Becoming Self-Employed

By Ralph Nyadzi

Are your gut instincts busy at work pushing you hard to take the steps needed to become your own boss? Have you already become the master and creator of your own career destiny? Becoming Self-Employed is a reliable guide for anyone who aspiires to the noble career of self-employment. Whether you are already a self-employed person or are now seriously considering that move, you will find in this book useful lessons from someone who has been there for two decades and still going strong.The lessons are tough, but the journey is the most exciting and the most rewarding. Length: 27,000 words.

• Language: English
• Publisher: RN Digital Media Ent.
• Release date: Jan 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386342663

Ralph Nyadzi

Ralph Nyadzi is one writer who loves to entertain, educate and inspire his readers all at the same time. He writes as much fiction as he produces non-fiction. His reputation for exploring the human condition, for interrogating the motives behind the actions of everyday people and for inspiring the disadvantaged to reach out for the prize has been well established in his books and on his blog. He is the founder and site editor at CegastAcademy.com and also his indie publishing platform, RN Digital Media Ent. On a typical day, he is either online, busy writing, reading and researching or busier cooking or gardening. Ralph Nyadzi lives with four cats and a partridge couple in the Central Region of his native country, Ghana.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

FLASHBACK

April, 2019. Twenty uninterrupted years since I left paid public sector employment and took my destiny into my own hands. For the first two years it was really tough. Critics who predicted that I would crawl back to the classroom started singing the I-told-you-so chorus. The well-wishers who advised me against the decision got more concerned and marvelled at my grit (or stubbornness) and my courage in the face of all the mounting odds. Fact was I had left at a  time I had not received my monthly pay for close to twelve months. And up till this day, I haven’t really bothered to ask. Maybe even if I did I might still not get it anyway. So it was tough. Luckily for me, I had a single child – a toddler at the time (oh my God! Come and see her today. How time flies.) So the financial burden was a bit manageable. But I had an unemployed partner, parents and siblings all looking up to me for support. Well, I’m glad I did my best, more than many others would have done even in those trying moments.

I pressed on. I refused to give up. My efforts began to bear the desired fruits. I was on track to becoming a very successful self-employed individual – a former public school teacher in rural Africa leaving the classroom and the salary behind for  the wilderness of self-employment. It was, and never has been the wisest decision in the eyes of the majority over here. The terrain is rough and bumpy. Those without a secure, paid job envy those with one, however small the salary is. So it is outright crazy for one to leave all that behind and try to strike it out on your own. Plain suicidal!

Well I did just that. Maybe I thrived because I love taking on challenges. Sometimes to my own detriment. As we move further into this book, you will come to find out how my knack for taking on challenges of all kinds has contributed to not only my early success but also to my later difficulties.

FAST FORWARD

But for now, let’s fast forward to ten years after I became my own boss. 2009. Actually, it started in the previous year but I thought I could handle the challenges. Whatever the sources of these challenges, you will get to know them as you read through the various chapters of this book. The seeds that were sown in 2008, started germinating in 2009, just ten years into my self-employment. Gradually, it was not smooth-sailing anymore. True, I kept experiencing more successes but the danger signs were quite disturbing. The frustrations began to mount but I refused to give up.

For the past six years (from today, 2019) in particular, it has not been what I’d wish for myself. But  hey, nobody said it was going to be easy, right? I’m proud of what I’ve achieved in spite of many personal tragedies along the way. No, I am not rich by any stretch of the imagination. But I have already achieved my most important goal for which I chose self-employment. I have succeeded in laying the foundation for building true wealth so that generations after me would not have to go through the painful hunger and embarrassing deprivation I suffered as a child and an adolescent. That is if, and only if, they are sensible enough to follow the same universal laws that have guided me so far. If not, then it is their own funeral – my back case. Yes, I lost my childhood. I never lived as any other normal child would. My whole life choices have largely been shaped by that period of my life.

I still love self-employment and far from being a failure, I have learnt lots of lessons that are going to guide my life and career path in the remaining years of my life. These useful lessons, learnt the hard way, are what I’m about to share with you, dear reader.

SELF-EMPLOYMENT MAY JUST BE THE RIGHT FIT FOR YOU

Are you living in rural or suburban or even urban Africa? Are you located in any part of  the developing world where low incomes are rife? Are you not happy with your paid job even in your relatively advanced economy in Europe or north America? Do you hate your job or employment status for whatever reason? Are you considering a move into self-employment? Or maybe you are already self-employed but need a greater dose of motivation and inspiration to keep moving forward amidst the ever-present challenges. Whatever your status, wherever you are, dear reader, this book will give you some additional information and inspiration so that you will keep following your heart, maintain focus and achieve your self-employment goals.

I have tried to be very honest with you in this book. You know why? Because I really want to assist you with my little experience in self-employment. I have made some great moves. But I’ve also made very silly mistakes along the way. Take each lesson as a guide, not as a foolproof magic wand, to make things easier for you as you do things in ways that suit  best your unique situation  as a self-employed person.

Welcome to the party!

MY SIMPLE STORY OF WHY I BECAME SELF-EMPLOYED

Hello.

Here is my story of why I became self-employed. I believe strongly that you'll take some inspiration from it or you'll relate to aspects of it.

Would it be a surprise to you if I told you that I've been self-employed since I graduated from university almost two decades ago? Well, not exactly, but very close. Let me tell you just a little bit of how it all started.

I was a qualified professional teacher before I went to university to upgrade my knowledge and qualification so I did not have much trouble finding a job upon graduation. I simply oozed back into the classroom to continue from where I left off and do what I've always loved to do – sharing knowledge and information.

PIGEON-HOLED

Barely four months down the road, the frustrations in the system had become too much for me to bear. I was not being allowed to teach all the subjects I knew I could handle perfectly well. I felt like my talents were being wasted as I was restricted to teach a single aspect of one subject, English Language. I knew I could be of much greater use to students and to my country at large (and the world, of course) than I was made to be at that point in time.

ENDEMIC CORRUPTION IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

That wasn't all. I don't know about you but in my country, it is quite common and indeed normal for a newly appointed public sector worker to have their salary delayed for close to a year or even more! That was what happened to me. In many cases, a single corrupt official sitting without a table in a tiny office somewhere could decide to literally place an embargo on your salary till the day you come to your senses and put an envelope on their table. I hope you get my point. I have always refused to give or take a bribe so I realized I wouldn't be able to thrive in the system.

COMPLAINING GALORE

There was a third factor. There was too much complaining all around me. Most of my colleague teachers would spend hours on end gathered at one place and complain about what they thought the government was not doing right. Some extended this into their lesson periods and subjected the impressionable students to time-wasting political propaganda.

Now, before you start thinking I hated this one because I was a supporter of the party in government, let me remind you that I've always kept an open mind when it comes to issues regarding politics, religion and the like. My problem had nothing to do with intolerance. I can tell you that complaining about problems has never solved a single one before. I believe in taking action to