2024: The Year I Discovered True Wealth

The most significant shift of 2024 came through what appeared to be a setback – the redundancy of my position as Operations Manager at Prime Paints. But let me share a brutally honest story about why this corporate “setback” became my greatest breakthrough.

The harsh reality of corporate survival was eye-opening. As Operations Manager, I was living paycheck to paycheck despite the impressive title. Think about this: my entire monthly salary would barely cover basic needs – rent, food, transport, and minor expenses. By month-end, I was often stretching remainders just to make it through. No savings. No investments. No assets. Just surviving.

Here’s the scariest part: I was on track to spend 5 years of my prime working years without accumulating a single significant investment. Let that sink in – 5 years of your youth, your most energetic years, potentially wasted on just existing. If you’re in a job where you can’t save or invest meaningfully, you’re not building a future; you’re just treading water.

Before Prime Paints, I had been running Mwanza Digital, my graphic design business. It wasn’t making millions, but at least every coin earned was building my own empire. Taking the Operations Manager position seemed like the “responsible” choice at the time – steady income, professional title, structured environment. But I was trading my entrepreneurial freedom for an illusion of security.

Each day at Prime Paints felt like watching my true potential slowly die. I’d solve complex operational problems, manage teams, and handle crises – all skills that could have been directed toward building my own business. Instead, I was using my best hours to build someone else’s dream while my own business gathered dust.

When the redundancy conversation happened, it felt like the universe was staging an intervention. You see, sometimes we pray for growth but fear the very change that brings it. The redundancy wasn’t a setback – it was liberation disguised as loss.

What happened next still amazes me: Within just two months of going all-in on Rubikon Ventures (which now incorporates my previous Mwanza Digital business), I generated more revenue than my entire tenure at Prime Paints. Two months of betting on myself outperformed years of playing it safe. This isn’t just a story about making more money – it’s about the power of backing yourself when everything seems uncertain.

Yes, the journey with Rubikon Ventures has its challenges. We’re still finding our perfect focus, still navigating away from labor-intensive services toward more scalable solutions. But here’s the critical difference – every challenge we face now is an investment in our own future, not someone else’s.

Here’s my advice to anyone reading this:

1. If your job barely covers your monthly expenses, it’s not a career – it’s a trap
2. Calculate how many years you could go without making significant investments at your current income. If the answer scares you, it should
3. Your skills solving problems for others could be the very skills you need to build your own empire
4. That voice telling you you’re meant for more? It’s probably right

To everyone sitting in an office right now, feeling trapped but afraid to make the leap – I get it. The security of a paycheck, even a small one, feels safer than the unknown of entrepreneurship. But ask yourself: In 5 years, will you regret not taking the chance more than you’d regret trying and failing?

Sometimes we don’t need to overthink our next steps. Deep down, we already know what we need to do. The question is: will you have the courage to bet on yourself? Because from where I stand now, that bet is the safest investment you’ll ever make.