₦airaland Forum

I did not write this topic to discourage entrepreneurs but rather to present a balanced view on both sides. that is why we have a follow up topic
www.nairaland.com/2888090/ten-reasons-why-should-entrepreneur
by all means do read and contemplate both sides thoroughly before deciding where you belong.
cheers

InvertedHammer:
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You are only operating on your level.

Kweku Adoboli for example was earning $700k/yr equivalent in a year as an employee. There are many people in their early 20S earning more. And they are considered middle class. Let me see you beat that record with your successful entrepreneurship.
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You see, this is why there's so much unhappiness in the country today as most of you go through life thinking it's some kind of competition with others. No vision.
Of course you are right. I am operating at my level and at any point in time I want to keep operating within my capabilities. You see friend, the question is, what do you want from life? A lot of Nigerian youths do not get to ask this and walk blindly into a hard life of living by certain standards which they think society has set for them. So for you, it has to be $700k/yr or failure. ...and so it goes for many others, all the while missing the most important business of enjoying life. What works for Mr. A, works for Mr. A and what works for Mr. B works for Mr. B. Now why Mr. C is soooooo concerned about why Mr. B isn't living like Mr. A, instead of finding out what works for Mr. C, is one of the reasons why we are having this discussion this morning. If we were to go by your $700k/yr analogy, then the number of unsuccessful employees would FAR outweigh the successful ones.
The first question always should be, "What do I want from life."

InvertedHammer:
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I have a friend who retired and moved to Abuja. He gets about $8,000/month from his 401k, social security and Roth IRA. That is about N2.4m every month for the rest of his life for not doing anything. He has houses and cars from his paid employment. He is currently a salesperson for a SA solar company to keep body and soul together. At 70, what else can one pray for. His medical needs are covered. That's a good deal. And he wasn't an entrepreneur.
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You see?! Do you now know the millions of Nigerian graduates earning 12k to 20k per month without pension (please ask around) for the past 10 years with absolutely no prospects of ending up like your very okay friend? Now compare what they'd ever achieve with such a reality, to the thousands of women frying Akara by the road side (they are not considered entrepreneurs by the way) who have been able to put their kids through schools with proper education after years of hard work and consistently taking mitigated risks?

When we say entrepreneurship/paid employment the tendency is to see a Dangote/Alex Otti divide as against a failure. What I am stressing is that we don't have to ignore the thousands of small success stories between just to score a point.

butanep:
That so called Alex Otti is a poor man when some business men or entrepreneur are talking.

Every thing in d world is relative. Poor is relative, rich is relative. He is done well in his career, retired and now in d said entrepreneurship with wealth of experience and expertise.

aprokomania:
More often than not, the internet is flooded with information on reasons why every one should be entrepreneurs. While I do not doubt that it is necessary that more people embrace self employment, it is also necessary for people to have an open mind towards employment and look at the pros and cons of both before delving to start the next Microsoft. The following are reasons why there should be more people in employment than there are now.

1 LESS RISK
Granted, it is a a fact that there are risks to being in paid employment, however, you are more likely to retain your job than a business start-up is to thrive in the market.. Statistically speaking, 90 percent of start ups are bound to close in the first five years of existence. In fact, by its very definition, an entrepreneur is one who is willing to take risks.
TIP, think of this-its almost always news when a company lays off a number of workers but it gets no mention when the same number of business start-ups or SMEs close down.

2 DEFINED WORK HOURS
It is an obvious advantage for many employees that their work hour is defined. Usually, right from your employment you are told when you will be needed to work, and often times, you get paid for any extra time spent. For an entrepreneur however, work hours are usually not defined as they have to work around the clock to ensure that the business goes smoothly.

3 DEFINED CAREER PATH
Also, being in paid employment in most cases offers you an opportunity to rise to the top of the ladder. It is expected that if you spend a certain amount of time, or put in extra effort on a job, you ought to get promoted as often as possible till you get to the pinnacle of your career. For a business owner, the career path is not defined, as your rise to the top is solely dependent on how well your business does. If it crashes, you burn with it.

4 DEFINED PAY
Related to the above point is the fact that with your rise to the top of the corporate ladder, your pay is defined as you go along. In most corporate environments, there is a fixed salary scale which serves as a guide for payment. This is an advantage because it can help the employee plan and make adequate budget for the month under review. An entrepreneur in most cases does not have this advantage because his take home pay is dependent on the amount of effort put in to the business. Fluctuations in monthly income is usually the case.

5 SOMEONE HAS TO DO IT
This point is pretty much self explanatory. Imagine if everyone of us owned a business, who then would be the workers to carry out the running of said business? That being said, who then should be an entrepreneur and who should be a worker? We examine that in the next point.

6 NOT EVERYONE CAN START A BUSINESS
An entrepreneur is someone who has developed the strength of character and resolve of will to be a leader and a go getter in the business world. Not every one possesses the innate ability to own a business. Several people have tried to set up shop and failed at it, perhaps that explains why there are so many businesses that end up comatose.

7 SPECIAL EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
Most companies have special packages to see to their employees welfare. Such packages include leaves, paid vacations, as well as healthcare and child support. While it is not a hard and fast rule for all companies, there are many of such advantages in paid employment. For most start ups actually, such fringe benefits are not applicable. It is not only the case with start ups however, but even established business owners usually do not bother to claim such special benefits for themselves as most have to see to the running of their business enterprises daily.

8 NARROWER RANGE OF SKILLS NEEDED
As an employee, you are usually employed to fill a particular need. For example, you may be employed in accounts, IT, or admin. Hence, your specialization is only needed in your field. For a business owner however, and especially with start ups, they have to be proficient in a whole range of skills and abilities as they usually are solely responsible for running and ensuring the success of their business.

9 OPPORTUNITY TO DIVERSIFY
As an employee in an organization, you can decide to pursue other job opportunities if you are not satisfied with your lot in a company. You can even decide to augment your income with other sources such as a business by the side of your main employment. An entrepreneur however must better his lot within the confines of his occupation.

10 OPPORTUNITY FOR LEARNING
Last but not the least is that you have the opportunity to learn more about how organizations are run, as well as other aspects of the job that will come in handy if you do decide to start your own business later.
So there you have it. While we do not mean to discourage people from starting up their businesses, it is ideal that you properly weigh the advantages and disadvantages before you delve into it. What do you think? You can have your say in www.hoomadeit.com/2016/01/ten-reasons-why-you-should-be-employee.html?m=1 comment section below.

Anybody who believes and likes this post is Lazy,and will remain poor for the rest of his or her life

toyetade:
Very good points. What does a 24 year old graduate know to start a self employment. You will only limit how far you can go in life. You need a period of apprenticeship. A period when you are humbled and undergo development. A good employment can transform your life and give you a solid foundation in life. I thank God my early employment completely transformed my life. With some years in an accountancy firm, Today myself and my family are british citizens with loads of achievement which I would not have achieved if I have to be my own boss. It is worth it. You can still find a good employment out there.

And when u can't get dt employment after 7yrs of searching, what do u do sit at home idle ba

aprokomania:
More often than not, the internet is flooded with information on reasons why every one should be entrepreneurs. While I do not doubt that it is necessary that more people embrace self employment, it is also necessary for people to have an open mind towards employment and look at the pros and cons of both before delving to start the next Microsoft. The following are reasons why there should be more people in employment than there are now.

1 LESS RISK
Granted, it is a a fact that there are risks to being in paid employment, however, you are more likely to retain your job than a business start-up is to thrive in the market.. Statistically speaking, 90 percent of start ups are bound to close in the first five years of existence. In fact, by its very definition, an entrepreneur is one who is willing to take risks.
TIP, think of this-its almost always news when a company lays off a number of workers but it gets no mention when the same number of business start-ups or SMEs close down.

2 DEFINED WORK HOURS
It is an obvious advantage for many employees that their work hour is defined. Usually, right from your employment you are told when you will be needed to work, and often times, you get paid for any extra time spent. For an entrepreneur however, work hours are usually not defined as they have to work around the clock to ensure that the business goes smoothly.

3 DEFINED CAREER PATH
Also, being in paid employment in most cases offers you an opportunity to rise to the top of the ladder. It is expected that if you spend a certain amount of time, or put in extra effort on a job, you ought to get promoted as often as possible till you get to the pinnacle of your career. For a business owner, the career path is not defined, as your rise to the top is solely dependent on how well your business does. If it crashes, you burn with it.

4 DEFINED PAY
Related to the above point is the fact that with your rise to the top of the corporate ladder, your pay is defined as you go along. In most corporate environments, there is a fixed salary scale which serves as a guide for payment. This is an advantage because it can help the employee plan and make adequate budget for the month under review. An entrepreneur in most cases does not have this advantage because his take home pay is dependent on the amount of effort put in to the business. Fluctuations in monthly income is usually the case.

5 SOMEONE HAS TO DO IT
This point is pretty much self explanatory. Imagine if everyone of us owned a business, who then would be the workers to carry out the running of said business? That being said, who then should be an entrepreneur and who should be a worker? We examine that in the next point.

6 NOT EVERYONE CAN START A BUSINESS
An entrepreneur is someone who has developed the strength of character and resolve of will to be a leader and a go getter in the business world. Not every one possesses the innate ability to own a business. Several people have tried to set up shop and failed at it, perhaps that explains why there are so many businesses that end up comatose.

7 SPECIAL EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
Most companies have special packages to see to their employees welfare. Such packages include leaves, paid vacations, as well as healthcare and child support. While it is not a hard and fast rule for all companies, there are many of such advantages in paid employment. For most start ups actually, such fringe benefits are not applicable. It is not only the case with start ups however, but even established business owners usually do not bother to claim such special benefits for themselves as most have to see to the running of their business enterprises daily.

8 NARROWER RANGE OF SKILLS NEEDED
As an employee, you are usually employed to fill a particular need. For example, you may be employed in accounts, IT, or admin. Hence, your specialization is only needed in your field. For a business owner however, and especially with start ups, they have to be proficient in a whole range of skills and abilities as they usually are solely responsible for running and ensuring the success of their business.

9 OPPORTUNITY TO DIVERSIFY
As an employee in an organization, you can decide to pursue other job opportunities if you are not satisfied with your lot in a company. You can even decide to augment your income with other sources such as a business by the side of your main employment. An entrepreneur however must better his lot within the confines of his occupation.

10 OPPORTUNITY FOR LEARNING
Last but not the least is that you have the opportunity to learn more about how organizations are run, as well as other aspects of the job that will come in handy if you do decide to start your own business later.
So there you have it. While we do not mean to discourage people from starting up their businesses, it is ideal that you properly weigh the advantages and disadvantages before you delve into it. What do you think? You can have your say in www.hoomadeit.com/2016/01/ten-reasons-why-you-should-be-employee.html?m=1 comment section below.

Beautiful nonsense, what happens when you can't get d employment after 7yrs of searching sit at home idle ba mumu op

If everyone tolls ur reasoning there won't b any opportunity to b employee again BC d employers r entrepreneurs

ogawisdom:
Beautiful nonsense, what happens when you can't get d employment after 7yrs of searching sit at home idle ba mumu op

If everyone tolls ur reasoning there won't b any opportunity to b employee again BC d employers r entrepreneurs

Exactly. In the developed world(which we strive so much to be like), private businesses are the biggest employers while the government is the smallest. The small bakery behind your house employs 12 people, the ice cream shop next door employs 4, that restaurant employs 10. However in 9ja, it's either Dangote or the leper on the street begging for N10.
Abeg, let me go out. My market survey today has to do with rural areas close to where I stay. 2 local govts to cover today. Wish me luck abeg.

Mr Moderator coming from you this is BAD ADVICE.

People have a right to aspire to own business, its wrong to tell people the opposite.

ogawisdom:
And when u can't get dt employment after 7yrs of searching, what do u do sit at home idle ba

Yes only then you can think of what u can do. This is different from people just coming out of school and saying they want to be an enterprenau.

Got your point bro.. Bottom line is.. No employee can be richer than his employer. Just as you said, not all are millionaires, yet we determine where and how we survive and feed: either by way of being your own boss or by being another's employee... It's a choice, I chose the former though.

InvertedHammer:
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Not necessarily. Employees may feel the first impact, but they will not feel the worst impact.
Before the entrepreneur packs up, he/she must have gone through psychological and financial trauma
that might not be easily visible to untrained eyes. Remember that businesses rarely fail overnight. Usually before
it gets to that point, the employees could feel it coming. Failure hurts one and all. The ones that get fired lose
their source of income while an entrepreneur with failed business adventure loses source of income, capital, self-worth;
undergoes emotional trauma and might even have bank loans to pay back--that in itself is one heck of another stress.

My point is that building wealth is not easy else everybody will be a millionaire. We have millionaire employees and millionaire
entrepreneurs just as we have employees that are barely hanging on and entrepreneurs who can barely make payrolls.


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stanley99a:
Low mind thinking

Over-zealous and unrealistic thinking!

InvertedHammer:
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How many 7up companies are there? Thank you. You said that if you fail, you can brace up again. You forget that capital is a limiting factor. You sound as if there are millions of naira sitting in the banks waiting for one to tap into on failure. It is an unrealistic expectation.

Think of a world where everyone is a successful entrepreneur. Some people have it and others don't.
You don't have to be an entrepreneur to live a good life.

I remember a few years back when banks in Nigeria published the names of businesses that are in default. It was a little bit of an eye opener for some people to know that the otherwise successful businesses are living on bad loans. If not for Nigerian factor, such companies would have filed for chapter 11 since.

Everyone is not cut out to be an entrepreneur. The ones that have it in them are not here arguing pros and cons of entrepreneurship. They are out there making deals. Running a successful business in Nigeria is very difficult. Thus, a lot of the successful ones are tied to the apron of politics. At the end of each era of government, it takes with it a litany of failed enterprises.
Some people don't understand the rigours of business until they start. If you can do it, go for it. If you are gainfully employed in a standard organization, try to work yourself up. There is a certain threshold that once crossed, chances of being poor again in life is very slim. You don't have to be a billionaire to be comfortable in life.



That's all.

Until we start thinking of how to be self empowered other than how to get employed. Nigeria will keep wallowing in unemployment.

toyetade:
Yes only then you can think of what u can do. This is different from people just coming out of school and saying they want to be an enterprenau.

So what happened to it? We don't go to school to become an employee but to use our knowledge for creativity.


Becoming an entrepreneur should even start as an undergraduate. If everyone have such ideas, Nigeria will become a better place.

butanep:
So what happened to it? We don't go to school to become an employee but to use our knowledge for creativity.


Becoming an entrepreneur should even start as an undergraduate. If everyone have such ideas, Nigeria will become a better place.

it us not only about making money. Period after school is a time if apprentiship. It is a time to develop your
interpersonal skills through team working ,your humility forming your character on which your success in life depends.

coolhamid:
This is what I call bullshit, stop bringing out reasons to be an employee where there's none..
Why will a man settle for less ?
You can choose to be an employee for the rest of your life, but stop advising people to remain an employee like you.

Why not work hard to become an employer of labour ?

Leave him nw, he wan settle 4 less, make e go check d world rich list nd tell me employee dtz der. Did he even knw d job is nt secure, if dem fire am he go join pple wey get xperience 4 labour market

i am employee but an employer: What am i?

That is why your mind is shallow.low thinking mind set with an average result. the writer of this topic can not be wealthy because risk taking is an attitude of the wealthy people. Thinking within the box is an error

The OP is very correct because not everyone has the ability to be creative and independent,some people are born to serve others just like the OP who derives satisfaction from been loyal to his boss for the rest of his life.

Invariably,empolyees are people who regardless of how much they earn,have pledged allegience to become eternal slaves to their bosses and thereby accepting things just the way tney are.

An employee who earns a million naira is surely working for a boss who earns a trillion naira.There's no way on earth you can be a rich employee because all you earn goes into your expenses column which indirectly becomes someone else's income.

All these people attacking the OP, if they get a 15 million naira a year job, they would rush at it. Reminds me of those guys who claim that it doesn't matter what class of degree you graduate with. If you are criticizing the OP, kindly state how much your entrepreneurship is making for you and I would give you proof of several employees earning more than you and with less stress.

@ topic, the odds of being a wealthy employee or a wealthy entrepreneur are exactly the same. Success of any kind is difficult and would not be within the reach of a large majority of people. The path you choose would depend on your personality type.

malachytochukwu:
Got your point bro.. Bottom line is.. No employee can be richer than his employer. Just as you said, not all are millionaires, yet we determine where and how we survive and feed: either by way of being your own boss or by being another's employee... It's a choice, I chose the former though.

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An employee of a car-washing outlet can never be richer than his employer. But with proper education, the employee can move to something better and be able to swim in an ocean the car-wash owner will be afraid to step into.

Entrepreneurs can invest and be wealthy as long as employees do not rise in rank in the office and formulate policies that will kill off the entrepreneurs overnight. The trio of Sanusi, Okonjo Iweala and Emefiele (all career civil servants) had at some points pursued policies that made Dangote shake in his boots. Don't underestimate the power of the so-called employees. Then again, there are different levels of employees which is why I advocate that one should work one's way up just the same way an entrepreneur would in business adventures.

Being an employee in a standard organization with opportunities for growth is very good. Some investment portfolios of some employees will make some entrepreneurs abandon ship if such opportunities call.
You and I know that Nigeria does not reward professionalism which is why some people tend to look down on employees while forgetting that the directors today were once entry-level employees.

NB: Do not get stuck in a stagnant organization.
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I don't agree it's better to be an entrepreneur.

I understand you quite well sir. Let me quickly point out one fact that those people (okonjo etc) are not "employees" in the light most people might see it. They are all big time entrepreneurs... Check out their investments and you will marvel. Thank you very much.

InvertedHammer:
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An employee of a car-washing outlet can never be richer than his employer. But with proper education, the employee can move to something better and be able to swim in an ocean the car-wash owner will be afraid to step into.

Entrepreneurs can invest and be wealthy as long as employees do not rise in rank in the office and formulate policies that will kill off the entrepreneurs overnight. The trio of Sanusi, Okonjo Iweala and Emefiele (all career civil servants) had at some points pursued policies that made Dangote shake in his boots. Don't underestimate the power of the so-called employees. Then again, there are different levels of employees which is why I advocate that one should work one's way up just the same way an entrepreneur would in business adventures.

Being an employee in a standard organization with opportunities for growth is very good. Some investment portfolios of some employees will make some entrepreneurs abandon ship if such opportunities call.
You and I know that Nigeria does not reward professionalism which is why some people tend to look down on employees while forgetting that the directors today were once entry-level employees.

NB: Do not get stuck in a stagnant organization.
/

malachytochukwu:
I understand you quite well sir. Let me quickly point out one fact that those people (okonjo etc) are not "employees" in the light most people might see it. They are all big time entrepreneurs... Check out their investments and you will marvel. Thank you very much.

/
In other words, you are acknowledging that some people do not understand the difference between investing and entrepreneurship. You can invest money without being an entrepreneur whereas you cannot be an entrepreneur without investing money.

We hear about the likes of Zuckerberg. But you don't hear about the employees or other investors that are worth hundreds of millions of dollars from Facebook alone. They might not have Zuckerberg's money (there is only one) but chances are that if they start something on their own, they may never see that kind of money in their lives. Steve Jobs died but Apple billionaire/millionaire employees and investors are still alive and kicking.

Like I stated, if you find a good organization, run with it. How many organizations in Nigeria survive the death of their founders? This is the problem and not necessarily being employees.
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It's a nice thing to be an entrepreneur, you may not be physically there to run the business but believe me, praying to be an employee is not a good one to me..... All the big men I have ever associated with have one business or the other. Employee has only one definition, no amount of "painting" will shift it's meaning. Some dudes here in shell and total are smelling it real hot, while the wise ones that started up business do not bat an eyelid to the economic situation. I subscribe to "work for someone for a while but don't pray to be retired by the company you work for.... Go ahead and retire while still not tired" Start up business today and you would never regret it, be it recharge card business.

InvertedHammer:
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In other words, you are acknowledging that some people do not understand the difference between investing and entrepreneurship. You can invest money without being an entrepreneur whereas you cannot be an entrepreneur without investing money.

We hear about the likes of Zuckerberg. But you don't hear about the employees or other investors that are worth hundreds of millions of dollars from Facebook alone. They might not have Zuckerberg's money (there is only one) but chances are that if they start something on their own, they may never see that kind of money in their lives. Steve Jobs died but Apple billionaire/millionaire employees and investors are still alive and kicking.

Like I stated, if you find a good organization, run with it. How many organizations in Nigeria survive the death of their founders? This is the problem and not necessarily being employees.
/

I appreciate your opinion o but sincerely speaking had it been we were in the early 19th century I would have apllauded you. This things do not work again. Talking about experience I bet you have never tried starting a company if not you would have known that in becoming your own boss you have to grow in talents, you will have to acquire a lot of skills and u become in charge of your life.