ENTREPRENUERSHIP: A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE TO JOB AND WEALTH CREATION.

 INTRODUCTION  

I

n the beginning was entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship was creativity and innovation; creativity was productivity and resourcefulness. There was nothing that was ever made or ventured into by humans that were accomplished without an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are goal-getters, achievers, and arrivers. No government or society can do or exist without entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship was, is and will continue to be.

        Every society that is worth being mentioned in the committee of developed societies must be entrepreneurship-oriented. This, perhaps, explains why Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister enthused, “I want Britain to be a nation of entrepreneurs, a nation where talent and ability flourish.” (Business: The Ultimate Resource, 2008: 1745).

        Entrepreneurship is now a lifestyle of choice for anyone who is wise and desires not only for true financial freedom but anyone who desires to make a mark in his/her world; impact societies positively and become blessings (not just blessing but blessings) to his generation and generations yet unborn.

The importance of entrepreneurship does not lie principally in its benefits in terms of job-creation but also in economic growth of individuals and societies. Entrepreneurship defines directions for the next move of our world. Entrepreneurs are at the helm of affairs. At the snap of their fingers people listen and at the clearing of their throats, the world stands at attention. Entrepreneurship will remain till the world is no more, the way of life, the lifeblood and livewire of the progressives.

        All over the world everyone, society and nation that desires to be counted are tilting towards entrepreneurship because it holds the key to self-fulfillment, human capacity-development and empowerment. Entrepreneurship is the in-thing, an idea whose time has always been. Anyone who dares to be somebody is taking this honourable and long-lasting route to quality life and self-fulfillment. It is the sure way to economic freedom; the pathway to true financial independence.

Do you want to join the Achievers’ Club? Do you desire to be recognized as solutions’ provider? Do you want to call the shots and be respected among those who have arrived, and contributing meaningfully to meeting myriads of human needs? Then, think entrepreneurship! Entrepreneurship is not about job-seeking but about job and wealth creation; it is about value addition.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP: A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE TO JOB AND WEALTH CREATION

Jesus in Bible’s book of Matthew 19:11-12 highlights three principles upon which greatness is achieved: some are born great, some are made great by others while some make themselves great. These can be applied to Nigerian graduates and job market - upon graduation some people have jobs already waiting for them, all they need is “make choice.” For others, “something can be fixed for” them while to a larger percentage of graduates, there is nothing, absolutely nothing anywhere for them.     

With over one hundred private and public owned universities, polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education, yearly, Nigeria churns out thousands of graduates who do not have any hope of being employed in the public sector. The private sector which holds much hope of absorbing this army of job seekers is not finding it easy. They often complain that grandaunts are unemployable and would, most times, place conditions too difficult to be met by prospective employees. One of such conditions is that job seekers should have one year or two years cognate experiences in establishments similar to the ones they were applying.

It is no gainsaying that in Nigeria, it takes who you know: one who knows somebody who knows somebody to find jobs. If you do not have godfather, godmother, god-uncle, god-aunt or god-whatever, finding jobs is as slim as anything can be.

In a situation where one cannot find job, the only viable alternative is for the individual to create one for himself/herself. Some people are born into wealth while others are born into poverty. If you do not have any foundation of wealth, you can lay the foundation for wealth creation.

The moment we understand that no one owes us anything in life but that we are the people who ourselves whatever we desire, that same moment we will begin to take our destinies in our own hands to seek empowerment through job and wealth creation; we will switch from our economic dependency mode to economic independency mode. This is where entrepreneurship comes in.

Obviously, some people were born with golden, silver, bronze, iron, plastic and wooden spoons while many were not born with any of these. For many, they cannot be linked to any surname. However, people do not have surnames have over time created very powerful names and surnames for themselves. You see, your circumstance of birth does not determine what and who you finally become but your mindset does. I have seen people who were born great ending poor and those who were born poor ending great.       

If you desire to be somebody, take the path of entrepreneurship. If you do not have job and economic surname, you can have both through entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is the ONLY VIABLE ALTERNATIVE to job and wealth creation!

 One United States online entrepreneurship website reports that “in a typical year, small independent businesses create 2.6 million jobs, while large corporations eliminated 1.6 million jobs.” 

Why look for work when you can create one?

WHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP?

        Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Letcher in their book, Cash Flow Quadrant: Rich Dad’s Guide to Financial Freedom affirm: “If you want to remain poor, seek employment.” This is not to denigrate paid employment. Employment is good if you can find one but what happens if you cannot find any?  Create one! Paid employment does not guarantee wealth, nor does it even guarantee job security because one could be thrown out any time into the cold weather of joblessness, sometimes at a time when one may not find it easy locating another paid employment.

        Paid employees are people who serve others.  Every paid employee is a servant: it doesn’t matter if you are a public servant or a private servant; civil servant or legal servant. A servant is a servant. Forget about the title that an individual wears - a servant is a servant. As long as someone pays your salary, you are his or her servant. Of course, “he who pays the piper” the saying goes, “dictates the tune.”  Refuse to go to work without any cogent reason, you will be queried and if the master is not satisfied, you are shown the door.

        All servants live routine lifestyles – from home to work place and work place back home; week after week, month after month and year after year. When they retire, most often, their entitlements are not paid (especially in Nigeria) and they die as result of lack of care.

        What do you want out of life? Being a servant or being your own boss? Being your own boss does require cultivating entrepreneurial spirit. Entrepreneurship is not an option; it is the way out of joblessness, dependency and servitude. Nothing is more exhilarating than being your own boss, calling the shots and being regarded as the final authority. Most successful people are entrepreneurs.

CHRISTIANS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

New Testament Christians were entrepreneurs. Apostle Paul, even though a Minister of God and Apostle of Jesus Christ was an outstanding entrepreneur (Acts 18:1-3). Because Paul was entrepreneurial, he not only created job but also wealth through which he was able to support himself and those who were with him (Acts 20:33-35; cf. Acts 28:30-31).

UNDERSTANDING ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Entrepreneurship is all about job and wealth creation. It deals principally with needs’  identification and taking steps to bridge existing gaps by providing  solutions to those identified needs (cf. Ezekiel 22:30).

At the center of entrepreneurship is the entrepreneur who is the vision-bearer, the idea-generator, who by default is a self-employed person. Relying solely on his/her abilities to generate ideas for products or services, an entrepreneur mobilizes factors of production such as resources, personnel, and materials towards transforming his/her ideas into tangible or intangible products or services.

In a society where jobs are not readily available, one must begin to think entrepreneurial. This, not only saves you the hassle and stress of job-hunting but also gives you the freedom to explore, exploit and maximize your human potentials; become your own boss and book an important place in the annals of movers and shakers.

Becoming an entrepreneur provides for you senses of direction, belonging and fulfillment. Not only does thinking entrepreneurial and becoming an entrepreneur make you ‘feel important,’ in reality you are! You are important by every stroke of human imagination. Without entrepreneurs societies would not make any meaningful progress.

Look around you: your body and your environment, you would readily see that next to God’s idea of your personality, you are a product of entrepreneurs. From your haircut/hairstyle to the shoes or sandals you are wearing, entrepreneurs have really defined you. In other words, you are a by-product of two great ideas: God and entrepreneurs!

Three outstanding elements of entrepreneurship are NEEDS, OPPORTUNITIES and ACTION. All you need to do to become an entrepreneur is to look around you, identify a need, an existing gap in a product or service; determine how the need or gap can be filled. Bingo! you are in, employing people and creating wealth!!

WHY BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR? 

People are motivated to become entrepreneurs because of their desire to:

·        Be their own bosses.

·        Become rich and famous.

·        Prove something to parents or to some other people.

·        Use their skills.

·        Enjoy a sense of achievement.

·        Earn a living when jobs are not available.

 In one way or two we can all identify with one or all of the above points. Entrepreneuring is potentially rewarding.  I want to encourage you to follow the path of entrepreneurship.  If you know how to reduce the risks involved you can increase the possible gains of entrepreneurship.

YOU CAN BECOME AN ENTERPRENEUR

Yes, you can become an entrepreneur if you find any of the following applying to you:

1.   You have an idea for a product or service and you want to build a new business.

2.   You want to increase your success in responding to changing

     conditions.
3. You see an opportunity for a new venture in your community or

    place of residence.

4. You are unemployed and the prospects for a new job are not good.

5. You see a need and have an idea of what it takes to fill that need.

WHAT QUALIFIES FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP?

        University degrees do not equate entrepreneurial spirit. Rather, entrepreneurship thrives on ideas. Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Letcher (1999:13) affirm that “college (university) education is important for traditional professions, but not for how people found great wealth. They developed their businesses….” They went on to write that “many successful people had left school without a college degree, people such as Thomas Edison, founder of General Electric; Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motors Co., Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft; Ted Turner, founder of CNN; Steve Jobs, founder of Apple computers; Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computers and Ralph Lauren, founder of Polo,” Mack Zukerberg, founder of FACEBOOK, etcetera.

        In Nigeria, household names like Dangote Group, Coscharis Group, Ekene Dili Chukwu, Ifesinachi Nig. Ltd., Chisco, Ogbuawa, Louis Carter, Chikason Group, Innoson Nigeria Ltd., Peace Mass Transit, etcetera were not all university graduates.

What then qualifies for entrepreneurship? Entrepreneurship is about using your potential at 100% capacity. It is about building yourself. Anyone who takes a challenge becomes an owner, a boss and a judge of his own life.

If you are risk-averse, entrepreneurship is not for you. If you have a weak heart, entrepreneurship is not for you. However, if you have an adrenalin-friendly heart, you are welcome to the world and practice of entrepreneurship. 

WHAT DOES ENTREPRENEURSHIP REQUIRES?

Entrepreneurship requires:

1.   New thinking.

2.   Ideas that are relevant to society’s needs.

3.   Ideas that are constructive and affective.

4.   Ideas that are proactive.

To generate entrepreneurial ideas a would-be entrepreneur must learn to come up with ideas for a product or service. To generate the needed ideas, he/she should learn to “think out of the box.” Thinking out of the box requires doing what people would rarely do. Sometimes entrepreneurial ideas could come from unlikely places, from unlikely people and from unlikely situations or circumstances. A good entrepreneur immediately recognizes these ideas and seizes them.

ADVANTAGES OF BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR

Every successful entrepreneur brings about benefits not only for himself/ herself but for the society, country and the world in general. The benefits that can be derived from entrepreneurial activities are as follows:

§  Enormous personal financial gain.

§  Self-employment, offering more job satisfaction and flexibility of work schedules.

§  Freedom from dependency on jobs offered by others.

§  Ability to have great accomplishments.

§  Reduction of the informal economy and emergence of vibrant Middle Class.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ENTREPRENEURS

        A number of traits characterize entrepreneurs. Principally, entrepreneurs have enthusiasm, vision, and the driving force for setting up enterprises. Other characteristics of entrepreneurs are:  

• Protest mentality.

• A positive mental attitude.

• A strong sense of personal awareness.

• Willingness to take initiative.

• A strong sense of commitment.

• High energy level.

• Integrity and reliability.

• Patience.

• Ability to deal with failure.

Entrepreneurs brainstorms on a regular basis; they are ingeniousness and resourceful. They are opportunists, creative, and unsentimental.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND RISK-TAKING

        Entrepreneurship is principally risk-taking. Anyone who is averse to risk is not worthy of the name, “entrepreneur.” Entrepreneurs are bold and calculatingly daring. They dare to dare. Risk is their second nature. They take the bulls of their various circumstances and situations by their horns so as to be able to pluck the golden fruits of success.

        Come to think of it: he who never takes risk never succeeds. It is a bigger risk not to take risk. He who fails to plan only plans to fail but he who plans to succeed is 90% sure of success. If anyone, for fear of failure, fails to venture out, that individual is failure personified. Successes only come to those who dare to make a difference in their worlds.

        Risk is a state of the mind. A pessimist sees failure in success but an optimist sees success in failure. Depending on who you are, pessimist or optimist, you are bound to look at things differently. An optimist sees opportunities where a pessimist sees dangers. This is why the world is never run by pessimists but by optimists.

        If you decide not to take risk, you are risk yourself. So? Throw your heart over the bar and step right in into that which you are unjustifiably afraid to do. It was Norman Vincent Peale, the great advocate and champion of Positive Thinking who counseled, “Do what you fear and the fear of failure would be gone.” Richard Branson, founder and President of Virgin Group, owner of Virgin Atlantic in his recent book, Business Stripped Bare (2008) published by Virgin Books U.K. and culled  from The Spectator, Friday, October 3, 2008, pages 58-59), posits that,

Failure is not making mistakes but not giving things a go in the first place. Failures can’t be bothered…I have learned from people who have tried and faltered than from the few charmed people I have met for whom success came easy. Having said these, he then counsels: “But don’t run away with the idea that it was easy or risk-free. Proper entrepreneurship never is. Entrepreneurs have made the world a better place, taking the risks involved in innovating products and services that make people’s lives easier, better and safer. They have largely destroyed poverty as the rest of the world knows and as history knows it…In business as in life, you can’t afford to be afraid of doing the wrong thing. Success from business never comes from inaction. To be a serious entrepreneur, you have to be prepared to step off the precipice.

         Fear is a natural part of man but those who dare to overcome fear by stepping out of their comfort zones into the warm environment of entrepreneurship are those who finally make it in life.

        Bill Crowder, writing in Our Daily Bread of December 2, 2008 quotes legendary Mark Twain as saying,

Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.  So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sail. Explore. Dream. Discover!

You have to appreciate the fact that risk comes with reward. He who does not venture will not gain and he who does not take risk will not be rewarded. 

PRACTICAL STEPS TO TOWARDS BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR   

If you have been thinking of becoming an entrepreneur but have little information on how to make the first step, then, you have to take the following into great consideration: 

1.   Scan the environment  to see

a.   What you can do; a bridge you can build.

b.   What is being done but is not being done well.

c.   What you can improve upon.

d.   Find a need and fill that need.

2.   Look  inside yourself to see

a.   What you have passion for.

b.   What ideas usually come to mind

3.   Seek counseling and information from people

Seek out people, especially those who are already in business who will be willing to share vital pieces of information with you.

4.   Understudy those who are already in that line of business      

    Take time to understudy those who are in the line of business of your

     interest. In addition, do feasibility studies on what you want to do.

5.   Start small, then grow

Do not start “big”; it is not a must that you must start “big.”  Often, it’s better to start small so that as your enterprise grows you will know how to effectively manage it.   

6.   Attend seminars/acquire training       

Entrepreneurship requires continuous stream of information. In fact you need to keep abreast of latest developments in your area of entrepreneurial activity.   

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND HOW TO MAKE MONEY      

        This is the secret of ages. There is no particular model. What works for one may not necessarily work for another. Succinctly stated, while money-making requires elements of financial intelligence, it principally has to do with commonsense. The hard aspect of commonsense is that it is not common. No one can be taught commonsense by attending Harvard University, Lagos Business School, etcetera. It is available to all of us in larger quantities. The key is possessing ability in identifying and utilizing commonsense.

        In money-making, commonsense teaches you to look where others overlook, to see worth in worthless things and places. In money-making, you must learn to respect Kobo for Naira to be able to honour your invitation to make your treasure box its abode. To make money, you must first of all:

1.   Identify a need.

2.   Identify source of meeting identified needs.

3.   Being the bridge between the need and the needy.

4.   Setting machineries in motions towards harnessing the opportunities available and your potentials as the go-getter.

DEVELOP AND MARKET YOUR SKILLS

Exercise your giftings – Fan your gift into flame (II Tim. 1:6-7, NIV). Tell the world who you are and what you can do with who you are (cf. John 7:3-4). Although, this piece of advise given to Jesus in John 7:3-4 by some of His kinsmen was in bad faith, it obviously is one of the most PR and advertising counsels anyone would give or receive. It all boils down to this – tell the world who you are and what you can do. Nobody knows the stuff you are really made of until you say it by yourself. You are your own best PR and advertising agency. Dare anyone to dare you on that which is or are your unique selling points. A trial will go a long to convince anyone who is doubtful of your claims. 

SUGGESTED IDEA AREAS FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURES   

        I want to suggest areas that prospective entrepreneurs should focus attention on. These are only suggestions, which should be improved upon.

1.   Services – provision of services of all types, car wash, auto repairs, and training; educational provisions for dropouts, adults, preparatory classes such as conducting lessons for people,  which may likely grow to become full blown educational institutions, etcetera.

2.   Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) - software design, engineering and development.

3.   Agribusiness – poultry and poultry feed production; animal husbandry and cash crops production.

4.   NGOs - Floating NGOs that are targeted at solving different society’s problems.

5.   Communication – printing and publishing, consultancy, etcetera.

6.   Crafts – designs, weaving, carving, etcetera.

7.   Sales and marketing – providing services for manufacturers, manufacturers’ representatives, etcetera.

8.   From waste to wealth – refuse disposal, human waste disposal, scraps (metal and aluminum), etcetera.      

Writing on, The Lure of Entrepreneuring, Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase, one of the foremost promoters of entrepreneurship in Nigeria in his well published monthly magazine, Success Digest of February, 1998 edition, page 47 wrote this timely piece as he asks and challenges us: Have you ever been in the vicinity where human waste is being emptied from a septic tank? Right, you’ve got it: it’s not a nice place to be around! What with flies and the foul smelling odour that fill the air. The people providing the important service of emptying septic tanks have a nice slogan that puts the reward of their job in a sweet-smelling perspective. They say, ‘Owo igbe kii run,’ which means that ‘human waste money does not smell.’ And I agree with them absolutely, it doesn’t! But I have been thinking. Suppose there is a product in the market which can be poured into a septic tank and, a few hours later, dries up the excreta, wouldn’t it be nice? Imagine the septic tank being emptied without everyone in the neighbourhood feeling the discomfort of foul smell for as many hours as the exercise lasts. ‘That will be wonderful,’ did you say? Well, you have the opportunity of bringing that product to the marketplace. And all home owners in Nigeria, if not in ECOWAS, will be grateful to you for bringing a badly needed product within their reach. How can you go about it? Your first step is to find a chemist who can come up with the right formulation (or you could come up with the formulation if you know how to) that will accomplish the task described and, pronto, you are on your way to becoming a millionaire!

    “Of course, it is not as simple as I’ve put it. There is a lot of hard work and persistence before you can reach that promise land. But it is worth the effort.  Just remember, nothing good comes easy! So, get cracking, and I’ll see you at the top some day soon!”

SUMMARY

        To empower yourself economically requires more hard work than goodluck. There are two types of luck - one is illusory but the other is real. Real luck is when opportunity meets preparation. Do not befriend mediocrity. Avoid the company of lazy people. Work hard and give no sleep to your eyes. Pray and seek the face of GOD (Job 8:5-7, 21).

    Thank you and may God richly bless all of us in Jesus’ name!