When people parade themselves on social media as highly successful entrepreneurs and CEOs, I am no longer moved by the over-glamorization of the idea. I have taken this road and I know it’s not all fun and glamour like they project it to be.
I graduated from the University of Ghana in 2016 and was posted to a very reputable government institution for my National Service.
Right after the service period, I started applying for jobs. It took about a year for me to secure a position as a receptionist in a company that sells building and interior designing materials. My salary at the time was 800 cedis.
Well, if you live by yourself in Accra, you would know that having to pay rent, utilities, food and all that isn’t an easy task. My salary wasn’t enough so I started looking for other means to make ends meet.
I tried so many things and finally settled on selling secondhand clothes. My colleagues at work patronized me a lot so I created a business page on Instagram, created a logo and made it look solid.
Within the first two months, I was making some good money. Three times bigger than what I was earning at my job then, so I decided to quit and adopt my side hustle as a full-time business.
I didn’t regret it in the beginning – business was booming and I thought I had finally made it. It wasn’t until a year later when things started falling apart. I wasn’t saving so I had to start living from hand to mouth.
Sales started to decline drastically and my life begun to take a miserable turn. I started borrowing money from friends and relatives to buy more clothes to sell. I thought the clothes I had in stock then wasn’t nice enough so I bought more and run Instagram ads, but it only got worse.
Bills begun to pile up on me. Family looked forward to me to send money home every month and my mental health started to decline. I couldn’t socialize with friends like I use to.
When there was noting more I could do to survive, I reached out to my former company to see if I could get my job back; but truth is, I wouldn’t hire me either if I were them.
Till date, I am still desperately hunting for a job. Entrepreneurship sounds good, but DO NOT under any circumstance quit your job to pursue it full-time, unless you have money to survive.
If you must, start small and build your way up gradually. Some will venture into it and succeed but the number of people who will end up like me will outweigh those who are likely to make it. As demotivating as it may sound, not all of us are wired to be business owners. Continue to work for someone, as long as it keeps the roof over your head.
Abigail – Accra
