Ponder on this before you seek becoming your own boss

People must do well not to allow irresponsible fellows to mislead them. Owning a business or being your own boss does not equate and will never guarantee being rich or financially comfortable. Don't allow some motivational speakers and pastors mislead you into making horrible decisions about your life.

Let me state this first. There are several well paid professionals with immense job satisfaction and good work-life balance that many entrepreneurs, business owners and innovators will spend a life time only dreaming of. Having a unique gift, idea or a large amount of money are not qualifiers for starting, owing or operating a business.

In most cases in Nigeria here, the motivation to own or start a business are usually to be one's own boss or to become rich. Creating value is seldom the case. Many are so obsessed and even satisfied with the idea of being perceived as a CEO or owner of a business not worth more than the paper upon which it is represented.

Where did the demonic idea come from that being an employee is akin to being a slave or collecting salary is the compensation for forgetting about your own dreams? Many businesses cannot and will never be able to generate enough income to even pay minimum wage salaries to 5 employees in their entire lifespan or existence. Yes, there is an early stage for a company before it starts to grow or scale, but 90% of businesses never reach that stage.

The monthly income many employees draw exceed the combined income many businesses and business owners earn in six months. And the freedom of being one's own boss those employees have, the business owners do not have it.

Most of the pastors and motivational speakers who promote these nonsense ideas have never worked a job, managed or even owned a business in their lives and you then start wondering where they get the idea from. Hey! listen here. Citing Bill Gates, Dangote, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg et al as example basis for which one should be a business owner is plain stupid and delusional. These ones are exceptions and not the rule. The rule are the many thriving SMEs. For every Dangote you see, there are thousands of other successful and rich employee business managers. Everyone cannot be a Dangote even if they desired to be. Not because they're less brilliant or business savvy, but more because there is something inexplicable about timing and opportunity in the universe. And perhaps, in some strange ways, the universe elects its own stars (topic for another day).

What happened to smart investments? You can earn extra income or become rich through intelligent investment while you are an employee. All you need be is being diligent and meticulous about identifying the right opportunities. There are numerous multi-million and multi-billion dollar investors around.

Running a business is not a walk in the park. 90% of new businesses fold up before their second year. Having the startup cash, an idea to burn it on and a brilliant mind are not enough qualifiers to succeed with the business, be financial comfortable or be rich. There is more.

Desist from the nonsense sloganeering or cliche that salary is what you are paid to forget about your dreams. Salaries are not equal. Career opportunities are not equal and job satisfactions are not equal. There are millions of jobs that guarantee better career fulfilment, work-life balance and financial income than being a business owner.

Don't let ego, vain glory and wrong entrepreneurship doctrines lead you into a life of perpetual frustration.

Visit the US patent office and you'd see hundreds of thousands of patents that have never been commercialised. Am I citing this as the reason for not inventing? Absolutely no. The emphasis here is that your motivation for inventing or entrepreneurship under whatever platform should be more than the desire to be rich or famous.
Copied from Olajide.