When Dr. Maxwell Okoth CEO and founder of Ruai family hospital and RFH healthcare ltd started his first clinic, he wanted to make sure everyone he interacted with as far as his business was concerned,  left feeling satisfied with the services they received. With this thought in mind, he even extended credit to his patients. Offering flexible payment services to which they were meant to pay at their earliest convenience but he soon realized that this strategy was costly. The patients would get treated and afterwards avoid or dodge going back to his clinic due to the debt they had.

As he struggled to make money with his vision, he got a lucky break during a doctors strike, that would lead him to do day shifts at his hospital. He discovered that his employees were taking advantage of the fact that he couldn’t always be physically present in his clinic due to his other job which was paying for all the bills.

His employees would over-charge patients, record very little returns for the doctor and pocket the rest of the money for themselves. Recalling the event, a very exasperated Max says “These people would send me daily sales returns of as little as 93 bob only, so when they manage to make Ksh 5,000/-, you’re so happy so you’re like ‘eh kuleni nyama leo’ because you’re trying to keep them motivated.”

Little did he know that the clinic was making so much more. On the days he would spend at the hospital,  he observed one of his lab technicians removing a large bundle of 50 bobs from their pockets from the jobs they had done that day. He also had patients come to him and complain about how much money they had had to pay for simple procedures.  “I was so surprised. These people could make about Ksh. 40,000/-  in a day.”  Dr. Maxwel Okoth said.

This was when he realized the full potential of his clinic. After the strike, he spoke to a friend who was a clinical intern just about to finish his internship to come work for him. His friend accepted. The first thing they did was change the whole team and things started looking better as he had a credible team and a trusted friend to help manage and turn the clinic round for the better.

Dr. Maxwel Okoth, Founder of Ruai family hospital and RFH ltd, was a guest at Founders Drink-up in August 2018. To get access to the full podcast, please email dream@wearefounders.co.ke.