Some of you may need inspiration from others before you plunge into business. How are others doing it? What challenges did they overcome? This is the whole essence of Premium Chats. Learning from others who have travelled different entrepreneurial journies.

We bring you Pastor Joel Chiviru and he shares with you the Premium Chat delivered last week.

Greetings ZBIN . It’s an honour to be on this platform with men and women of great focus and success . My name is Joel Chiviru. I am married and have a daughter. I am a young brother to Fine Chiviru , one of the most influential entrepreneur in ZBIN .I am also a founder and Pastor of a ministry called Fruitful Grace ministry which is based in Mozambique so I travel quarterly between Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

So you know being a Pastor, some people always think a Pastor is either in ministry for business and is surely making money by people offering and thithes. There is also another group people who think a Pastor should not live a good life, but should live a humble and kinda poor life while doing church the rest of his life. These two perceptions made me to make some crucial and deliberate life decisions which are:

1. I will never take church’s money but rather be the biggest giver in my every own ministry, currently no one gives more than me in the church I lead.
2. I will not be a begging Pastor who moves around waiting for the church to feed him.

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Before I became a Pastor. I only worked two times in my whole life. The first time I was sales person in 2006 for two months , the second time I was a waiter in south Africa at Panarotis for only a month in 2008. My experience with working for people was very bad bcz I was very passionate for God and because of immaturity I thought my Employees are inhuman and don’t understand that I should serve God so they must allow me to do so at times.

So on these two jobs I left and this led me to another crucial life decision, that I will never ever work for anyone in my whole life and since then. This notion was further brewed by the mentorship of the Word of God from my Life Mentors. They made me understand it’s not really God’s blessing to work for someone. A blessed person is the one in charge and have control over his life, money and finances. So ever since I have never worked for anyone. In 2021 I started a company for fitted cabinets and this is how I started it.

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I have my friend who is called Sandiswa Chirinda , my Patner in business. He is also a Pastor and we met at bible skul. He had learnt to do joinery by observation and mastered it. Myself I was just hustling through what’s trending, most of my years I was a middlemen and making some money through that. I have learnt that if you solve someone’s problem, you can get money for that. If you spend time studying people’s problems, find solutions to help them then you won’t die of hunger.

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This Partner of mine in 2021 made me to see a piece which he did in carpentry by then and was amazed at the piece he did while he was working under some one. Right away I persuaded him to leave work and we start our own thing. At first he was not confident, I guess he was afraid of leaving work and struggle. So I began to create fliers and I developed a deep passion for marketing . I did this until I came to him with a job that needed to be done.

This job was from a diaspora lady in UK. From that job I gained more confidence and began serious marketing and began to win jobs until my Fellow Pastor began to see the light. He now believed he can be his own boss. I bought the needed equipment and encouraged him to leave. He was still hesitant and as a religious someone who believes in God I just to him I am firing you from your work so soon you will be fired at work and we will be registering our company soon. It didn’t take a month. He had issues with his boss concerning payment of cluster job they had done. From there he wholeheartedly joined me and we registered a company Josan Interior Luxuries Jo el and San diswa.

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Our experience in this field has been amazing. We did more than 300 since 2021. Most of our clients were generally from UK, US, Australia, Ireland but mostly UK. 90 percent of our clients came and still come from disapora. 10 percent are locals. I am delighted that on locals we managed to do jobs for some ZBIN members and that is an honour.

A Bbg opportunity we had was that upon the hardwork we did. We got one of the biggest suppliers of boards to enter into a partnership with us , in this partnership allows us to get all materials we want and pay later. This opportunity made us to start our program FIT AND PAY LATER. A initiative where our clients pay a deposit, we do work for them and they pay balance in three to six months. This initiative has made us to live a very sustainable life bcz we are guaranteed of something every month.

Before you enter into a business partnership, you may need to refer to this Premium Chat by Taku Maziriri. A Zbinite previously based in South Africa and currently based in Gokwe.

Good evening good people ndipeiwo malikes ndione kuti muriko

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My name is Takudzwa Maziriri aged 33 holder of a Diploma in Accounting and Diploma in Secondary teaching majoring in teaching commercials ndiri wezhira wezhara wezheve…mutupo mancube…mother of 1

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Today m going to share with u my story From Hero to Zero…..I completed my Diploma in Secondary teaching in 2017 then 2018 kwakuenda paNamibia ikoko was working as a maid…ndirimaid kudaro ndakaendeswa kusports events yemwana svikei ikoko wanei kuti chikoro chacho is owned by A Zimbabwean ndipo pakabvawo shungu dzangu kuti aikaka l can also do this in Zim so 2018 wese ndokubva ndabatana nefriend tichitenga zvinhu zvedu zvepreschool tichiiuudza kuZim then 2019 kwakuuya kwakuzama kuvhura kuZvishavane unfortunately ikoko zvakaramba kubuda marentals aiva akati nyanyei stereki

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So takatombogara from 2019 to 2022 pasina anything chabuda regarding kuvhura preschool

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My Journey of Starting and Failing a Preschool in Kwekwe

In early 2022, I took a bold step to pursue my dream of running a preschool. I’ve always wanted to be my own boss and give back to the community by creating a safe learning space for young children. With passion in my heart and big dreams in my mind, I partnered with a friend, and we were offered a house to rent in Mbizo 15 by her sister.

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We opened the preschool in February with just 4 children. It was a humble start, but we worked hard, and within a month, the number grew to 10. This gave us hope that we were on the right path.

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We closed schools in March 2022 for the usual term break and reopened in May with renewed energy—and even better news. The number of children had grown to 17! Our dream was becoming a reality. We worked hard to create a fun and loving learning environment, and the parents appreciated our efforts.

By November 2022, we celebrated our first big milestone—7 ECD B learners graduated. It was a proud and emotional moment for us. As 2023 began, we reopened in January with 18 enrolled children, showing steady growth and support from the community.

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Second Term 2023, our enrolment grew to 25 children. On the outside, everything looked like it was going well. But behind the scenes, that’s when the real challenges started.

I was running the preschool with a business partner, and sadly, this is when conflicts began. If a parent delayed paying fees, it would spark serious arguments. I started hearing harsh words and even insults being thrown at parents—and that really hurt me. I believed in kindness, respect, and building trust with our community, but the atmosphere was changing.

What was once a shared dream slowly turned into a battlefield? I started to feel like we no longer had the same vision. It was no longer just about the kids and their future—it became about control, ego, and blame

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Another big challenge we faced was late payments by parents. While some tried their best, many would delay fees for weeks or even months. This made it difficult to run the preschool smoothly. We couldn’t plan properly—buying food, paying the teacher we had hired, or even getting basic learning materials became a struggle.

I would use my personal savings sometimes just to make sure the kids didn’t go hungry or miss out on learning. But as time went on, the pressure grew. Financial instability created more tension between me and my partner. Every cent became a point of argument, and trust was slowly eroding.

Deep down, I still wanted to keep going, but I was mentally and emotionally exhausted.

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During the second term of 2023, I made a bold move—I purchased a food trailer through a ZBIN member. My hope was to expand and increase income, thinking that since the preschool had grown to 25 kids, it was now stable enough to allow me to start another venture.

I underestimated the pressure.

My routine became overwhelming. From 7:30am to 3:30pm, I would be at the preschool teaching and managing the children. Right after that, I’d rush to the food trailer to start preparing and selling chips. The physical and emotional strain was immense. Worse still, I didn’t have enough funds to hire someone to help me run the food trailer.

By third term, I decided to shift my focus more toward the food trailer and left the preschool under the care of my business partner. That decision came with consequences. Some parents began to complain—they felt the environment had changed, especially with how fee issues were handled. I believe the absence of my presence and the way my partner interacted with them over payments caused dissatisfaction.

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During third term of 2023 was the real turning point—and not in the way I had hoped. Word had started to spread in the community that the teachers at Bright Minds were “rough.” In the preschool business, word of mouth carries serious weight. It builds or breaks trust. The challenge was that in 2022, I had been the familiar face parents knew and trusted. Now that I had stepped back, the shift in leadership and tone was clearly being felt.

Even though I returned in November to prepare for our graduation, and worked hard to make sure the children were confident—speaking fluent English, smiling, performing with pride—I didn’t know that, behind the scenes, damage had already been done. The community had begun forming opinions, and trust had slowly been eroded.

But on December graduation day, we celebrated 20 children moving on. It was a beautiful, vibrant event. The joy on the children’s faces made me proud. I told myself, *“At least, with this graduation, we’ll remind the community who we are.”* What I didn’t realize was that the fall had already begun—the damage was deeper than I thought.

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Ironically, November and December are usually the busiest months for ECD enrolment inquiries. Parents start searching for schools for the upcoming year, visiting centers, asking about fees, and checking facilities. But for us—it was silent. Painfully silent.

Bright Minds, which had once been full of energy and the sound of little voices, was now quiet. Zero enrolments. January came… and still, nothing. It was heartbreaking.

What made it worse is that I had invested emotionally and financially in preparing for a fresh start. I repainted the whole creche—inside and outside—hoping that when parents walked in, they would see brightness, hope, a place they could trust with their children.

But no one came.

I stood in that freshly painted classroom, the toys neatly arranged, posters on the walls, chairs set… and no child to sit in them.

The silence was loud.

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Even with everything falling apart, I held on to the creche, hoping that maybe—just maybe—parents would start bringing kids again. But things got worse. Another creche opened just a few streets away, and that competition hit us hard. Parents who were already unsure quietly moved their children elsewhere.

By April 2024, I had run out of funds to support both businesses. The food trailer was no longer making enough profit to carry the creche. Worse still, I couldn’t afford the creche rentals anymore. It was like watching your dream collapse in slow motion—painful, helpless, and deeply personal.

I would cry silently. I could feel things falling apart around me, and I couldn’t stop it.

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From Hero to Zero… and Back Again

By May 2024, I was emotionally drained. I made the painful decision to shut down the creche and convert the premises into rental rooms. The food trailer? It also came to a standstill, parked uselessly where the laughter of children once echoed.

I left Kwekwe for Harare, carrying nothing but disappointment and hope.

Then in February 2025, I got a job at a private school in Domboshava. It wasn’t the dream I had built before, but it was a new beginning. A fresh page.

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10 Powerful Lessons from My Business Journey

1. Don’t Expand Too Fast

In business, growth is exciting—but it must be strategic. I moved into a second business (the food trailer) without stabilizing the first. Instead of growing, I spread myself too thin. Focus and build strong foundations first.

2. Partnerships Need Clear Boundaries

Running a business with a partner sounds good, but without clear roles, expectations, and respect, it can lead to conflict. Avoid overlapping responsibilities and ensure open communication from the start.

3. Customer Service is Everything

No matter how good your services are, how you treat clients matters more. Harsh words to parents over late fees created long-term damage. In the service industry—especially education—people remember how you made them feel.

4. Word of Mouth Can Build or Break You

In small communities like Mbizo, your name is your brand. One parent’s experience becomes everyone’s story. Guard your reputation fiercely through professionalism and respect.

5. Business and Emotions Don’t Mix Well

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I got emotionally attached and made impulsive decisions—like investing in repainting during a downturn or pushing through stress. Always let data guide your choices, not just feelings.

6. Diversify Only When You’re Ready

A second business requires resources, time, and energy. I underestimated how much the food trailer would demand. Never start something new until the first venture is stable and can run without your full-time presence.

7. Poor Cash Flow = Business Death

Late payments from parents meant I couldn’t plan or pay bills on time. I should have introduced payment structures like deposits or term-based fees to stay afloat.

8. Marketing Isn’t Optional

I only tried serious advertising when the damage had already been done. Marketing should be consistent, creative, and part of the monthly plan—not an afterthought.

9. Know When to Pause or Pivot

Sometimes, the most courageous thing is knowing when to stop. Closing the creche and food trailer gave me space to breathe, reflect, and rebuild.

10. Every Failure is a Setup for a Stronger Comeback

Working now at a private school in Domboshava is not a step back. It’s a reset. I’m learning, gaining experience, and preparing for a stronger return—smarter and wiser.

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Thats my story hopefully pane vadzidzawo something.