Lately, I hear many so-called experts advise people to quit their jobs and go into business! Why be content with being a slave of someone else? Pero sandali lang, di ba slaves are people who work without pay? Eh di ba, employees naman get decent salaries? Why can't people see employment as an opportunity to learn how to do business while using someone else's money?
Recently, I was talking to a friend who had started his own business. Sabi niya, he left his job kasi daw he felt that the rewards of being an employee is not commensurate to the efforts he puts into the job. Sabi ko, "Hindi a! An employee is rewarded according to his ability, and profits immediately and regularly through his salary. If he is disciplined, he can get rich by saving and then later, by investing the steady income he gets. This is not the case for entrepreneurs. Kasi when you own the business, you have to wait for the company to stabilize before you can get your profit." And then he confessed that, six months na nga raw siyang hindi kumukuha ng suweldo kasi hindi pa stable ang negosyo niya, and he does not see that happening in the near future.
While we both agreed that entrepreneurs have unlimited earning potentials, this usually happens later. But if entrepreneurs are not careful, they could even lose all the money they have invested. Do you know that 8 out of 10 startups in America fail? Unfortunately, I do not have the local statistics. So, am I discouraging people from becoming entrepreneurs? Of course not! But people need to also see the real value of employment.
How often have you met students who took up entrepreneurship from prestigious business universities, but failed when they went into business after they graduated? Ako, many, many times. Whenever I am asked why this happens, ang sinasabi ko, kasi they were educated by teachers who did not have businesses of their own, they were taught that business is just about having money and knowledge. That is not true! It is really much more complicated than that! Believe me, kasi I've been there and I learned it the hard way. So whenever I am asked what they should do, I say, "Go, be employed! But not just to earn a salary, but also to get a business education! When you get employed, you should not look at your bosses as wicked taskmasters but as business teachers and possible mentors. If you will keep yourself teachable, you will be able to get the best business education for free." Well, hindi lang free, kasi you will even receive a salary in the process. O, saan ka pa?
The last time I checked, the majority of the successful business people I know, even the so-called experts, started as employees. While they may not realize this, that experience became the foundation of their businesses today. Ako, I am grateful for my employment experience because many of the principles I use today I learned from working for someone else. I believe this is why Jesus said in Luke 16:12 (NASB), "And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?"
