A Story of False Starts, Faithful Clients, and the Slow Path to Real Growth
If I could go back and talk to my 20-year-old self, I wouldn’t give him a motivational book. I’d just sit him down, maybe over a soda & Rolex, and tell him this:
“Life won’t always reward you quickly. But if you’re consistent, if you keep your word and don’t disappear when people need you you’ll build something that lasts.”
After university at 23, my uncle suggested I join the police. I declined I couldn’t see myself in a system where I couldn’t speak freely or leave on my terms.
Well… I figured out many things – like what it feels like to walk aimlessly through Kampala with no real plan for one full year.
Somewhere in that aimless year, I got a chance to prove myself. I had told one of my uncle’s friends that I was “really good at Excel.” I don’t even know what kind of confidence possessed me, but I said it with such conviction that he believed me. He invited me for data entry work at the British Council. After three hours of sweating, clicking, and getting nowhere, I gave up. I stood up, said I was stepping out to make a quick call… and I never returned.
The shame stayed with me, but it taught me a timeless lesson: never claim readiness for what you haven’t prepared for.
A year later, I got my first accounting job at a Christian microfinance. I earned UGX 150k —but gained skills worth far more. I stayed three years and still credit that time for most of what I know today.
There, I met a lady who shaped how I work. She was quiet, never chased titles, but deeply cared about results. “Don’t just do the work—own it,” she’d say. I watched her stay late, fix mistakes that weren’t hers, and teach me not just accounting, but real professionalism.
When the businesses failed, I went back to accounting—taking on small clients for very little pay, just to stay afloat. One job led to another. That season taught me something clear: in business, it’s not hype that keeps you going. It’s being reliable.
Over the years, I’ve made it a rule: Never lose a client out of incompetence or neglect. I’ve kept clients not because I’m perfect, but because I’m present. I show up. I answer when they call. I take responsibility when things go wrong.
My philosophy is simple: start with one client, serve them well, and they’ll bring you one more. That’s how I began with just two clients, and I still have them today. If every year you add one or two more and never lose the ones you started with, by your early 30s you’ll be earning 10 to 20 times what you did in year one. Clients grow. Relationships compound. Trust multiplies. In business, lasting success doesn’t come from hype it comes from consistency and dependability.
So if you’re in your early 20s, still trying to find your footing, let me encourage you:
It’s okay to grow slowly.
It’s okay to make mistakes—just don’t repeat them.
It’s okay not to have it all figured out—just be willing to learn and keep showing up.
And please, for your own good—don’t lie about your “Excel” skills.
Stay steady. Stay available. Keep your word. In the end, it’s not speed that builds success its trust over time.
With hope and experience,
Once confused, still growing, but always showing up.
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