STOP LOOKING FOR JOB, CREATE A BUSINESS

Stop Looking For Job, Create A Business!
Published by NaijaEcash at 2:41 pm under Entrepreneur, Financial Intelligence, Nigerian
How long have you been looking for a job? Probably months or even over a year! How long will it take before you get your dream job? Have you ever thought of starting a small business instead of spending all your time and resources looking for job in a market where supply is more than demand?
It is a painful thing to be un-employed (as it translates into no-income or living on charity). It grieves my heart when I see able bodied young men and women in Nigeria going from one company to another looking for job. Often they are made to queue for hours under hot sun before they take a job-test or are interviewed. The job market is so saturated that it is common to see 100 applicants queuing for a vacancy for 2!
The big question I often ask is, Why Can’t you stop looking for job and create a small business instead? It is a well known fact that it is often better to Mind Your Own Business instead of working for wages. A small business owner has several advantages over an employee. These are my opinion Let look at some of them together, you are free to disagree with me anyway.
An Entrepreneur is the boss. So, he has his fate in his hands as he determines what SUCCESS means to him and plans how he will achieve it. He is the one that set Financial Goals for himself and not some unknown “top management”. He is fully in charge of his working schedule so he has enough time to live the kind of lifestyle he desires. He definitely has more time to attend to his family. There are so many other benefits that one can list, but the aforementioned are enough reason to pursue the goal of starting a small business.
Unfortunately, 90% of the Nigerian youth I have spoken to believe that starting a small business is not for everyone. They have several excuses why they cannot stop looking for job! Some of the excuses look genuine enough while some simply display lack of knowledge. I will consider some of the excuses and share my opinion on them.
Lack of Capital to Finance the business - This is a flimsy excuse. At least seventy percent of those I talked with have no concrete idea what they will do if someone drop a million naira ($10,000) on their lap. They have no idea they have worked on and definitely no blueprint on how to run the business. Instead of consoling yourself that the reason why you have not started is because bank, relative or friends won’t lend you money, sit down and do something worthwhile. As yourself, assuming raising capital is not a constrain what business am I passionate about?
Entrepreneurs are born not made - This one is a very foolish assumption. A significant number of successful entrepreneur are not extra-ordinary men or genius in any way. In fact some were people formerly written off as failures and hopeless individuals. If those men and women could become successful by starting small businesses which later became big financial empires, so can you.
The Economy Is Regressing - Hey wake up from sleep! That is the more reason you should start something you have control over. That job you are aiming for is not as secured as you think. No matter the effort you put in, you may wake up one morning and discover that all the years and effort you have put in is gone. You are no longer needed. Never mind the polite tone of the sack-letter or whatever name it is called, the effect is the same, you’ve been fired! The accrued value of those long years of service is not transferable, once you leave that organization they are gone for good. You are only left with the skills you acquired.
I quite agree that starting a small business entails a lot of effort and determination, but then it is not as difficult as going to the moon. The major reason I believe is preventing so many from venturing into entrepreneurship is because they want instant gratification. We live in the IT age where everything is suppose to be instant. So nobody wants to spend months or possibly years building a business. They just want instant riches (no wonder many still fall prey to scammers).
So, my conclusion is that you should start a business now, online or offline, no matter how small. Start learning entrepreneurship irrespective of how much you have in your pocket. If you are an employee, start something that you can build over time and possibly transfer to the next generation. I wonder what the world would have been like if Bill Gate had remained an employee for his working years! It will be nice having your feedback on the issues I raised. I enjoy reading the comments and I do respond to them individually. Drop me a comment now, it may make my day!