JOB FOR THE JOBLESS — Escape Route From Unemployment.

I am Bella Victor and I am jobless.

funny?

Hell No, I am truly jobless.

What is a job?

Job is a paid position of regular employment or a task or piece of work, especially one that is paid.

Getting job in Nigeria is a job.

I never knew how serious the unemployment rate in Nigeria is until I wrote a medium article title “How I worked In over 20 companies before I turned 21” since then I have gotten over 30 mails of people asking for help with their CV or asking for help to get a job.

Truth be told there is no job and there is plenty job.

Two contrading statements right?

Yes, I know….Let me explain myself.

There is no job because people don’t want to hire a liability, they are looking for asset. What I am referring to as liability inexperience people while asset are experience people.

Though I don’t believe that hiring inexperience people is a liability but see them as an asset if they know how they harnessed them.

I am not here to talk about unemployment bullshit and how to chase jobs that are not there. But I am here to talk about job for the jobless that is always available for jobless.

The job is called ENTREPRENEURSHIP

This is the option I feel every unemployed person need to be exploring but the case is reverse. I feel entrepreneurship is the life guide for unemployment.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, more than 200,000 graduate from Nigerian tertiary institution yearly but only a handful of them secure a job.

Some have given up after a long search for a job in the labour market.

Underemployment is seriously taking its toll as most Nigerian graduates take jobs below their education qualification, just to make out a living. The National Bureau of Statistic as at March, 2016 recorded that the Nigeria unemployment rate for the fourth quarter of 2015 rose to 10.1%.

The rate is higher among women than men. 8.8% of males were unemployed in the fourth quarter of 2015, while another 15.7% of males in the labour force were underemployed. 22.0% of women were underemployed at that period.

More so, many have lost their lives in the long search for a jobs that are not there. This indeed has affected Nigeria’s image negatively. For instance, during the 2014 immigration recruitment exercise into the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIC) at Abuja National Stadium, over 68,000 graduates applied for 4,500 job slots. In the process, there was a stampede in which many applicants lost their lives while over 50 others sustained injuries. Similar thing happened in Port Harcourt, Minna, Kano and Benin.

We can’t keep looking for something that is no longer there, the earlier we start embracing entrepreneurship as the escape route for unemployment the better for us.

According to Joseph Schumpeter (2008), entrepreneurship plays an important role in the capital and output growth of an economy and subsequently economic development.

By embracing entrepreneurship, we are on the quest to defeating youth unemployment.

I know your question now is how do you start this entrepeneurial journey? Don’t worry, I got you covered.

I will be sharing with you 5 steps to follow to not only discover that untapped Idea but how to execute it into a business venture.

Here are 5 steps that are required to start a business successfully. Take one step at a time, and you’ll be on your way to successful small business ownership.

Step 1: Self Audit & Evaluation

This first step is very critical because its the foundation of everything. So be very brutally honest with your answers to the following questions.

1. Why do you want to start a business?
2. What skills do you have?
3. Where does your passion lie?
4. Where is your area of expertise?
5. How much capital do you need?

Step 2: Make A Business Plan

I hate it when I hear people talk about beautiful Ideas and don’t have any written document on it. It makes you look like a joker and I know you are not one. Do you already have a killer business idea? If so, congratulations, you can proceed to the next section.

Which is the Business Plan!!! even though it’s a simple one-page business plan, it will give you clarity about what you hope to achieve and how you plan to do it. In fact, you can even create a business plan on the back of a napkin, and improve it over time. Documenting your idea in writing is always better than nothing.

Step 3: Financing Your Idea

Starting a business doesn't have to require a lot of money, but it will involve some initial investment as well as the ability to cover ongoing expenses before you are turning a profit.

But always have this at the back of your mind

It’s not what you don’t have that limit you but what you have but don’t know how to use it.

So put together a spreadsheet that estimates the one-time start-up costs for your idea ( equipment, business registration, branding, market research, etc.), as well as what you anticipate you will need to keep your business running for at least 12 months (rent, utilities, marketing and advertising, production, supplies, travel expenses, employee salaries, your own salary, etc.).

Those numbers combined is the initial investment you will need.

Step 4: Get A Team

Making money alone is sweet and beautiful but making money together with your team is intoxicating — Talking from experience.

I laugh when I see young entrepreneurs running a sole business and don’t want to get a team because they don’t want to share the profit or gain but unknown to them what they are losing out.

Unless you’re planning to be your only employee, you’re going to need to hire a great team to get your company off the ground. Joe Zawadzki, CEO and founder of MediaMath, said entrepreneurs need to give the “people” element of their businesses the same attention they give their products.

“Your product is built by people,” Zawadski said. “Identifying your founding team, understanding what gaps exist, and [determining] how and when you will address them should be top priority. Figuring out how the team will work together … is equally important. Defining roles and responsibility, division of labor, how to give feedback, or how to work together when not everyone is in the same room will save you a lot of headaches down the line.”

Step 5: Start Making Money

Your launch and first sales are only the beginning of your task as an entrepreneur. In order to make a profit and stay afloat, you always need to be growing your business. It’s going to take time and effort, but you’ll get out of your business what you put into it.

Collaborating with more established brands in your industry is a great way to achieve growth.

Then, once they have a new customer, they understand how to retain them. You’ve probably heard many people state that the easiest customer to sell to is the one you already have.

Your existing customers have already signed up for your email list, added their credit card information to your website and tested what you have to offer. In doing so, they’re starting a relationship with you and your brand. Help them feel as good about that relationship as possible.

Mistakes are going to happen, and how you deal with them and learn from them is really one of the major keys to success, If you can balance limiting your mistakes, learning from them and moving forward as soon as possible, then I think you can truly be dangerous.

Conclusion — Entrepreneurship Is The Remedy to Unemployment

Don’t get me wrong, the reality is entrepreneurship isn't just a way for you to be your own boss. It will improve you as a person because you’ll be learning new skills and growing in confidence. Five years from now you won’t be the same person, and it’s all down to entrepreneurship.

If you want to link up with a jobless fellow do well to shoot me a email at Bella@socialander.com or call the magic number 07052388866 let connect.

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