Career - Power Your Future
Up & Down the Corporate
Slave and Free Bird Lane
10 lessons learned as an entrepreneur and employee
Text: Nubi Kayode, EESTEC Alumni
Photographs: Nubi Kayode, EESTEC Alumni
2. No sitting on the fence. All in or go home.
I call it the fly or die philosophy and apply it
to all of my entrepreneurial ventures. No point
starting what you are passionate about and
giving yourself enough runway to fly or crash.
So I make a 3 months plan, list my goals and
objectives as well as get the resource to sustain the effort. If after the time elapses there’s
no validation I close shop and move. No point
beating a dead horse when you can always
mount (or groom) another. That said…
Upon graduation with a B.Sc (Hons) Electrical and Electronics Engineering degree from
Eastern Mediterranean University in 2011,
I knew I had the option of either starting my
business or becoming an employee to that
dream job. It’s been 3 year since then and I
have had a good dose of both worlds.
In that short span, I have co-founded 2 startups. The first was Nigeria’s first online takeaway site - EasyAppetite.com and the second
a new media outlet offering Internet solutions
to businesses and brands. I also found myself taking up employment as a Digital Media
Strategist for 4 different companies, and even
had my spell as a Chief Operations Officer to
a technology media company.
It’s 2014 and I find myself alternating between
entrepreneurship and employment but here
are 10 lessons I have picked up. Hopefully
they become valuable to you whether you
find yourself in either of these places or need
a push in one direction at the crossroads of
these two paths.
1. Entrepreneurship is no easy alternative to
being an employee.
Many young people and even seasoned professionals often make the mistake that running your own business or being in charge
is easier than working for or under someone.
This might just be a myth. While entrepreneurship affords you the luxury of control and
decision making, it comes along with a lot of
responsibilities. I remember taking up the role
of product developer, accountant, business
developer, operations officer, restaurant relation manager, and even customer care agent
at the early stages of Easy Appetite. So be
ready to work odd hours and do odd jobs just
to get off the ground.
3. Don’t yield to the temptation of juggling
more than one ball.
Better to have 100% focus on one venture hether as an employee or entre—w
preneur – than half efforts here and there.
Nothing comes out of it eventually and you
waste time and resources. This is one lesson
I learned the hard way after summing up how
much resources had been lost on about 10
failed start-up ventures n average of $500
—a
each (not taking account of time).
4. You can actually get employed as an entrepreneur.
Consider the shock when I saw a Google,
Microsoft, and Accenture flier all having ‘Entrepreneurship’ as a trait be sought after in
potential recruit. Eric Ries, author of The Lean
Start-up uses the term ‘intrapreneurs’
— referring to hired entrepreneurs. You still get to
work on building products with an uncertain
outcome but in an environment that breeds
discipline and following through on ventures omething lacking in most (internet)
—s
entrepreneurs.
5. Don’t start a business with a double.
Ah! I thought this was a fad till I experienced
it myself and got to learn about leadership at
Accenture. You don’t want a co-founder that
is just like you in terms of thinking and areas of
strength. Get an opposite. If you are visionary,
get a realist or an opportunist. Complement
each other.
6. Embrace fai