Hustling 101

I was reading this article in the Nation’s business weekly and they have a profile of two 20 year old entrepreneurs who started a company that takes care of people’s errands for them. Like many people in Kenya, these two young college students were forced into the world of entrepreneurship because of the economic realities on the ground. They are still not enough jobs to go around. (Get your hustle on)

I think it’s “great” that people are being “forced” into entrepreneurship at such young ages. If you start a business at 20, even if it fails, you’ll still have plenty of time in your life to start over again. I wish I would have done something like this when I was in college, but I bought the myth of “employment”. It may sound insane for me to be saying that the lack of employment opportunities is a good thing because I’m sure this economic reality is very difficult for a lot of people, but I think in the long run, it’s the best thing that’ll ever happen to those who’ve decided to take the plunge. In ten years time, these two 20 years olds will still only be around 30. That’s a lot of first-hand experience to have under your wings.

It’s also good to read that people are no longer hung up on working for the United Nations or for a big multinational. I was talking to an acquaintance a couple of weeks ago and he’s in the IT sector. Anyway, he is thinking about moving back to Kenya within the next year and part of the reason {again} was frustration with his ability to move up… or as he put it, “these 50 year old men are refusing to retire and I can’t move up  until they move out.” – but let’s look at it: The life expectancy of an American male is now around 78-80 years old. 50 is no longer considered “old”.  Additionally, many of them probably still have mortgages to pay off and kids to put through college. Add on a savings rate in America that’s in the negatives and it all adds up: They are not refusing to leave. They can’t afford to leave.

Then, he went on to say that he’d been getting offers from several start-up companies, but he’d turned them down because he thought working for a large, well known company would “look better” on his resume when he moved back to Kenya. I suppose it might because large multinationals are the one’s who venture into Africa, but I was thinking wouldn’t it be more “fun” to work for a start-up? The experience would be more entrepreneurial in that there’s more risk {yes} but you’d also have a chance to implement your ideas and be more creative. I’m sure part of the reason he’s rejecting the start-ups is because the salaries are probably lower, but if you come up with an ingenious idea, the payoffs could easily trump a salary (especially if your looking at cashing in on stock options or a possible buyout offer).

I had someone else tell me that the key is to get a job that provides a pension. The pension system is dying. Look at Ford and GM — it’s their non-contributory pension system that’s killing them financially. Today, most people are saving through their 401K’s, but even that’s not enough.

There’s no safe zone anymore.

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