Business Principles
Entrepreneurship vs Employment
(Cont .from Page 3, Col. 3)
E: What advice would you give to someone interested in pursuing
a career in your field?
P: Work on developing nine very basic principles of life: - Love, Joy,
Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and
Self-Control. Also, learn as much as you can from the classroom.
Assess our society and understand which courses to pursue and will be
applicable like I said previously, a course like child psychology will
enable you deal with the different personalities of children to be found
in a classroom.
N: Know your strengths and weaknesses. Capitalize on the strengths
and learn how to create opportunities out of your weaknesses. If you
are shy when talking to people, go for public speaking courses and
equip yourself. If you have a problem pampering someone's ego, deal
with that. If you do not know yourself, you are in a world of trouble
S: Give yourself room to grow and develop. As human beings, we all
make mistakes in life and the question is what you do about it. The
hospitality industry requires someone who is beautiful and strong both
on the inside and the outside. Customers can detect a phony character
and once they do, they don't judge you as an individual. They look at
you as the organization. You are a representative of the company you
work for. When people see you, they see the company.
E: Have you ever thought of venturing into private business and
abandoning formal employment?
P: Yes I have. I always wondered what kind of a headmistress I would
make if I started my own school but because of several reasons such
as lack of capital, love for children and my dedication to my own family,
I figured out a long time ago that I am fit to be employed.
N: Standard procedure. Here is a question, how many of us have
wanted to go it alone? But I figured, my salary at end month supported
by several investments here and there will do me good. Furthermore, I
have not gained enough experience and skill for me to establish my
own company. But I believe that once I do get that experience, I will
start my own company. Don't ask me whether it is in the same field
because I am yet to figure that out.
S: Yes I have. But at the moment, I need to build the experience and
proper foundation. I know most start ups are in a litmus test for the first
three years and since I do not want to start something and it fail, I am
watching my steps before I go down that road.
E: What would you consider the most important investment one
can make for a successful employment period?
P: Education and respect for yourself, for others and respect from
others for you.
N: Savings. You never know what tomorrow holds, and while a payslip
at the end of the month is good and stable, you need to save up so that
even if the company goes bankrupt, and God forbid, you will still have
enough financial resources to continue living your life. Your company is
an entity of its own and should it go down, it doesn't need to go down
with you.
S: Network of contacts and friends. These are people who you
associate with at different levels and since no one is an island, you
need to keep in touch with people and don't burn your bridges, even if
you have already crossed the river. You just might come back down that
path and you will have to use the same bridge if you did not burn it, or
spend time building another one
E: Where do you see yourself in another five years?
P: Retired and taking care of my grandchildren.
N: I see myself having gone up the corporate ladder in this company.
As a manager with a team to manage and playing a pivotal role