Technology

Why it would be VERY wise to start a business while you still have your day job

You must be in business for yourself, you will never get rich working for someone else.” – J. Paul Getty in his book “How to Get Rich.”

Preamble

Examples abound showing that many startups fail NOT because of the owner’s lack of “technical knowledge” about their chosen business, but often because of their lack of awareness of the many not-so-obvious dynamics that come into play. in the life of a new company, with potentially fatal implications, if not managed well.

This article alerts the veteran employee (or career person) to the need to take proactive steps EARLY to prepare for life AFTER gainful employment, suggesting that they seriously consider starting a business BEFORE you retire.

The actual situation

Too often we have seen too many people spend a significantly disproportionate amount of their lives working with one mind for their employers. Then one day, they shockingly realize that they have to leave the company having reached the maximum prescribed age limit.

Many find themselves confused, not knowing where to start, even though they leave the company with significant monetary and other retirement benefits. They are unable to generate viable business ideas and are sure that they guarantee sustainable results.

By the way, the pre-retirement courses that many would-be retirees are required to attend just before leaving their companies often fall short of providing them with hands-on exposure to the real-life business opportunities and challenges they are destined to face.

The problem

Arguably, this shouldn’t present much of a problem, as it shouldn’t be unreasonable to expect such retirees to find people who can help them decide what to do, i.e. where to invest their hard-earned retirement benefits, etc. The sad reality is that many of the retirees run the risk of being “taken to the dry cleaner” by unscrupulous people who decide to exploit the ignorance of the latter in the business areas to which they are dedicated.

Furthermore, in Nigeria there is a frustrating paucity of information, learning resources and facilities to help retirees prepare to enter the ‘real world’. As a result, they tend to venture into businesses of all kinds, some of which are really lucrative, without proper preparation. The stress/pain resulting from the trial and error approach they are forced to adopt eventually takes its toll on them, leading to frustration.

The proposed alternative

This makes it quite obvious that there is a clear need for would-be retirees to be better prepared to start and run their own businesses when they re-enter the real world. It has been said that retirement becomes a burden when people are not psychologically ready for it.

What we see daily in our society confirms that this above statement is true for many people. Therefore, what is needed is an alternative that will spare future retirees the unnecessary pain and frustration that many before them have endured.

Beware: What you bring from paid employment will not FULLY prepare you

Let me tell you this. It does not matter how many years of work experience you have gained in paid employment. It doesn’t matter how many board meetings you’ve chaired. Nothing and I mean NOTHING can COMPLETELY prepare you for the very heavy blows you will receive when you finally leave the security of gainful employment to try to make a living running your own business.

Nothing they teach in MBA school prepares you to deal with the unpredictability of the real world. No one can teach you HOW to persevere in the face of repeated market rejection and overwhelming obstacles that “seem” to conspire to prevent you from succeeding in your new life.

In my experience, starting YOUR first business after gainful employment is like becoming a baby one day and learning to crawl, then learning to walk, and finally learning to run ALL AGAIN. The difference is that it will often only take a child a few months or a year to do all of this.

In your case, the chances are (based on my experiences and the opinions of veteran entrepreneurs such as Robert Kiyosaki, James Cook, Michael Masterson and others) that it will probably take at least five (5) years to get your business up and running. . the land.

Summary

And THAT is why I honestly think it would be VERY wise to start THAT business you will turn to after retirement TODAY, NOW, if you know you want financial security in your old age.

Take this advice from someone who once enjoyed a successful career in gainful employment and subsequently chose to quit while still WAY past retirement age (ie 31) to pursue a long-held dream of venturing into the business.

that person was me. And I think that if it could have been as difficult as it turned out to be for me, despite my relative youth and energy, it is likely that ANYONE who retires after reaching the maximum age limit will find it EVEN harder to bear. the challenges necessary to achieve business success.

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