Over the past 5-10 years Entrepreneurship has begun to move into the Egyptian society and economy bit by bit. Today we can see a lot of successful businesses that started up and moving quite well in many of the different lines of business that exist; from food to IT, from services to manufacturing which all in all is great right? ‘Right’!
First let us introduce to people the difference between Entrepreneurship and your ‘regular 9 to 5 Job’ as people name it.
A regular 9-5 job is when you are working for a company or the government or any other entity which you are not part of its ownership.
An Entrepreneur is someone who basically starts off his/her own project of which they are the owners and the ones who run the show.
But let me make one thing clear here. Both of them are ‘Jobs’ and should be titled as jobs!
But it’s also important to look at few other things that we should highlight and discuss:
- ‘ Slaves’:
If you ever witnessed a discussion between an entrepreneur and anyone else who works a ‘9 to 5’ job, the first thing they will highlight and stress on mentioning; ‘You are a slave for the company.” Hmm well let me stop here. Mr. Entrepreneur eventually when you start your new business you will hire people to work for you… Right? Yes. Then are they slaves? Because eventually they will be people who are doing a job and become regular ‘9-5’ like the one sitting right across the table from you whom you just called ‘a slave.” So let’s not use this as a marketing approach because before anything that it is demeaning and unprofessional!
- Assumptions:
Entrepreneurs sometimes deal with whom they call ‘Stable job’ people as if they take their jobs are for granted. Well guess what? It ain’t.. we live in a world today were a lot of companies and big names have become volatile due, mostly, to situations out of hands. Also Stable job people don’t ever think, and that the Entrepreneur’s life is easy. It is difficult as hell because they have to come up with their own plans and execute them, and there’s no safety net. There’s no someone who will just give them ‘كلمتين في العظمم’, which is basically scolding and then they’re off the hook. Each path comes with its own set of challenges and hectic requirements.. Why? Because we simply live in hectic times.
- What are you cut out to do?
That’s a question that everyone should ask himself; it’s not an easy question to answer, and it comes with a lot of experience as well as lot of searching and venturing in life. But we are all different, some people might not be the perfect, but they are smashing that can keep a place running for ages, and without them, one would easily crumble. It’s just as simple as when you know someone who is good with their hands, and someone else who’s good with numbers. I don’t honestly believe everyone’s cut out to be an entrepreneur! I could be very wrong, but I just believe one should find their calling and go for it. It could be an accountant in a company or an owner of a hotdog stand. Whatever makes them utilize their maximum potential and give the most output. Again it’s not about 9-5 or not; it’s about where you fit, and there’s nothing wrong with whatever fits you.
- Entrepreneurship is not a piece of cake:
When I say that it is not a piece of cake, the thing I’ve heard a lot by many people who are interested in switching to entrepreneurship, because ‘They own’ their time and all the ‘Revenue’ is coming to them. This is true, but I’ve noticed that a lot of people have not gone beyond the ‘Shine’ of ‘Independence’ of entrepreneurship, while what they say to a great extent is true. They do not realize that the risk is higher, because they have to do the planning and any decision they take, has a direct impact on them. Building up a name is not something that happens overnight. Depending on what your business is and who your clients are, these are the 2 determining factors of your working hours. By the end of the day you have to serve the customers when they’re around right? So if they work 9-5, well guess what? You are back to working 9-5! Entrepreneurship means making studies, taking decisions, hiring people (not always) but it involves a lot more than the shiny part that a lot of people see..
Dear reader if there’s one message I would like you to come out with, whichever side you are on, please understand that segregation is never a positive thing. It’s not about who is better and who is worse; it’s more about appreciating the difference whether you are an entrepreneur or someone with a regular job. And by the way there’s nothing regular anymore about any type of job if you ask me; everyone’s doing a multitude of things with a very different skill matrix now in the market. And always remember the market needs both.
By: Tarek Hassan Refaat
Photography: Mohamed Sherif El Dib
Instagram: @mohamedeldib
EDITOR: Nada Zeyada