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I attempted to bring about a new light on what entrepreneurship is all about in my previous post and how important it is to achieve this state of mind called entrepreneurship.  I literarily debunked the old thinking that entrepreneurship translates to being self-employed or any other form of career that frees you from the 9-6 regular job. Entrepreneurship is simply a state of mind where economic opportunities are recognized and seized.

 

 

Let’s assume you have a full time employment with a bank and through your experience as an account officer, you discovered some loop holes amongst importers seeking for facility to procure goods. You realized that most of them have good business plan but do not know how to present a good business plan to the bank; this deficiency prevents the importers from getting the support of the bank.

 

 

You immediately saw this as an opportunity and decided to help one of the semi-illiterate importers to construct an effective business plan free of charge. The importer got the facility and was so glad that he gave you 20K Naira to thank you; he knew the business plan you wrote for him did the trick because he has been turned down so many times by different banks. He used the business plan you wrote for other banks and the result was positive.

 

 

You started getting calls from other importers asking you to write business plan for them since you were bothered about the way the bank may feel about this. You asked most of them to meet you at home over the weekend and to prevent the traffic of callers, you charged them 50K Naira for each business plan. You were shocked that despite the increased charges, the traffic increased.

 

 

You decided to open an office and employ a secretary that will collect all the work from the importers to avoid them coming to your house. After some point, you realized that the money you get from this personal runs of yours was 3 times your salary. You also know instinctively that you could do more if you quit your appointment with the bank so you gave yourself a deadline of one year to see the way the business goes.

 

 

You got a lot of complain from the importers because you were not around; some of the business plan did not reflect their businesses and they needed some coaching in what you have written. You knew that if the business was to continue successfully, you have to resign from the bank but something keeps holding you back; you got promoted by the bank and you were issued an official car.

 

 

Then you started to do a thorough analysis of the situation;

 

As an employee:

1.      INPUT (Do what you’re asked to do.)

2.      OUTPUT (You get a paycheck.)

As an entrepreneur:

1.      INPUT (You follow your dream.)

2.      UNCERTAINTY

3.      OUTPUT (You get paid.)

    

 

 Explanation of the analysis

As an employee:

 

1.      Do what you’re asked to do.

2.      Get paid N1, 500,000/year guaranteed.

 

 

Or be an Entrepreneur and get this:

1.      Figure out what you need to do and do it.

2.      Uncertainty whether it will work.

3.      You get paid in the following ways:

a) If it doesn’t work, you either make zero naira, or you lose money and perhaps even bankrupt the business. 

b) If it works out poorly, you may make N500, 000/year. 

c) If it works out average, you may make N700, 000/year. 

d) If it works out nicely you might make N2, 000,000/year. 

e) If it really works out of you, you may make N2, 00,000 per MONTH or more.

 

 

 After the analysis, you realized that you have found what you want to do but you are uncertain if it will work out. Despite the fact that it is working now, you are uncertain that traffic will be maintained if you leave your job. It is this uncertainty that is the burden of every entrepreneur. This uncertainty troubles you when you eventually give up your job.

 

 

 As an employee, you were an entrepreneur; when you leave paid employment, you are still an entrepreneur. The only difference is that you discovered an opportunity when you were employed; the opportunity to make more money by being on your own. If you do not seize this opportunity, you have definitely violated the employee rule of seizing opportunities.

 

 

Ask yourself this question: Why are you an employee? It is the belief that you have a regular salary every month. It’s not that you make a lot of money from being an employee but that you have a “false certainty” that you will get a regular pay. This is the reason why those who have the calling to leave the employment regime stick to it. They want a sense of security that they get paid every month.

 

 

This is the burden of entrepreneurship; the uncertainty of getting regularly paid or the uncertainty that the project will be economically viable. If you take a deep look at the employee regime; every employee is working for an entrepreneur of group of entrepreneurs who are quite uncertain of every project they venture in. The entrepreneurs are so comfortable with the uncertainty that they bear the burden to make employees certain of their salary every month.

 

 

The whole concept of the Christian faith is based on being comfortable with uncertainty; faith is hence the confidence assurance that something we want is going to happen. Every true entrepreneur embodies the Christian virtue of faith; they are certain that what they hope for is waiting for them even if they cannot see it up ahead. Even if the outcome of the project is not economically viable, they are approved to be entrepreneurs because they will eventually learn from their mistakes and share with the next generations so the project can be perfected.

 

 

The sons of God are thus entrepreneurs; they are comfortable with uncertainty. They are convicted of their reality; they know that the future is sure. They do not depend on human hands; they know they are first spirit being before human being so the concept of what they do not see does not affect them. They believe in that call that prompts them and urges them to go on to a world of uncertainty. Entrepreneurs know their God so they do exploit. Entrepreneurs shape the world!