Starting a Business
Entrepreneurship or Job Security?
Written by Chukwuma Asala for Gaebler Ventures
Why should you become an entrepreneur? Determining whether or not you're cut out to be an entrepreneur can be a difficult task. Here we take a look at what to consider in terms of job security, and why people may be choosing more careers in entrepreneurship.
Today, kids are going to school, working hard, getting good grades, and securing great jobs coming out of college, but the problem is they happen to be a little bit more ambitious than their parents.
And, they should be. Given the recent financial times, choosing entrepreneurship over job security may actually pay your bills on time.
Millennials, the generation that watches MTV's "Cribs" and "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," have no desire to work for someone else, and definitely not forever.
Most of the wealth they see on TV are from people who are rewarded for their own personal accomplishments, be it in music or athletics. Needless to say, working in a cubicle for 30 to 40 years doesn't measure up.
A quick glance at the economy points toward the fact that the challenge today is not even getting a job, it's keeping the job after you get it. In an attempt to cut costs and get out of the red, companies are restructuring, downsizing and reducing their biggest expenses: employees.
So, in today's world, the question is not "if" you will be laid off in the future, but "when."
Staying with one company for your entire career is not realistic anymore and certainly not feasible. The economy continues to change so rapidly that a job needed today may be obsolete in the next five years. Job security is an oxymoron, kind of like jumbo shrimp, death benefits etcetera. The problem today is that people are still trying to force the conventional job to give them a lifestyle it is not designed to give.
Why is entrepreneurship fast-becoming the new choice for a career? Robert Kiyosaki, a best-selling author of the book Cash Flow Quadrant and many other books on business and entrepreneurship, advocates that "people are starting to realize that just because 98 percent of the people happen to work a job as their primary source for income does not make it the most effective way for making money". In laymen's terms, just because a million people are doing something does not make it the right thing to do.
If you want to be successful just observe the masses and do the opposite. The general opinion of most employees is that going into business for oneself is very risky. The truth is NOT going into business for yourself is risky.
It makes more sense to be in control of your own income stream rather than relying on the good favor of your boss and the economy for a potential 3% raise. Raises barely help employees to keep up with the growing gas prices.
However I must emphasize that waking up and remembering that you are your own boss is more appealing not because of the income generated. There really are no short-term financial rewards for going into business on your own. In fact, most of the financial benefits are long-term which is why very few people choose to go out on their own and away from the leaky umbrella of the company they work for.
The biggest benefit of going into business is that you have control. Waking up in the morning and knowing what is going on rather than waiting to find out whether or not you are getting laid off today is much more appealing.
Apart from the peace of mind, most people would work much harder for themselves than they would for anyone else.
Chukwuma Asala is an international student from Nigeria who is studying to earn an MBA from the State University of New York in Albany. He has analyzed more than 20 industry case studies throughout his education thus far, and hopes to bring some of his business knowledge to Gaebler.com.
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