Are you Thinking of Leaving your Salaried Job for Entrepreneurship?

A lot of people in Africa aspire to become their own bosses. But the road to successful entrepreneurship can be quite rough and scary, especially during the initial stages. As a matter of fact, deciding to become a full-time entrepreneur is one of the toughest decisions you could ever make in life. Just imagine that you already have a dream job in a multinational corporation, the kind of job that others would kill for. Yet, you are not fulfilled in your career. Therefore, everyday you keep thinking of resigning to start your own venture. How then can you leave your guaranteed monthly salary to start navigating the murky waters entrepreneurship?

Difficult Decision but not Impossible

We all know someone who once left their well salaried jobs for entrepreneurship. Initially, it may seem like a crazy decision. However, any true entrepreneur will know better than to allow anything to stand in the way of their dreams. The Co-founder and CEO of Lagos-based fintech startup Sycamore.NG, Babatunde Akin-Moses, is one of such people. In 2019, he became a full-time entrepreneur, leaving behind an impressive professional track-record that included stints at Shell, KPMG and PwC.

Read our full interview with Babatunde Akin Moses HERE

During a recent interview with Mr Akin-Moses for our 40 Under 40 Trailblazing African Entrepreneurs magazine edition, he briefly shared insights on how to successfully transition from paid employment to entrepreneurship. But there is a caveat; he did warn that this kind of decision takes a lot of guts. And more than that, patience is also a necessary requirement because your new business will not immediately start giving you returns. Let’s hear him out:

“Very bold decision to take! And that’s what it is – a decision; one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. The journey requires more guts and perseverance than intelligence. I’d say, be patient for the first 12 to 18 months. Business is not likely to take off immediately, and the process of stabilising, might seem like things are not working out. In the interim while the business is finding its footing, there should be a plan to have cash flow, no matter how little, during the early stages. This is particularly true when one has dependents. Finally, find a partner or two to go on the journey with you. It can get quite lonely so having people to support is helpful.”

READ THIS: Babatunde Akin-Moses Talks about SycamoreNG and his Plans for 2021