I WILL PAY TO BE AN EMPLOYEE AGAIN

The debate about the superiority of entrepreneurship and paid employment is plain stupid, pointless, naive and unnecessary. At best it’s dangerous and completely misguided.

I have had a good taste of both worlds, being an employee for 13 years and running my business for 7, now doing it full time.

One is not more noble or important than the other. We all are free to make our choices for whatever reasons and at whatever time we choose to, and be proud of it.

Your dream as an entrepreneur is not more valid than someone’s dream as an employee to fully maximise their potentials. Make no mistake, I’ll rather be employed as the MD of Starbucks than run my current enterprise especially in this rugged jungle called Nigeria.

Make no mistake, I love what I do, yes I do and I am starting to get rewards from it, but it’s far from a bed of roses + I have to constantly watch my back, it’s an unending emotional roller coaster.

If I had to do it again, I will choose the same trajectory of starting out being an employee, then growing into business. In fact I will be wiling to pay for it!

Why? 

1. I have learnt the most about building a sustainable, scalable business, working as an employee.

2. I acquired the capital to start and run my biz for 4 years before being reasonably profitable.

3. It gave me d financial safety cushion to finally launch out and try the treacherous waters.

Being in paid employment formed a solid base for me to fund my vision, actualise my dream and gain the requisite skills, competence and experience required in running an organisation. Things I could probably not have learned or appreciated in the four walls of a business school. 

Earning a salary is not a bribe to forget your dreams, Nigerian Motivational Speakers & Pastopreneurs MUST stop this nonsense narrative, it’s dangerously one sided.

Would you say Tim Cook’s, Marissa Mayer’s, Jack Welch’s, Indra Nooyi’s dreams were not valid? Such myopism.

By all means be an entrepreneur if you so desire, I will do it again and again because it’s given me the most satisfaction, sense of purpose and I have been at my most productive, but never ever discount or shame honest, hardworking and smart employees, who indeed make the world go round.

I wonder who will grow that your business idea for you.