This is the Age of Entrepreneurship

My 17 years long corporate HR experience and all the thought process behind personal and career development were pointing to a conclusion I couldn’t explain verbally before I started my venture but felt it deep down inside. Robert Kiyosaki managed to explain it perfectly in an inspirational way in his book “Before You Quit Your Job”; “the difference between an employee and an entrepreneur is the difference between desire for security and desire for freedom.” A strong desire for security contradicts by definition the essence of personal development, while freedom is doing what you want, when you want, with whom you want, the way you want. Everything I learned in my corporate career, all the coaching sessions and all the personal development programs I delivered were leading to the fact that career development has to progress eventually into entrepreneurship, not chasing bigger titles in a never-ending rat race that keeps people trapped in a system where others control their destiny and therefore their life in exchange for fake security. Entrepreneurship should be the end game because it is itself a highly self-fulfilling achievement for those who take it seriously and decide to be masters in what they do.

Take a Job for Learning

I’m not saying people should not seek employment and growth in corporations; on the contrary, young people should start off in my view being employed, prove themselves, build their confidence, develop their interpersonal and communication skills and learn everything they can learn about the business world, so they exit one day and be successful on their own, but it must be a means to an end.

Based on research, the average age of successful startup entrepreneurs is 45, which means anywhere between 15 to 25 years of employment that provides serious learning opportunities would be sufficient in my view. The earlier, the better, so my advice to ambitious young people is – do not seek jobs that do not offer learning and development opportunities as you would be wasting your time and jeopardizing your progress. When taking on new jobs, if you were allowed one question at a job interview, it should be specifically related to learning opportunities. Make sure though you ask the question in multiple ways and do your research because most hiring managers and recruiters will not tell the truth. This is crucial.

The Career’s World is Changing

The gap between job demand and supply is constantly increasing with technological advancements and other factors, but the recent pandemic will definitely encourage more job losses not only for financial reasons but because many companies now realize that they can do business without employing a massive group people and locking them in cubicles and office hours, they don’t need a large number of ’employees,’ they need specialized and passionate freelancers and entrepreneurs that can get the job done remotely without hefty statutory responsibilities and with a simple go and stop buttons depending on business performance instead of going through the painful processes of hiring and firing in a very cyclic economy.

Employees who demand more flexibility after the pandemic and so-called experts encouraging working from home culture need to understand how most corporations think, employment to many old fashioned managers -that form the majority in my opinion- is about control, control of someone’s duties, his time, his whereabouts, his place of living, his calendar, his time off, his behaviors on the job, his verbal communication, and of course his pay, heightened flexibility kills control and therefore to many such managers it kills the necessity for employment.

With the majority of corporate philosophies totally focused and dependent on profitability and shareholders’ financial return, unfortunately, the people factor is becoming secondary, so ‘removing heads’ for better numbers had become a norm, which is making jobs less and less secure. As an ex HR leader, I had the unfortunate and worst experience of having to let go of so many people who were hoping for few more years of job security before retirement; it is simply awful and devastating.

Fear of Entrepreneurship

It is not a secret that the number one reason why people fail in chasing their dreams and prefer to stay in the ‘employee’ comfort zone is fear. Our mind will give us all the mental excuses to protect its spot in that comfort zone, but if we scratch a bit beneath the service, all these excuses are the result of fear.

Being alone with no fixed paycheck is not easy, especially when everyone you know demands you to find a job and play it safe, many people will not understand what and why you are doing what you do including close friends and family members, the logic they have for decades is that people should play it safe and go for a controlled work with guaranteed payment to pay the bills. However, I am telling you from experience this mindset is very destructive, especially if you are among the 87% of employees (based on global research) who go to jobs with no satisfaction or learning opportunities only to make money. You are basically killing yourself inside and slowly killing your dreams and freedom. I was there, but since I started my venture, I’ve never been more alive!

If you are an ambitious and already established mid-career employee but have a fear of the unknown, don’t overthink, just start, begin partially as a 10% entrepreneur, then make it full time, if you have the commitment you will learn your way. Do not keep the safety net of a job though for long, one because you won’t be fair to your full-time job, two because you want to give your business a good chance to succeed, it is human nature that we perform way better when we do not have a safety net or a way back.

The key question you need to ask yourself is, what life do you want to live? A life of safety and security and annoying reactions to other peoples’ decisions affecting your life, or you want a life of adventure? You need to decide, do you want to be obsessed with big goals by being a passionate creator or industry disruptor, or you just want to be like the other 90%, an average person who plays it safe and hope those on top like him till retirement.

Life is a constant fight for territory to get the things that you want, the moment you stop fighting, the things that you do not want will automatically take over. Therefore, success or failure depends on the mindset and fighting spirit; nothing can stop those who are willing to take another way when there is no way and fight relentlessly until they get what they want. Nothing!

Take Control of Your Destiny

We are talking here about you retaking control of your destiny; You are more important than just a name and a title discussed in closed rooms, so plan your career accordingly. If you are young and ambitious, learn now as much as you can, everything about the business you are in, and add to your personal strengths because your business will unbelievably reflect your strengths and weaknesses. And if you are established but still so much worried about security, let me remind you that we live only once, what a shame if you waste that time in the shadows of others, so find a good problem to solve, take a leap of faith, get good people around you and fight till you succeed.

Finisya Hospitality solutions supports new restaurant owners and investors in making their dream come true and in running their business successfully. If your entrepreneurial dream happens to be in the F&B field, let us know!

Ahmad Maharsi
Co-founder and Managing Partner
Finisya Hospitality Solutions