10 Things to Do Before You Fire Your Boss!
Starting a business is a fantastic idea to be rich but it requires proper planning. In Nigeria, there are many challenges facing startup businesses such as infrastructure, finance, unhealthy competition, technical know-how and many more. Before leaving your job, make sure you have done a thorough study of the business and ensure the business is viable. “10 Things to Do Before You Fire Your Boss” is a must read before you quit your job. As a wise investor, you don’t just take a risk but calculated risk.
Calculated Risk has been defined as:
“A chance of exposure to loss or injury that might be undertaken after its advantages and disadvantages have been carefully weighed and considered. Many business operators need to take a calculated risk to expand their business activities into a new competitive arena.” – Business Dictionary
In a calculated risk, you have looked at the advantages and the disadvantages carefully before making your final decision. In business, you weigh various opportunities critically before taking action because the consequences of any mistake could be devastating, and I am sure you will not want to regret your actions.
“At this stage in my career, I don’t have to take any big risks. You want to take a calculated risk, not one that leads to people saying ‘yes, but there was that one time when she made that big mistake.’ It’s always a shame when that happens, especially if you’ve gotten by for decades without anything hugely tragic.” — Renee Fleming
You wouldn’t want people to say that you have made one big mistake, right?
I have read so many posts advising you to fire your boss and take control of your life. As nice as it looks, it is erroneous and can be misleading to so many people. Many of them even claimed that you can start a business without capital. Is that correct? The answer is “NO”. There is no business that you can start without capital as they claimed. The amount of capital required for each business varies but you sure need capital to start.
This is not to discourage you from starting a business but to guide you on how to start a profitable business and sustain the business.
1.
Is Business Right For You?
This is a very critical question for you, and you are the only one to answer the question. The fact that John runs the business successfully is not a guarantee that you can do the same. Starting a business is far more than just having a passion for something. Do you have the willingness and how dedicated are you? Many times, our profession may not portray our true identity. I have seen a very good accountant that manages businesses for people but was unable to start his own business profitably.
2.
Do A Thorough Planning
There is a saying that “if you don’t plan, you have planned to fail”. Start by considering your responsibilities to your immediate and extended family members. If you stop working today, how long can they survive, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and so on? When you are starting a business, you are not sure of when you are going to make your first revenue. Apart from the money you set aside for your business, how much have you saved for your family upkeep, school fees, vehicle maintenance and other expenses in the family? Think of the business you plan to start and the capital requirements as well. When will be business start generating revenue and when is it going to break even? If the business fails, what is your plan “B”?
3.
Adjust Or Change Your Lifestyle
At this moment, I will assume you are planning to leave paid employment to start your own business. If you have reached a managerial level in your office, you are likely enjoying some benefits that will not be available to you when you leave. For example, before I left the office, I was enjoying 24/7 electricity, free this and free that. Immediately I left, all the benefits ceased. You may not truly appreciate those benefits until they are no longer available, and you have to start paying for all of them from your pocket. It is now time to start removing the luxuries and even cut down on the essential expenses as well. Can you afford 24/7 electricity on your own? Do you need a change of school for the children due to affordability? You no longer need expensive vacations. You are starting a new phase of life where you cannot ascertain your income for the next six months or more. So many what ifs will come in at this stage and you need to take your time to address the what ifs. Click here to check our post on how to save money
4.
All Businesses Require Initial Capital to Start
To start any business at all, you need capital. Many sites claimed that you can start a business without capital. Is that correct? The answer is “NO”. There is no business that you can start without capital. To start any business at all, you need to carry out a good feasibility study to ascertain the viability of the business and this costs money. Not only that, but you will also buy inventory, office supplies, you will rent an office and if you intend to work from home, you need the internet and other things that will cost you money.
5.
Research Your Intended Business
I am sure you will not want to go into business without carrying out thorough research in the form of a feasibility study. When I am talking of a feasibility study, I am not talking about the feasibility report bought over the shelf. If you set up a business based on the feasibility report you bought over the shelf, you have failed from day one. This is because such a report is already outdated and may not reflect the current environmental factors concerning your new business, the true cost of goods, the financial projections, and other things. When you pay for a feasibility study, your consultant will scan the proposed business location for so many factors or things that can affect the viability of the business which includes:
- This represents strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
- In terms of strength, you may have access to funds, technological innovations, etc. that others may not be able to achieve easily.
- What are the opportunities in the location that can be of benefits to the business?
- Are there areas of weaknesses that the business needs to address?
- What are the potential threats in the location or community where the business will be established?
- What is the competition going to look like?
- Where will the market be and what are the marketing strategies to adopt?
- So many other questions will be addressed during the research to justify the viability of the project or business.
There are tons of questions to answer during the research stage which make it practically impossible to get a comprehensive feasibility report over the counter.
6.
Test The Business
The world of business is totally different from the religious circle where everything hinges on faith. In business, you don’t leave a certainty for an uncertainty. Why will a right-thinking individual resign from a good paying job for a business he has not tried at all? To me, this does not make economic sense at all. You can employ capable hands to test run the business while you are still working or use your vacation period to do the testing for success before resigning. During testing, you will be able to ascertain the deficiencies and other areas that will require improvements. You are then able to fix them and with little or no stress because you still have your source of income intact. At this point, you can then decide whether to move forward or step backward, but you stand a better chance because you still have your job.
7.
The Rate of Business Failures
I am sure you know that Nigeria is one of the most difficult places to do business due to so many factors. It is believed that 90% of new business startups fail before their fifth anniversary. This is not only peculiar to Nigeria, but it is a worldwide opinion. Following are some of the factors responsible for business failures:
- Lack of infrastructure: Unstable power supply, lack of good road, water supply and other infrastructural challenges in Nigeria are making life miserable for new startups in Nigeria. Can you run a successful business in Nigeria without investing heavily on the generator?
- Lack of trust: There is no business without trust, but we are finding it difficult to trust our fellow Nigerians. To complicate matters, international communities no longer trust Nigerians and they are not willing to do business with Nigerians.
- No access to finance or cheap loans: The high lending rate and the difficulties in having access to finance have made it difficult to have access to business finance. Even the crowdfunding that is free money is not allowed in Nigeria. How then can you run a business at an interest rate of 25% to 35% and make a profit? Absolutely impossible.
- Unhealthy rivalry and competition: In Nigeria, people are just waiting for you to start a business or a project before embarking on the same journey. Think about when pure water started in Nigeria, within a very short period, the competition started, and you see pure water everywhere. The irony is that some of them will be producing below standard to create problems for the legitimate business owners by selling at a lower rate.
- Government regulations: There are various government rules and regulations that affect investment generally in Nigeria. You need to acquaint yourself with the various regulations before embarking on any business venture.
The ideal situation is to be part of the remaining 7% that survives and for this to happen, you need proper planning, otherwise, you will rush in and rush out like the 93% earlier mentioned, and that is the more reason why you need to follow this guide “10 Things To Do Before You Fire Your Boss”.
8.
Fake Testimonials
If you are looking for business opportunities on the internet, you will see so many websites talking about lucrative businesses with fantastic testimonies to encourage you. While some are true, most of these testimonies are fake. Most startup companies don’t make a profit in years. If you rely on such to sack your boss, you will end up in trouble. How many Nigerians have made money through “Online Forex”? Very few, if any. If you fire your boss based on their testimonials, you will be back in the job market very soon.
9.
Rejection
Internet business is one of the most advertised businesses in the world and most of them relate to affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is a good business but how many of them truly accept Nigerians? The popular ones are not ready to do business with Nigerians for reasons best known to them. After paying the registration fee, what happens? You will discover there is no way you can easily recover the money you paid because of the various bottlenecks set up against Nigeria. For some, you cannot complete the registration process because none of the Nigerian Banks is available on their platform. I have approached a popular solo ad vendor only to be told they don’t buy or sell in Nigeria. If I join a scheme that depends on the solo ads to be successful, what happens?
Conclusion
Business is the best option for someone aiming to become rich, but things must be done properly. If you read the “10 Things To Do Before You Fire Your Boss” and take note of the things mentioned in the writeup, you will be able to do things right. The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step but it must be the right step. Don’t just fire your boss because of what you read on the internet. Do your own research to ascertain your readiness for entrepreneurship. If you think you are ready after reading this post, I am happy for you but if you are not sure, there is no point rushing. Continue with your job and put your resources in order before making the final decision.