Everyone may not be familiar with words and phrases such as regulatory reforms, mergers and acquisitions, consolidation and reorganization; restructuring, strategic repositioning and divestitures. However, you ought to have heard of COVID 19, unless you are living in the outer space. These words and phrases have one thing in common; they all lead to unprecedented loss of jobs. In the aftermath of COVID 19 Pandemic, I guarantee that a higher number of paid employees will lose their jobs. The COVID 19 pandemic will certainly change the shape of work and paid employment.
The Questions Every Paid Employee Must Answer
Everyone engaged in paid employment will leave some day, voluntarily or otherwise. Everyone recognizes this fact, yet almost all of us fail to prepare for it. What are the reasons for this apparent paradox, and what does it take to transit from paid employment to start-up?
A number of today’s work environments are manifestly stress-filled, confusing and highly demanding. As a result, the employed in such environments can hardly think, concentrate or plan for a sustainable future post-employment. Hence, while still employed, they fail to leverage on available opportunities to fashion out coordinated stress-free exit strategies for themselves. So, how should everyone in paid employment manage this scenario against a looming day of reckoning?
Navigating From Paid Employment to Start-Up
This book attempts to answer these questions. It captures the dilemma of the employed who hopes to engage in some form of entrepreneurship post-employment, but is unable to figure out how to go about it. This book explained why paid employment may provide the material needs of an employee, but may not create the enabling environment to derive personal satisfaction and accomplishments.
Utilizing over two decades of experience as an employee, an entrepreneur and management consultant, the author explored the challenges faced by many employed people in the workplace. He suggests ways by which the employed can leverage on their skills, experiences and contacts while employed, to set up a sustainable entrepreneurial career of their desire post-employment.
Section Summaries
There are five sections in this book. Section one discussed the author’s experiences as a paid employee. It explained the author’s motivation for writing this book. This section also exposed the three principal factors that hold back many to paid employment even when they would have loved to set up businesses of their own.
In section two, the author identified several risk factors that place the job of everyone employed at risk. The book emphasized that while the employed may not be responsible for the occurrence of these risk factors, nevertheless, they expose many jobs to risk. The author believes that understanding these potential risk factors is necessary to prepare the employed for two definite career outcomes.
The first career outcome is that of a sudden and unexpected loss of job and means of livelihood. The second career outcome involves a conscious and planned exit based on the employee’s own terms. The author surmises that both outcomes require definite actions aimed at sustaining an employee’s career or entrepreneurial goals post-employment. This book explained how the employed can proactively prepare for these outcomes.
Transiting to Entrepreneurial Start-up
Section three described seven myths that hold back many people from leaving paid employment. Although many employed people would love to explore opportunities outside paid employment, they rarely make that decision. They are held back to their jobs by fear, emotions and thoughts which do not always represent the reality. For everyone in this situation, an understanding of these myths would open new horizon of hope and entrepreneurial prospects.
Section four explained what an exit strategy means and why it is important in career planning. The author believes that the best career strategy is one that incorporates an exit strategy from the beginning. Accordingly, he suggests that those who take up paid employment must as well establish an exit strategy at the same time. The book therefore outlined the means for setting up and fine-turning a workable exit strategy from paid employment.
Starting a business is not a simple task; it involves uncertainties and risks. Section five discussed the risks and challenges that confront start-ups at the initial stage of their businesses. The challenges include the high prospects of failing and the inability of start-ups to properly utilize the lessons learnt from such experiences. These lessons can be very useful in developing potentially viable business ventures.
This book also explained what it means to be successful in business. It reminds entrepreneurs that while it is good practice to celebrate their successes, they must also recognize the imperative of failure.
Finally, this book repudiates some of the myths that have made it difficult to transit from paid employment to start-up. These myths have held back many from exploring the wide range of opportunities outside paid employment.
The author believes that reading this book will set you on the right path to reinventing yourself.
