Dr. Martin Mwanje Lwanga
Looking at the shape of the global economy in the wake of Covid -19 and inevitable loss of so many formal sector jobs, those unable to be absorbed back into formal employment after the lockdown will have to look at the old option of self employment. Even after the shattered economies of the world pick up it will be after a while for employment to be recovered at full capacity as before.
Why self employment is the way is because one can still thrive by using their set of skills acquired from formal employment. A laid off accountant could start providing financial and tax consultancy services to many small medium enterprises in need. Perhaps one could go into trading of medical supplies, whose demand is certainly going to be on the boom.
There are many success factors critical to self employment. One should be skilled at networking as a given. Marketing goes with the territory. The ability to do a job well on time and deliver beyond expectations is not an option.
Another critically important skill is self management. In a formal sector job there is someone paid to manage another. The structure is ordered- when to clock in and out. There is a routine that one can clearly follow to deliver. A conducive environment has been created to help one perform. Performance appraisals are carried out regularly to guide and bring up one to speed.
This stable atmosphere is what makes many of us prefer formal sector jobs. They create that predictable environment most can enjoy. They plan one’s vacation days -leave. When it comes to finances they do all the donkey work of filing taxes and giving us back our dues on time. In some instances they even plan our retirement.
This is not the case for those in self employment. For a first, one has to learn to manage their schedule without the prompting of a manager. The best guide here is working around clientele needs. While in a formal sector there is an ordered schedule here it is meeting customer requirements, as they drop by.
A job order may come in over the weekend and if one claims off it might go to an available competitor. A potential client may call one for a breakfast or late evening appointment. And one cannot say those are off limits working hours, since there is another competitor waiting.
Flexibility is therefore paramount in self employment. Compared to formal sector jobs self employment can also be a boost to some people’s personalities. While for some it could have been a tiresome labor to work in someone’s office building here they can now manage their hours and working environment.
There are obvious advantages that come with self employment like giving one time and opportunities to be more involved in private obligations. Say dropping and picking up kids from school, which wasn’t possible because of stringent work schedules in formal establishments.
Whereas in a formal sector job there was an office designated to manage finances the job now falls on the self employed. Finances in self employment tend to be not as certain as they normally are in a formal sector job. Therefore one has also to develop skills in financial management.
In fact, it might be helpful for one to seek the services of a financial advisor, even when one seems to be doing well. There are those dry periods that come in every business life and it is those who are skilled in handling finances that thrive.
Self management requires that one sets personal goals and targets as well. One must plan and evaluate his performance from time to time and see where there is a gap. It requires one to be multi skilled because one is not under the roof of one organization that could bring together different complimentary skills.
In brief one needs to be well organized to flourish in self employment. Having worked in an organization with a well spruced system those that end up in self employment can always and do flourish because they now bring and pass on some of that training to further develop themselves.
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