the first few months, after the first virus case in the country was announced in March, a lot of clients developed a wait and see attitude but with the realization that this wasn’t going away soon, the alternative avenues to organize training and forums took centre stage.
In essence, the joint communications firm have had to readjust its means of service to embrace technology and online platforms for service delivery and training.
“We have become tech and online platform savvy. We have had to embrace the usage of Social Media and engagement platforms like Zoom, BlueJeans, and Google Meet where we offer services especially virtual training. We have also largely delved into providing graphic designs, videography and photography for events,” says Adiema.
With more than 15 years worth of experience in communications, Adiema’s options of bringing in new members to the company are open. He talks of a long-term vision, a bright future, and looks forward to building a portfolio, and of course, a financially healthy company.
That is why he presents opportunity to other family members with an interest in learning or that are in the fields of services that the company offers, for example, to join the business.
“It is every parent’s dream to have their children be part of their business when they come of age. We would love them to be part of the company as it grows. In this way, they will learn the ropes and can expand it. It would also cushion them from the crazy job searches out there. This will however be in cognizance of the fact that they may grow to want to pursue their dreams that are away from the firm. That doesn’t hinder them from inheriting the firm,” he explains.
As with any new business, especially a family business, the family moments can take centre stage and rear its ugly head in the business set up. Adiema says that such a scenario is remedied by (sometimes) being brutally honest with each other and calling out the “mix-up” moment. Above that, there has to be boundaries of up-to what extent family situations can seep into the business.
“It is a refreshing feeling expending all the energies building something that is yours from scratch but the biggest of all is witnessing the transformed lives because of the work of your hands. The knowledge that this will someday grow into something bigger than us is something we look forward to as we shall be creating opportunities that are much needed,” he says.
