Lol.
Valid thoughts but ensure you put your decisions within the context of your circumstances.
Don’t enter one chance oh.
Not everyone is born to be a CEO and not every CEO should actually be running a business. There is no right or wrong position here other than the fact that you need to know and be true to yourself as you decide to stick to your 9-5 or run a business.
Not every idea deserves to be launched as a startup so clearly, ideas are not enough.
Starting a business is all about taking risks and the successful entrepreneurs, I have found, are those that take very calculated risks.
From my personal experience, here are the top questions you need to ask yourself before deciding to quit your 9-5 job and start a business in 2020.
1.How willing are you to start small?
I once had a friend who returned from abroad, quit his job here in Nigeria to start a business which supplies African stores in the US African stables. He rented an office at Ikeja, employed a receptionist before taking the steps of looking for suppliers. Rent was running and salaries were being paid to employees doing practically nothing, yet he hadn’t as much as shipped one kg of African staples out of Nigeria as he was still trying to secure deals with suppliers.
Do not put the cart before the horse in a bid to impress people who do not even know you exist or care less about you. Know the basics of your business and start from there to gain your traction. Every other thing will fall in place with time.
2.Before quitting your 9-5, have you tried running this as a side hustle?
I think one of the smartest thing you can do for yourself is to try and run your idea as a side hustle for a few months before deciding to quit or stay. I’m not saying cheat on your bosses time but I’m saying push yourself beyond the limit of your work. See, you can do your 9-5 excellently, add incredible value to the organization while also using your spare time to run your business. In the early days of brown button, I worked midnights giving instructions to staff, weekends was spent doing brown button stuff.
It will stress you, push you, frustrate you and eventually reward you with a clear path on whether you want to do this full time or stick with your 9-5.
3.What is your risk appetite?
Running a business involves a lot of risks. You have to take calculated risks when deciding to quit your 9-5 in Favour of entrepreneurship. You will get the freedom you desire but you will learn very fast that bills don’t pay themselves.
The rule of entrepreneurship is simple...
If you don’t work, you don’t eat!
Do you have multiple sources of income or family members that can support while you try to find your feet? I’ve had married friends consider deeply if at least one of them still has a full time salary paying job while the other takes the leap of faith into entrepreneurship.
All those calling in sick to the office one million times while on 9-5, sneaking away before closing time while leaving your jacket behind your chair and books opened on your table won’t cut it when you become an entrepreneur oh. If you do that, Na yourself you Dey do
4.If you really do not like responsibility, perhaps you should stick to your 9-5.
By going into entrepreneurship, salaries must be paid, you must continually find a way to make customers satisfied and office must be open and running. Not to scare you but you must be comfortable with the idea that sometimes, everyone will get a credit alert at month end except you
In summary, don’t get pressured or carried away with all these talk about creating jobs for yourself or quitting your 9-5 because you are serving others. We don’t all have to start something, and when we do start something, it’s people who will still help by working with us on our mission.
There will always be different strokes for different folks.
You can start your agriculture or farm as a side hustle first and watch it grow.. Truth is you will work even harder than you used to.
Just do you!
Source: WhatsApp group.