By Razaq Yekinni
Everybody wants comfort, freedom, financial freedom and all what can make one comfortable to cohabit in the society most especially Nigeria where the society expects a lot from her people.
To meet up with the demands of the society today, entrepreneurship is now the in thing, the reason for this is not farfetched and this is as a result of scarcity of white collar jobs in the country today. It is a known fact that hundreds of Nigerian graduate leaves school with dreams, vision, passion and the zeal to turn things around immediately they pull-off the convocation gown but the reality beams its light above sight to over shadow the myth of the University of life.
Years after years of non availability of a sustaining white collar job pushed many to entrepreneur which has been seen as the tinny light at the end of the tunnel. The rate of unemployment and underemployment in Nigeria is so alarming and many people had faulted and are faulting the educational system of the nation for not producing the right crop of graduates while parent who had spend huge on educating their children blamed the government for not creating job opportunities for the teaming Nigerian youth. The government on the other hand put blame on the falling revenue; saying it is not sufficient for the upkeep of the nation
It will interest you to note that, Nigerian universities across the country produces over five hundred thousand graduates in a year and annually this set of brilliant brains joins the snowball labour market in search for survival which is a similar quest to fishing on the desert by a hungry traveler. It will only take a miracle to see a river on the desert not think of fishing or throwing one’s net. Many brilliant brains had falling into depression as a result of lack of jobs to keep the body and soul together.
This had made the government to advice her youths to pan to self empowerment and entrepreneur skills to survive the no job lyrics on the lips of her citizens and since the government has very little and limited resources to admit fresh brains into its civil service entrepreneur remains the only option. Entrepreneurship is now the saving grace of the determined few who are ready to face the huddle and the reality of life.
An entrepreneur is person who sets up a business or businesses, plans or programnes and taking on financial risks with the hope of making profit. He bears the profit and every possible loss alone. The soul aim of an entrepreneur is to make profit and in most cases the reality of the business made this impossible to make the proposed profit margin if profit is truly made.
As sweet and simple as it sound, the myth and reality of the entrepreneur sector is not what one can shy from and this article is targeted at preparing you for the task ahead. However, you have taken the best decision to be self reliant and I can assure you if you play your card right, then you will be surprised by the strides you achieve in few months. Several stories have been told about the rise and fall of businesses and entrepreneur establishments which can be discouraging but once you can think it then you can achieve it.
You are at a great advantage working yourself as this gives you absolute freedom and liberty to bring your creativity, genuineness to play as you have always done with other businesses you supervised and get paid for. You will discovered that those skills of yours had paved waves for you in the past and starting your own will not be a bad idea for it comes with super advantages. Below are some of the advantages of being an entrepreneur but this are just myth which had pushed people into several new trades and they eventually failed to survive the reality behind the widely held but false belief.
• You are your Own boss
The euphoria being called “Oga” (boss) or being seeing as one and the regalia that comes along the sides made people want to venture into starting a business of own. The reality of being refer to as boss goes beyond the title. Boss is firm, steadfast, consistent, persistent, determined, adamant to making sure things work, a goal getter and committed to a fault. The question now is are you ready to die for what you believe in and are you ready to keep going when everything is looking to be going south?
• Schedule your earnings
Yes, you earn what you work and get what you are entitled to as the case may be. An entrepreneur do not earn as much as white collars earn when they get a new job. A newly employed office assistant can decide to buy brand new shoes after earn his or her first pay but an entrepreneur who tries such will be bankrupt sooner or later. For every profit made in the first year of the business, it is advisable you turn it back into the business because the first 2 – 3years into a fresh business is usually a trying time and it is the period to solidify the root of the business and not to flex with the profits.
• Dictate your work pace
As an entrepreneur you dictate your work pace and decide when to work and when not to; being the chief executive officer of the business. Unlike other business that has resumption and close of work hours, as an entrepreneur you can decide not to work or do anything for day without being questioned or continue to work round the clock to grow your business in such a way that people who are in the office will envy your harvest.
• Get the company to its very best
Entrepreneur puts her organization at the desired pitch without being stopped by superior officer like those in the offices. Often times, staff of organizations are being redeployed to other branches of the establishment once the sole aim of the business owners had been achieved while leaving the feeling of the brain behind the achievements of the organization hanging. Money is not all, although the employee may be paying her staff as due but personal conviction and inner most feeling of staff is key. This is one of the thing that most be considered by entrepreneur in other to get the very best for her organization.
• Daily innovation and ideas
The need to be outstanding and standout by several business owners can never end and reason several organizations come up with innovations, items, ideas and other things they needed to beat their counterparts to the game. This is a very important quality needed for every entrepreneur to grow and attain the top of her career.
• Superb retirement plan
The retirement plan for a strategic entrepreneurial is usually handy since he/she knew that no money is coming for him later in life, as he grows the business he grows himself too and this is far better than waiting hopelessly to get pension from government which will not come at when due.
There are always two sides to a coins and this case is not an exception. Prices are paid for everything in life, good or bad. Looking at the sweet and warm highlights above, it comes with conditions and huddles to cross too and once you done then you keep smiling to bank.
Irrespective of any business you want to venture into as an entrepreneur, these factors are definitely going to influence the sustainability of your business. They are external factors which you may not have control over but you can only manage and these include, educational factor, economic, technological development and cultural.
The world has now pan to the technological aspect of life and it is imported to be technologically savvy in your trade so as to stand the test of time. A look into the postal agency business will make you understand the importance of technology to businesses and its establishments. Now the use of email and social tools has rendered postal service useless and if one ventures into a business then be ready to study the technological implication of the business and plan ahead for it.
Educational Factor is your level of education and understanding on of the business you tend to venture into and it is advised you do your feasibility study on the business before venturing into it and also learn more on the job for the raining day. Many people ventured into business they know next to nothing about and keeps trying by error, why not do a proper research and plan the new trade. This will save you a lot of time, fund and energy and as all resources will be channeled accordingly and rightly.
Cultural Factor is another threat that could ruin a business if care is not taken and these has to do with the ways of life the people and the belief system. You do not venture into a business that contradicts the belief of the community or your prospective clients. For instance, setting up a pork store in a state or community that are predominantly Muslims, such business will die within a very short period of time because Muslims do not eat pig so the business is not going to survive because the product being manufactured is against the belief of the people.
Economical development is one factor that can make you bankrupt and this in most cases has to do with new developmental trends in the system. New trend and development kills local business such is transport business. In Nigeria today, many taxi drivers had lost their livelihood as a result of economic development such as Taxify or OPay. Many of their clients now take the advantage of the new trend in economy development for their transport services instead of going to the taxi parks.
Read further on ways to grow your business
- Nigerian Business License Guide - October 25, 2023
- Know Search Engine Optimization SEO - September 28, 2023
- META: Features For Businesses 2023 - September 26, 2023
These are awesome articles. Fully loaded. Thank you for this.