IT’S NOT BY FORCE

Hi guys. It’s been a minute.

Like a lot of millennials, I have my own small scale business and I will now proceed to do some shameless advertising. I’m available to bake amazing cakes for all occasion. I have a business event coming soon and I am already stressed in advance, thinking of the physical work ahead.

I’ve had an interesting timeline.

In my first year I tried out lots of new things. It was exciting testing out a cake design for the first time and getting it right. Getting cake orders from out of state. Getting positive feedback from customers. Also, because I had been a victim of terrible customer service, I was willing to bend over backwards for my customers. I do not recommend.

By the third year though, my sight had cleared, as I had taken a couple of finance classes and realized that I was not making as much money as I thought I was.

I have met all kinds of people, from the sweetest customers to downright scammers.

As expected, my procrastination has also come out to shine. The highlight of them all was this dinner I was to bake for. My phone was blaring up, as it appeared the program was about to start and the baker(me) was nowhere to be found. This was because somewhere miles away, the cake was still in the oven, but of course they didn’t know that.

It was such a rush and I have no regrets, as I am merely a part of the circle of life. I might understand why tailors wait until some hours before you need the dress, before they actually start to work on it.

Through all the hype, there’s a tendency to get carried away and subtlely shame paid employees while praising entrepreneurs. There are lots of articles, books and YouTube videos featuring entrepreneurs and their grass to green story. Quit that job and become a millionaire in your first year! Abeg.

I once saw an article titled: ‘How to Raise the Next Steve Jobs’. Please let’s all calm down.

A golden question has always been this: Should we all be entrepreneurs? Some people have even advocated that vocational, skill training be made compulsory in schools. As promising as that sounds, what of the child that isn’t remotely interested in any of those things?

I have friends who cannot imagine doing any form of business. They love the structure and order that conventional work gives. If given a choice, they would pick a 9 to 5 job over running their own business, and there’s really nothing wrong with that.

Entrepreneurship definitely has its perks. It sounds a lot like calling all the shots, and it is. It’s watching the beauty of growth. Most of all, I love the flexibility it allows, the creative space it provides. And oh yeah, you also make some money which isn’t a bad thing.

But it’s a lot of running around on your own. It’s also some suffering. Once, I was up at 2am baking, and all I was just thinking was, ‘But what’s the meaning of all this nonsense I’m doing?’. It’s a lot of ‘networking’ which is such a task for me as I am not the most extroverted person.

A lot of speakers also won’t tell you that you might not make any real money for a while. You could be in the reds for months.

But if you’ve been crazy enough to start, I hope you’re happy through all the stress, because that’s the point. Please collect your money as Nigerians can be very funny people. Life is too short to shortchange yourself.

And if you’re not interested in all the madness, please indicate, and don’t let anyone stress you, because like we say in Nigerian, it’s not by force.