Paul OYEWUSI

Many people quit their jobs for all kinds of reasons and whatever their reasons may be, it is absolutely within their control, but there are experiences that needs to be mastered while working under someone to build a lasting and profitable business and I will share some of them with you in the coming paragraphs of this article. The interesting thing is that most of these skills are learnt by default if you're a committed employee.&nbsp;

<ul><li>Sales/Negotiation strategy: This is one vital skill you will need when you start your personal business and to sustain it. When you work as an employee, particularly in the sales department or in a one-man business as we call it in Africa, you are opened up to the opportunity of learning and experimenting with how to relate with customers/clients who are external stakeholders, getting into people’s minds to see the value in what you offer over your competitors and why they should buy from you. As a person well-versed in talent acquisition, I have heard job seekers say during interviews that the hardest department in any firm is the sales department because they have to go out and get people to buy the company’s products/services. While that may not be totally it, sales can be quite challenging really, because you have to be good at persuasion and negotiation to get people to buy from you. Whether or not you're in the Sales department, great for you, now you know this is a skill you should learn. You can help out (volunteer) with the sales team on a sales rally to learn how it works, better still you can read or get trained about it.&nbsp;</li></ul>

<ul><li>Business structure: People fail in business most times when their business doesn’t have sustainable structure - what pattern of operation the business is following, the how of the business, the processes involved, reporting systems, etc. Research has shown that out of every 5-startup business in the United States, only 3 survive in 18 months of startup. In Nigeria, it is said that if a business survives its first 5 years and is still productive, it will probably last long.</li></ul>

The business structure makes doing business easy and less stressful. You know what to do, how and when. This is one key factor that you can learn working in an organized environment, by active observation and interest in how the company works. Take active interest in the organization’s structure, understand the general hierarchical chart, and seek to understand why the structure is the way it is. If you have a good relationship with your line manager or the HR Manager, you can be sure to get better help. This knowledge will be very helpful in structuring your own business when you’re ready.

<ul><li>Customer base: Many people are not aware that you don’t just start up a business because you have a fine idea that would save the world, at least that was the thought in your head. Rather, starting a business goes beyond that, to start up a business, one of the major things you need is a market, which you may not have, so you need start up customers who will patronize what you sell. Majority of the first set customers who will buy from you will do so, not because you're the best, but because they love you. At the start up level, it is always quite challenging for many to find new buyers because nobody knows them or trust them yet. You still need to build the KLT factor i.e., people must know you, like you and trust you first before becoming loyal to your products, and that may take a while. You can only get your start up customers or clients from among your family members, friends and of course colleagues at work.&nbsp;</li></ul>

It is easier to get your friends at work to patronize you because they most likely have a better understanding of you and the work you do, except for a few relatives who really understand what you're doing. This is why it is important you create great relationships wherever you work. See your fellow work colleagues as your potential business clients. Many people I know who run their own businesses today built their customer base from their former colleagues at work, and that includes your former bosses.

<ul><li>Brand management: Two things are very important to a startup, and they are your personal brand and product/service brand. These are business assets that when lost can ruin a business venture forever. Brand management is the regulation of how you want the public to perceive you and your business. More often, brand management can be learnt as you intentionally study your organization with the eyes of the customers. For example, in a bank, you are mandated to look good to your customers, talk in a polite manner to them even when they are wrong regardless. You’re encouraged to present the Organization and its products or services in the best light possible, even when there may be chaos sometimes on the inside. The brand is maintained and must be protected, up to the standards set for materials being used to work, the documents, the prints and the regular fonts, the theme colours and logo. Branding does not stop in how you look but also in the way staff are treated internally, the way security personnel welcome customers, the corporate culture etc.</li></ul>

Your brand perception is a great asset you must protect, just as you as an employee will not want to be perceived in a wrong light at work. Your brand can determine if people will actually keep buying from you, or even come close in the first place, and that is why big corporations spend millions of dollars on running adverts from time to time and on re-branding, or why they instantly send out a press release to wash their name off any public scandal involving them. The amazing thing for you is that you can learn all these in your 9 to 5 by default regardless of your department, all you need is to be very observant and to ask questions from the right source, and with the right intention. Conclusively, if possible, apply what you learn in your personal life till it becomes part of you.

<ul><li>Time Management: If you work closely with any CEO or top executive in any organization, you will find out that they hardly have the time to spend on whatever is irrelevant to the goal of the organization. It’s more about how to get things done, how to keep the business running etc. Unlike the average employee, Mondays you resume at 8am and close 5pm on Fridays and, that’s all that concerns you about the business.</li></ul>

As you plan to quit your job for your own business in the future, whether in 10 years’ time, or more or less, if there is a way you should start positioning your mind now, it is actually thinking like a CEO. One of the things thinking like a CEO does to you is that it makes you see time as a valuable asset, wasting will appear as though you’re wasting millions.&nbsp;

So, now that you still work as an employee, it is important that you intentionally start the culture of managing your time, and investing it rightly. Check how you handle your work time, and spend less of it on what is not relevant to your job and ultimately the business goals. If you can, resume work one hour ahead of time, get settled for the day and or finish up with backlogs from the previous day. Ensure that you do your best in managing your time well, even resting when you should, eating when you should, and working in line with your deliverable deadlines are all part of an effective time management strategy. When this is your lifestyle, you become more productive at the things you do and by default make a great time manager in your own business.

5 auditing tips for small business owners to avoid tax issues

I tell employees who have long term desires to quit their job that before they think of quitting their jobs to start their own personal businesses, there are CERTAIN THINGS they need to have learnt to sustain a business.

5 Business lessons to learn from 9 to 5 before quitting

<h1>Like a popular quote will say “you don’t go to a battlefield without learning how to shoot or fight”, obviously, that is going to end in a disaster. </h1>

I have taken out time to explain to you below some of the major factors to consider before going for any job interview, local or international.

<h3>Do your research about the Organization</h3>

It is very irresponsible of a job hunter to go for an interview in an Organization without prior research about the Organization. It is like going for an exam without studying. It is expedient that as a potential employee, you know something tangible about your potential employer. Knowing at least a little about your potential employer will give you some level of confidence when engaged in conversations. It is not you being too forward, it is you being prepared, because if you know some reasonable and RELEVANT information about where you want to work, it also improves your reputation before your interviewers. In conclusion, it helps you to connect your responses to fit what works for the Organization.

<h3>Comport yourself in words and actions</h3>

Right from the entrance of the Organization, your interview has started, but many think that the interview starts only when they are in the room with the 3,4 or 5 frowning interviewers like me, well I don’t frown though (lol!!) and so they behave loosely outside the interview room. If wrong comments are given about you even by the gateman or someone who is not on the interview panel, it may jeopardize your dream of getting that job.

Aside from maintaining good composure outside the interview room, you must also try to replicate the same in the interview room, from how you sit, to how you respond to questions. All of these matter a lot. Your composure must tell you that you are confident and competent, and will be a good ambassador of the Organization. Note, I didn't write that you should be rude, I wrote the word, confident.

<h3>Don't look desperate for the job (even if you are)</h3>

To be desperate means to be in dire need of something and will do anything to get it. For example, when a person is desperate to eat a kind of food, he or she wouldn't care about the consequences of stealing it regardless of who is around watching. Many people have attended interviews looking so desperate. This is wrong!

Let me tell you what being desperate do to you at job interviews:

1. It reduces your worth before the Interviewers.

2. It gets the Interviewers worried even if you are the right person for the job.

3. It makes you say things you shouldn't say.

4. It affects your self esteem in total.

Even if you need the job so badly, the best you can do is to position yourself well as the best person for the job in a more professional and friendly way. I had to add being friendly to your being professional, because some people think being professional is the same thing as being unfriendly and overly serious, no it is not.

Every field has their way of dressing and some are even particular about their colour codes. It is your responsibility to find out. Don't appear at an interview dressed as if you're going for a wedding&nbsp;or masquerade ceremony. You are expected to be moderate in appearance.

<h3>Understand what exactly you can bring to the table</h3>

Be sure of yourself and know what you know. It is possible that because of anxiety you forget many things that you know and that's why it is important that you maintain your calm when going for an interview. Don't go too early so that you get bored wherever you are and don't go late so that you don’t rush yourself, and lose guard.

It is very important that you know what you can offer, master it and tell it like only you can. Knowing what you know will definitely improve your competency before the interviewers and also your confidence when giving responses to questions.

As a recruiter, I have interviewed countless candidates for several roles across industries, and I have seen amazing candidates with great skills and capacity for a job, but don’t know how to express themselves in that light. They speak as though they don’t really understand the&nbsp;job they have been doing for years, some just suffer from impostor&nbsp;syndrome. I know they can do better, so I try to ask a series&nbsp;of questions and put words in their mouth before some of them begin to say things you want to hear.

Knowing your onions cannot be overemphasized when it comes to an interview, you would be asked a series of questions, situational, hypothetical, etc, to test your stand, and you must indeed be ready to STAND.

<h3>Know a bit of the Organization's culture</h3>

You need to have practical insights about the position and the Organization's culture. This gives you an edge over other applicants because it helps you crush some likely questions. Your potential employer will mostly ask you questions in line with their Organization's culture and you've got to have answers if you really want to work with them. The reason why organizations ask you questions in line with their culture, is to see beyond your skills, if you will be a good fit for their organization. Some candidates however, have great technical skills for a role but don’t fit into the culture of the organization. For candidates like this, if eventually hired, they will see&nbsp;the workplace as toxic to them, not because it is in most cases, but because they are not a good fit for the Organization’s culture. This is the reason it is important to know and understand the culture if at all it is a place where you would like to call your workplace.

Paul currently leads one of the leading Recruitment &amp; HR Development Consulting firms in Africa. He is a Mentor at the world's largest online mentoring platform, and also a Career Consultant. He has helped many Employees via his trainings become impact-driven professionals with transferable skills to help maximize the growth of any team they find themselves, regardless of the ever dynamic economy.

You can connect with him on:

Pulse Contributors is an initiative to highlight diverse journalistic voices. Pulse Contributors do not represent the company Pulse and contribute on their own behalf.

What to know before a job interview. [entrepreneur]

Candidates don’t just go to a job interview and crush it without preparing, there is much to know before the interview.

What to know before a job interview

Politics

Local

Metro

World

News 

Celebrities

Music

Movies

Entertainment

Fashion

Beauty & Health

Relationships & Weddings

Food & Travel

Lifestyle

Domestic

International 

Business

Sports 

Celebrity Picks

Pulse Picks

Pulse Marketing

Explore categories

Checkout our authors for the latest content across entertainment, sports, business and more. Be first to receive exclusive updates with your free subscription straight to your phone | Pulse Nigeria 

Authors | Pulse Nigeria

| Pulse Nigeria

Read the latest news across entertainment, sports, business and more. Be first to receive exclusive updates with your free subscription straight to your phone | Pulse Nigeria

Breaking News & Top Stories | Pulse Nigeria

Pulse Nigeria is the most followed news and entertainment platform, informing and engaging young Nigerians round the clock, providing updates by the hour.

Pulse Nigeria

Search for the latest content across entertainment, sports, business and more. Be first to receive exclusive updates with your free subscription straight to your phone | Pulse Nigeria

Search Results | Pulse Nigeria

Watch the latest videos across entertainment, sports, business and more. Be first to receive exclusive updates with your free subscription straight to your phone | Pulse Nigeria

Paul OYEWUSI

Articles written by the author

5 Business lessons to learn from 9 to 5 before quitting

What to know before a job interview