in 2013, our organization noticed our trainings were nose diving and hence needed to think otherwise and find other ways to get more regular seminars.

We reached a censesus to reach out to factory workers to train them to find alternative ways of making extra income and prepare them for retirement.

What am about to share with you are lessons I have learnt in the course of running these trainings.

And use them as tools to educate those who are working now to consider the option of starting something small while still maintaining your regular paying job.

As we ventured into these big organizations with 200+ work forces. -factory workers.

To our greatest surprise, we found people in factories that have worked 15-20+ who have no single plan for retirement.

And those who supposedly have plans are just waiting for their retirement gratuity to be paid before deciding on what business to engage.

While some are solely depending on the money from their co-operative society fund

Others have actually eaten their gratuity, because their company unions have struck a bargain with the management of their organizations to pay the gratuity over the years in installments -

The most disheartening Of it all, is that most of these people are just in the late 40s and mid 50s.

And the question I kept asking is, what if these people are retired, retrenched, resized or resigned?


These issues bring serious concern to me, and am hoping I can share my experience and also invite the learned colleagues or persons in NL to help educate others who find themselves in this situation:

-the situation of trying to be self employed while still keeping a regular making job.

-the situation of trying to know the best time to call it quit.
When to launch out, how to making it when you launch out.

Remember, the GLO-CAL (thinking global but starting local) SYNDROME is the main motivation and drive needed to launch.

Let's ride

To jump from the being employee to being self employed, certain things must be considered, taken into consideration and keenly adhered to.

The objective of my write up is just to point out the basic principles of starting a business and the needed plans to consider.

The reason why many start up fail is because many people are to quick to start, poorly prepared for the challenges ahead.

Many people catch the entrepreneur seizure. These is because they just read a great book or listened to a great motivational speech and hence decided to start a business.

The truth is.
The best time to plan your business is when you are in a paid job!


To start a business while still keeping your paid job

1. BE ABSOLUTELY CRYSTAL CLEAR ON YOUR REASON FOR STARTING A BUSINESS.

WHY do you want to start a business and enter the red shake infested sea?

Is it for you to be your own boss, to be financially independent, to have time freedom to be with your kids,wife or family, to make enough money to support a cause or just to be on records that you too started a business in your life time.

You must be sure to know why you are starting.

If it's just to have something for the future, you can engage fixed deposits to save up your money, put your retirement money in the bank and enjoy the interest as it accrue.

You need to be sure because starting a business while working will take your time, energy and resources.

It will affect your relationship, and strain you.
Trust me, I have gone through this phase of life, and it's not too funny.

Generally, the best reasons I have seen as the most appropriate to start a business is to add value, improve a service, develop alternative satisfaction.

No matter what it is, take your time.
Don't be in a rush.

Proper preparation prevents poor performance.

You can take years to plan a business because you have all the time it takes to plan. The best time to plan a business is when you are in a paid job.

I have also discovered that many youth corpers waste their service year idling away doing little or nothing.

Some are busy Wasting time and resources doing professional programs that are not relevant to their Field of study.

Service year, the period of gainful employment are the best time to start a business planning process.

In a school I worked with, I met a female corper and we started talking.

Out of curiosity I asked her, the usual question, after service, what next.?
And she gave me the usual answer, that question is over asked.!

I know I asked her that question a lot Of times....and she gave me the same answer.

To me, she had her personal plans for the days ahead!

While she was servicing, I always saw her sturfing the internet, checking out chemical formula as she said she has a strong interest for cosmetic products.

To my utmost disappointment, after service, I chat her up and asked her how far with employment and was amazed when she said she was learning decoration and even planning.

I was angry, scolded and hung up.

After about a month, we got talking again and this time, she said she was now into music.

I fainted literally

This Is how many others waste a whole year doing nothing.

And I wonder, how come no one of these young people take the compulsory trainings during camp and Cds meetings serious.

Make hay while the sun shines.

Ooops, that's over used.

It's another day, Saturday morning, the 2nd of April. Am excited because am on my way to Lagos, heading to Unilag for a training.
Oooh, just you know. Am not a speaker, am going in to sit at the back side and learn.


Am being encouraged by my colleague I work with to discuss the option of continuous working as everyone is not cut out for business.

As forceful as the society is about being your own boss, I saw first hand from this men who have been labourers for more than half their lives have serious issues crasping the concept of planning their business.

It then made sense why its said that everyone can not be an entrepreneur.

So, at this juncture, am forced to rephrase.
As you are to plan for retirement, it's not necessarily starting a new businesses, you must at all cost learn invest.

As we are still at point one which talked about being absolutely crystal clear on why you need to start.

Starting, could actually be starting your own business, learning to invest in someone else start up idea, investing your money in an existing business, buying shares etc
But, by all means you must learn to generate income after retirement.

The worst form of poverty is to be once rich and later become poor.

Bottom line is, when you get your money and you have not planned what to do with it, it will evaporate.
And once that happens,the once rich statement becomes unavoidable.

The worst thing you can do with gratuity money is to build a house with it.
My friends, this was the situation we saw.most of the men we met, were already planning using their monies to build houses.

And we asked them, by the time you finish building the house, what will then happen to you.
And someone answered, bury me in it'

Kul