Build enterprise, don't start!

The gospel of entrepreneurship seems to be trending with so much hype locally, nationally and globally. It is globally acknowledged that enterprises also known as "start-ups" accounts for a significant portion of most nations' GDP and as such governmental and non-governmental efforts are being made to drive this growing sector of the economy. 

The concept of entrepreneurship is being applauded globally as a major offer to the myriads of ills that employment and underemployment has caused and still causing in our nation(s). Truth be told, many leading change agents are pushing this frontier to make the youth see potentials and capabilities that they can offer their world if their world cannot offer them much. Secondary and tertiary institutions have introduced entrepreneurial classes in the curriculum while many non-governmental organizations and religious groups are not left out. They have christened it several names ~ empowerment, skill acquisition, poverty alleviation, wealth creation etc. these are all semantics as they basically describe the same concept of entrepreneurship.

Many young folks are cashing in with the absence of jobs in the labour market, the employed are also not left out as they leverage on entrepreneurship to create multiple streams of income. Many income generating ideas spring up every day much more than what Bureau of Statistics and States Internal revenue can capture! Some go as far as learning a vocation from photography, fashion designing, make-up artistry, shoe-making, interior decorations, events decoration, catering, baking, web design and the list is endless while many others buy and sell. One thing marks all these start-ups and entrepreneurial drive; need that is being converted to value!

While this feat of entrepreneurial spirit stands remarkable in many youths, there is also an albatross that plague the youths with a pseudo belief that the other side of the meadow is greener. Have you ever asked someone what they do for a living and they start explaining away that they sell shoe and bags for now while they await jobs that might not come! What happened to "I run a mobile boutique while I look forward to expanding new frontiers in the boutique industry" 

The undoing of our entrepreneurial drive is that we run it out of desperation and more for necessity~ "to be doing something" usually not out of passion! It's more of ad-hoc while we await the real job in the corporate organizations and the multinationals. And when those jobs don't come, the morale reaches a point that it stalls and sooner or later fizzles out of the radar of income generation.

The clarion call is to build and grow our own enterprises not just to start enterprises. Key word is build and grow.

Check out this piece that caught my focus; the introduction to Micheal Gerber's website, the legend of new day entrepreneurship and see his perspective ~ "Welcome to Michael E. Gerber’s website, a place where original thinking is held at a premium, where passion is the key to admission, where entrepreneurship is not just a word, but an action. Take that action with us to become a leader of the new entrepreneur movement in your community. At michaelegerber.com, we intend to provide you with the insight, processes, passion and tools you will need to make your Dream a reality, your Vision pragmatically correct, your Purpose inspired by meaning, and your Mission to be absolute and direct."

Comments, contributions, questions and queries are welcomed on the subject matter. Email:bankysanya@gmail.com Twitter: @Bankysanya

Career, Job and Work Series 2.

Many times in life, twists and turns fall in on our path that we keep linking together one to another while we focus on the desirable end. This happens oftentimes in many aspect of life such that it is when we move near the end that ease comes and focus is directed. Building a career can sometimes take this path and differentiating among the three concepts of work, job and career might be unclear for young folks especially in a country where there is high rate of unemployment and underemployment. The word career might even look hazy and non-existent. For this purpose, it's important to describe the concepts and their relationship.

Career, job and work: the three musketeers are not left out as they are interrelated and many a time used interchangeably eventhough they mean different things.

Job in the simplest word can be described as a means of livelihood. It also describes specific activities required to be done as a duty in exchange for a specific fee or reward. Work in the same vein similar to job is activity directed towards making or doing something of occupation for which one gets paid.

Career refers to the general progression of working and professional activities over a given timeframe or lifespan. Check out this for further reading http://www.espressoenglish.net/difference-between-job-work-and-career/ 

The irony about these three concepts is that they are connected in what seems like a progression and often times linked together to arrive at an outcome. Young people can find these concepts confusing and unclear as there are no rules! 

For the purpose of career and profession building, the drive starts with a clear picture of the desirable result or outcome while progressive jobs and work opportunities are deliberately channelled in the specific direction. You can have a career in view and have a job today....that's familiar, keep active on the job, hone skills, keep learning and constantly improve. It starts on that note and then the journey progressively gets better.

A chart of personal development focussed on career is also important. In moving from one point to another, have information about the destination, how to get there and perhaps who has gone there before. Bringing that to building real life career, you must have information on the desired career, know the career requirements, be it a degree, skill, training, experience or expertise  and very importantly identify one who has achievement in the chosen career and follow after.

My charge to you today is a quote "Find a job you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life" ~ Jim Fox

For comments, complaints, questions and queries on the subject matter. Email: bankysanya@gmail.com Twitter: @Bankysanya

May Day or /mehdeh/?

Well, today is May 1 for all that cares to know. To some it might be workers day, to some it's another off work day - public holiday while to some it's another beginning of another month in the second quarter of the year.

Whichever category, May 1 has come and on its way out. . .

May Day is the International workers day also referred to as Labour movement day celebrated on 1st May. This day dates back since the 19th century (1886). It is observed in about 80 countries in the world including Nigeria.

It is characterized by rallies, town hall meetings, meetings with governments, protests by labour unions. It is marked by rallying effort to make workers life more rewarding. Sometimes focus of rally or prayer to government may be on wages/ wage increase, work conditions, safety & health. 

Ironically, May Day also sounds like mayday /mehdeh/ which signifies a distress call! Workers and labour unions make their distress calls on labour issues that matters to them. Sometimes accompanied by some jamborees.

While workers have a sense of belonging and attachment to May 1, what happens to millions of youths who are unemployed or underemployed? Don't they have any part in May Day celebration or perhaps, theirs should be 'mehdeh' distress call for rebased and yet to be fulfilled hopes, dreams, vision and blurry future?

And so /mehdeh/ mehdeh/mehdeh/mehdeh/ until something happens.