2015: The Newest Bride!

The year 2014 has

...the newest bride!

come and gone! So much testimonies…new homes, new cars, new jobs, new couple…lots but to mention few.

It is no news that economies are not looking good across the globe. Nigeria is hit severely because of her dependence on oil for decades. Revenue has dropped drastically! The Nigerian government recently called on the citizens to imbibe austerity measures in the year 2015. No doubt, the world is facing unprecedented unemployment – even in the developed world. Youth are particularly hard hit. In 2014 more students in their thousands graduated from Nigerian tertiary institutions. Many moved directly into the swollen ranks of the unemployed.

According to the International Labor Organization, youth unemployment in most of the world is stuck at about 20 percent. "Young people [are] nearly three times as likely as adults to be unemployed," says the ILO. It may surprise you to know that Nigeria is not alone in this, in Spain more than 50 percent of young people are unemployed, in Italy it's 35 percent, and in France the rate is more than 25 percent. When considering under-employment, these numbers could be doubled. It therefore instructive to state that there’s no safe haven anywhere.

Traditional methods of job creation are stalled because our government has persistently pay lip service to supporting small and medium enterprises in Nigeria.

One of the keys to solving this problem is entrepreneurship. Research shows that 80 percent of new jobs come from companies 5 years old or less. So the need for entrepreneurs has never been greater, in both developing and developed countries. When given the right conditions to flourish, entrepreneurs are the foundation of growth, prosperity and even innovation. They bring fresh thinking to the marketplace and fuel the creative destruction that makes market economies prosper.

In addition to creating jobs, new companies are the foundation of the economy and the source of much innovation. They also create the new goods and services on which our standard of living is based. The Internet slashes transaction and collaboration costs for almost every institution in an economy. This is leading to a change in how societies orchestrate capability to innovate, create goods, services and public value. With such costs falling precipitously, companies can increasingly source ideas, innovations and uniquely qualified minds from a vast global pool of talent.
Waiting for governments or big companies to solve the problem is not the answer. Necessity is the mother of invention. Is it time to take the bull by the horns and make your own job?

The best thing I ever did in my professional life was to become an entrepreneur. It was tough, but it worked out well for me and I have a life of influence, prosperity and fun beyond anything I ever dreamed. Here’s my advice to you.

1. Create customer-based business. Peter Drucker said years ago: “The purpose of any business should be to create a customer.” Create some value that a customer would want to pay you for. Also, Tony Hsieh the CEO of Zappos, said: “Chase the vision, not the money; the money will end up following you.”

2. Don’t seek big or venture capital. These days virtually no venture capitalist invest in a business plans or even early-stage companies. Besides, you don’t need them. Fortunately, it is less costly than ever to create a company (business name or limited liability). The best is to have a product or service that generates initial revenue so you don’t have to borrow money or give away equity. Or get a short-term loan or small investment from your family or friends.

3. Take advantage of the Internet. The Internet enables start-ups to focus on what you do best. Thanks to the Internet and cloud computing, small companies can now have all the capabilities of big companies, without the main liabilities: stifling bureaucracy, legacy culture and processes. Talent can be outside enterprise boundaries and companies can use the new media to market and engage stakeholders in radically new, low-cost ways.

4. Persevere. Owning business requires a lot of steadfastness. “Ninety percent of everything is just showing up.” "Success is 90 percent perspiration and 10 percent inspiration.”

It’s a lot of hard work to build a business...however, it's good to start early in the year.