The prospect of being a CEO is always exciting in the airconditioned hall or conference room but it is a different reality as soon as you hand in your resignation letter.

We are quick to celebrate successful entrepreneurial tales without considering the cumulative effort behind these spellbinding TedEx worthy stories.

I am not being pessimistic or sour.

Entrepreneurship has been romanticized by many thought leading millenials but it is a daredevil stunt as far as the Nigerian economy is concerned.

Telling your boss to go get a life (because you think you are about to ride into the sunset hitch free )will give you a thrombosis if you don't have at least five to nine serious clients who keeps coming back.

Being an entrepreneur is not easy. It takes guts and a tough skin. Dark moments will cause you to plunge into despair( even when you have struck out with a plan). Dreams fizzle out because the young "CEO" didn't realize the harsh reality of "going out" on a limb. Failure is a necessary part of the success process. Some failures are mainly setbacks.You will bounce back.

A friend of mine(Let me call him "Amos" had a dream to sell pancakes.The ultimate dream is to open a breakfast cafe but he started flipping pancakes to test the waters . He quit his pain-in-the-rectum job to flip and sell pancakes.At least,being insulted by people who think they are better than you at his old job gave Amos a pain in the rectum.Amos died every morning after walking the streets of Otta trying to butter people to buy his pancakes but no dice.

Amos lived like a Bangladeshi sex slave. Constantly beat up and exhausted. Man-hyenas and inflatable Grim Reaper dolls laughed at him in his dreams.He experienced sinking feelings daily.It was a nightmare.

In no time,Amos got a job.It was hellish too (You can never find peace in your soul as an employee if the Heavens have called you to be an entrepreneur)but at least, he could buy Three crowns milk for his garri.

I have worked for startups, a logistic company, a guesthouse and a couple of online platforms and I can say with confidence that entrepreneurship is nirvana. It is definitely worth a try if you want to live your life without fetters and the fear of premature aging.

I have said it many times. Entrepreneurship is bliss, the freedom to make spontaneous decisions. Working at home in your pyjamas on your laptop while crunching cornflakes or sipping coffee is second to none.Your peers are probably still at the bustop at 9:05 on a typical Monday morning. Hissing and staring at their wristwatches.

But,don't be quick to bash them.They just simply made a logical decision. I still check out job openings. Even now, I am looking for an A & R job. Money today,Money next week is not giving mans erections at all.

Like Amos,many are in the entrepreneurial deep end and holding on to floating rafts.

To you,I will say.

1.) Get a job.
2.) Put your pet project on the back burner for now and give your best.

3.) After some time,figure out the resources you have in terms of time, energy and saved money.

4.) Then,have a plan and make sure it is foolproof. Put emotions aside when working on the plan.

5.) Test and tweak your business idea on the weekends and on vacations.

6.) Be conservative with your decision making. Give your transition time while positioning yourself to take that big step.

7.) Take it one step at a time.

We owe it to ourselves and our offspring to chase our dreams but don't ditch your 9 to 5 until you have mastered the basics. Let us think of our income streams.Let us cover our groin areas before someone takes a free kick.

So, before you quit your job at FCMB to become the next big thing on CNN Voices or the next resilient and hard-as-nails entrepreneur prancing the stage at TedEx.Ask yourself this question..

"Can I handle it?"

PS:By the way,if you are wondering what happened to Amos(or who he is).Well,I am him or he is I.You get the point?We are both one and the same.Have a great day.









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