Many
great men and women we hear about today started building their lives as youths.
Youth age is the best age to shape and establish one’s life. Youth of nowadays
are opportune because information and knowledge flies through their cell phones,
which was not so, few years back. There is high unemployment today in Nigeria.
It may look like there is no hope, but there is high hope if we could embrace
God and become professional in our dealings.
Life
starts from school, which is a place of preparation. Young people should start
thinking of what they will do with their lives from SS1 age. The mindset should
be on: after school, what next, or what can I start doing now? Youth age is the
age when talents are incubated and put to good use. God is counting on the
youths for the rebuilding of the broken walls of Nigeria. Youths are not the
leaders of tomorrow, they are the leaders of today, and that leadership starts
with self sustenance and establishment, which only can be attained through
dedication, hard work and fear of God. Isaiah 61:4 says that God is looking for
men that can rebuild the old ruins. God is planting trees of righteousness, and
you can be one of them.
Unemployment is a situation where
somebody has no means of livelihood, has nowhere to earn any form of wages,
even when he/she is able-bodied and willing to work; the spirit and body might
be willing, the skill could be there, but no job vacancy for such person to
deploy his or her abilities in order to earn some income and live. Unemployment increases the risk of poverty,
it causes loss of motivation and mental problems, it causes economic, cultural
and social isolation, it has a negative effect on economic growth and
productivity, etc.
According
to reports from the National Bureau of Statistics (2017) 7.9 million Nigerian
Youths aged 15 to 34 are unemployed and
this figure increases after each academic year, as fresh graduates join to face
reality. Unemployment has eaten deep into the fabrics of Nigeria with its numerous
menaces like: armed robbery, kidnapping, prostitution, youths been hired as
thugs to kill, youths being used as sugar boys and sugar girls by their so
called sugar mummies and sugar daddies, etc. This is the level of bondage that
unemployment has taken youths to and only entrepreneurship or gainful
employment can take them out of it.
Entrepreneurship is
taking a great idea and turning it into a business to earn a living and serve
others.
To become a good entrepreneur,
you need to possess the following characteristics or qualities:
·
Strong
Values – Possessing great principles and Creating high standards
·
Determination
– The desire never to give up, but to focus on the goal.
·
Resourcefulness
– Ability to create or invent wealth making ideas
· Sense of
Responsibility – Exhibiting maturity in one’s lifestyle, and self discipline
· Self-Confidence:
The assurance of one’s capabilities and self motivation
We are usually faced with so many questions and
excuses when it comes to setting up our own business. What will I do? How do I
start? How will I raise the money? How will I get good workers and how will I
manage them? These questions and many more shall be treated below. To run a successful
business, one needs to acquire the skills and become empowered intellectually.
Steps to Becoming a Successful
Entrepreneur/Becoming an Employable Youth
One
of our tasks today is to help you realize who you are, where you are and what
you need to do to get to your next level. There is always a higher level.
·
First, you have to discover
who you are; what you like to do, what you do better than others, what gives
you joy and satisfaction, those services you need out there but don’t receive
them at all or you receive them but not to your satisfaction.
· Acquire
skills like artistic/graphic designs, computer skills, etc.
· After
self discovery, focus on those things that give you much concern that you have
taken note of and turn them into business ideas.
·
Do not
procrastinate, start immediately
· Every
mistake or disappointment is an opportunity to learn something new in your
business, so do not be discouraged. Failure is a learning strategy but only for
those who get up after a fall.
· Study
and learn especially from:
The Word of God: It is
a necessity for us to study and keep studying the WORD OF GOD and invite the
Holy Spirit to give us insight. When we study God’s word, we equip ourselves
for success and prosperity. See
(a) 2Tim. 2:15 – Study to show thyself
approved…. the required knowledge to work for God and to run a successful
business.
(b) Josh. 1:8 – This book of law shall not
depart from your mouth……good success and prosperity
(c)
Hos. 4:6a – My people perish for lack of knowledge-be in or be out
Jesus was successful because He
knew the Word of God and how to use it to resist the devil when it came to
distract Him from focusing on His business.
·
Study and learn about the business of your
interest
·
Study and learn from successful people
·
Study and learn from your environment and
experiences
·
Be
faithful to God and live righteously, God through the Holy Spirit gives the
power to make wealth. It works for me, so it will work for you
· Pay
yourself, as a compensation for all your hard work, and the reason for more
hard work
In a nutshell, here are the tips on
Success in Entrepreneurship and becoming an employable youth
·
Love what
you do
·
Surround
yourself with people who share in your dream
·
Update
yourself with technological trends
·
Identify
and adopt customer friendly strategies
·
Insist on
quality
·
Know the
rules of the business and stick to it
·
Manage
your time well
·
Always
make provision for the unforeseen circumstances
· See your
business as your child; you sacrifice to raise your child to be above you. If
you also do that for your business, when it grows, you will be fulfilled all
your life. Money that comes from hard work is fulfilling.
Businesses Opportunities
There
are so many business opportunities around us that youths can take advantage of
with little or no capital, especially while still in school, which can
guarantee their success after graduation. These opportunities are:
·
Soya bean
business
·
Fashion
designing
·
Car wash
services
·
Bid/Hat
making
·
Photography
and video services
·
Creative
painting/art gallery etc.
·
Tutoring
services
·
Party
promotion
·
Hair
styling and grooming services
·
Housekeeping
services
·
Social
Media Marketing
·
Livestock management
·
Etc.
Graduates
can equally take up some available job opportunities while searching and
waiting for their dream job. Even when one finds his or her desired job, it is
still possible to work efficiently as an employee and manage a personal
business. Below are some of the businesses youths can venture into as graduates,
without much capital:
·
Recycling of empty mineral cans, empty
plastic containers, empty bottles, crown corks etc.,
·
Cassava processing
·
Cashew nut processing
·
Palm oil
business
·
Horticulture
·
Corporate
business/Marketing
·
Mechanic
·
Welding
and soldering
·
Painting
·
Interior
Decoration
·
Event
Management
·
Wood
works
·
Etc.
Conclusion
Jesus is telling us today in
Luke 19:13 to occupy until He comes. Occupy means take charge, inhabit, take
possession of, take care of, live in, make use of, put something to work. This is said in respect to the
beginning of Jesus' parable of the ten minas. A master gives his servants ten
minas before he leaves and tells them to occupy until he comes. New King
James Version says ‘Do business till I come.’ That means we are here for a very
serious business delegated to us by someone higher than us. As in Luke chapter
19, two out of the three servants traded their minas or money or talents, etc
and raised extra income for their master, while the servant who received one
mina hid it and brought it out as it is and gave his master on return. Youths,
don’t waste your own mina, gift, talent, etc. because they all belong to God.
Use your talent to serve God and man; by so doing, your reward is assured in
Heaven and here on earth.
God bless you!
