Starting small as an unemployed graduate

But the reality is that it doesn’t always add up. Some wait for years before getting a job and some never get that dream job they dreamt about whilst in school. It actually is a nightmare for some after a series of applications, tests, interviews and rejections.Starting small is almost all you hear experts say […]

But the reality is that it doesn’t always add up. Some wait for years before getting a job and some never get that dream job they dreamt about whilst in school. It actually is a nightmare for some after a series of applications, tests, interviews and rejections.
Starting small is almost all you hear experts say and even government intervention agencies always encourage young graduates to start small and actually provide the means for those willing. Truth be told, it takes a lot of gut and especially self-belief to start small; it requires focus and a strong will to succeed.
Every day, you hear of rags to riches stories across the globe and such examples abound in Nigeria. One whose story continues to inspire is the business mogul Cosmas Maduka, Chairman/CEO of Choscharis Group of Companies who is sole distributor of BMW in Nigeria.
In a newspaper interview, he stated that he hawked bean cake (akara) and started climbing palm trees before the age of five to assist his mother. He was four when his father died. At a point in his later years, things got so bad that he had to use a scale which was a gift during his wedding to support his family. He went round with it and people paid to check their weight. But tenacity paid off and like they say, all is now history.

Many success stories abound and most never had any support from either relatives or government. But today, more and more people are willing to invest in young people with promise; problem is not much young people with focus can be found.
Justine (not real name) who graduated from the Federal Polytechnic Mubi, in Adamawa State waited for two years without getting a job. Of course he wrote many applications and even attended many interviews. When frustration started to set in, a friend advised him to start a business or trade no matter how small as he continues applying for job.
To cut a long story short, he went into the tricycle (Keke Napep) hire-purchase business. “Initially I did not know how people will look at me. I have a HND and I am doing this business. After the first day and after receiving encouragement from my friends and family, I put my mind to it and today I have four tricycles of my own,” he said.
Speaking on how he was able to make it, he said “When I got the first one, I put all my heart into the business. After riding it for a week and making daily returns of N3000, I met the owner and told him I can only do hire purchase with him or he looks for another person.”
Justine said the owner agreed and because it was a brand new tricycle, they reached an agreement for him to pay N650, 000 in 65 weeks. He finished paying in less than a year and collected another one. He gave the old one out on a daily return of N2000 and in less than a year saved enough money to buy another after paying off the one he hired.
Today, Justine has big plans; he said tricycles now cost around N450, 000 and he gave out the one he bought to someone on hire purchase basis at N750, 000 to be paid in 10 months at N2500 daily. He said he has stopped looking for jobs but was concentrating on building a “solid business” spanning real estate, hospitality and education.

“I don’t think I can work for anybody again, I have a steady source of income and the key thing here is prudence. I have plans; I have bought two plots of land in the outskirts of town, I may not build on them now but I know where I am heading to. Working for someone at this stage will be a huge distraction to my plans. But I must admit that at times, I wonder how it feels like to work in an office environment,” he said.
His story should inspire unemployed graduates who have eyes for the future; those who believe in themselves and know that opportunities abound if only you have the patience and diligence to pursue your dreams.