How Beacon Nest’s Victor Maina stepped up to build a Thriving Business in the Real Estate

Victor was brought up in a very humble background in Dagoretti, attending Jamhuri Primary School and St. Theresa’s Boys’ High School in Eastleigh for his early studies. Growing up, he had to do things by himself since all his siblings were way older than him and this nurtured him to become an independent young man.

Life then was a bit tough for him and his mother as she could not secure a permanent job and this used to force him to go live with his relatives from time to time. “These struggles made me yearn to be independent, to have my place, to become someone great in this life. I did not wish to struggle like the adults that surrounded me as a kid and this made me very ambitious with this life” Victor told Enterprise Magazine in an interview.

Growing up, Victor could not imagine living and working under anyone’s rules. “I don’t like being at the mercy of someone’s decisions and growing up, my mindset was always focused on becoming independent.” He was also privileged to work with Optiven Group CEO, Mr. George Wachiuri who turned out to be his mentor. Working for his mentor meant that he would see how he carried his business on a daily basis and he wished to emulate that. All these sparked the desire in him to start his own business.

Victor describes his entrepreneurial life as one that is very challenging and also very rewarding at the same time. “I have had rocky faces in my journey and also smooth phases. I can say it has been good and there have been more wins than losses.”

In 2018, together with a couple of friends, Victor started LiveMall, a general electronics, solar products, and home appliances online retail store. The company offers same-day delivery in Nairobi and next-day delivery to clients outside Nairobi. This was the first business he did and turned out to be a pure success.

He expresses it as his ‘baby’. “First of all, LiveMall is my baby, it was my breakthrough. The name came around from me sitting around and brainstorming how people can buy things live and have them delivered instantly,” says Victor. By then, his competitors were doing up to a week delivery period thus LiveMall became a game-changer.

In 2019, Victor stepped up and started another company, Beacon Nest, to offer affordable serviced land for sale in the Nairobi Metropolitan area. “This is where I want to live my legacy and show people who the real Victor is because it’s the most challenging business I have ever started,” he says. So far, the company has delivered one hundred title deeds and targets to deliver over two hundred by the end of 2022.

Having started two successful businesses, Victor takes pride in the fact that he has created job opportunities for a few Kenyans and looks forward to creating more as the companies grow.

Lessons on Effectiveness

According to Victor, every entrepreneur trying to make their lives better need skills that are backed up by character. Being consistent and developing good habits in auctioning ideas is key to success. “Being patient is also important because the bigger your goals, the more time it will take to achieve them,” he says.

Victor advises that for one to be highly effective in what they do, they need to be hardworking just like every other successful people out there who did so much, in the beginning, to get to where they are. He also adds that sacrifice is very essential and that people need to sacrifice binge-watching their favorite entertainment shows to read books that will help them grow better in their careers.

Just like any other entrepreneur, Victor tells us that he has faced some failures throughout his journey. From losing money, the company not reaching targets, investing in something that ends up not working to employees not performing how you want are some of the many failures he has experienced.  “All these failures have taught me one thing, we can’t stop just because we made a loss. We go to the gratitude corner and look at the best thing that has happened to us so far,” he says.

According to Victor, there will always be negative energy in this world and this makes up for the good energy. One does not have to follow their passion with its wins only. He adds that you gain more when you lose. This way you will learn a lesson and know how to do better the next time. “Let people tell you that your product is pure garbage so that you build character and understand that it’s not about you but adding value to the people interacting with your brand.”

He also advises young people who are creating their brands to always be themselves. Adding on, Victor emphasizes that every entrepreneur needs to learn how to negotiate and how to create a good conversation with people since building a brand relies on how much of a marketer you are.

“Stick to your plan, take time and travel to get new ideas, network as much as possible, make it your goal to meet new people, look at life from a positive perspective, have a gratitude list, and write down things that you are grateful for.”