A good name is better than great riches; hustler, King of corruption, grabber or Baba, mkombozi, Jakom?

3am Thought by Gordon Opiyo

“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold.”
Today, my reflection is on the value of a good name.

I celebrate a friend of mine who pulled off a major business venture in Nairobi worth 170 million and is launching it next week.
He started off with less than 500k in his pocket, but with big dreams and a good name…..
Three years later, the project is complete and is being launched next week.

He had the idea, drew up an implementation plan, set up a schedule and invited partners to to help him achieve the dream.
He sold the idea, and only owns a small portion of the business…, but he is assured of long term lucrative business.
The ability to have people trust you and invest in your idea is a priceless asset. You will always never have enough. But as long as have a good name – nothing shall be impossible.

This reminds me of how Government business used to be the easiest to do some ten years ago.
All you needed was an LPO from Government or any Parastatal, and depending on your account, you could take projects worth millions – even if you have 10 Bob in your account…. Walk into any bank, get financing for the project – based on the LPO – do the business, and three months later – get paid….

This is because the Government system 10 years ago had established a good reputation for paying. It was unheard of that Government failed to pay.
The older you get, the more you appreciate the value of a good Name. Your strength goes down and you have to rely on your name and reputation for several things.

So, young people should work extremely hard to preserve a good name.
If you borrow money… Repay within the given timeline. If you don’t have, explain long before the due date…. That simple act alone can give you mileage worth millions.

Your reputation can make you pull off a project worth 100 million even if you have less than 100k.
In every thing you do, ensure that you do not soil your reputation.
Fight extremely hard to keep a good name. Never play with your name… That is what you will eat in future.
Money is nothing.

You can have 20 million today and in three months you are broke.
So, do not spoil your name just to get money. Don’t spoil your name for a few coins…..
But that good name is everything. Fight for it.