Every employee will eventually leave the company s/he works for e.g. via retirement. Sometimes companies can also “leave employees” e.g. via retrenchment. Either way, it pays to be ready.

In one of his books, Robert Kiyosaki, recommended proactively acquiring skills that would help one in self-employment, while still in paid employment.

It’s an unusual – but effective – strategy. Below, I suggest tips you can use, based on my personal experiences and observation:

How to Acquire Self-Employment Skills While Still In Paid Employment (6 Tips)

1. Ask yourself what area of business you wish to go into. Then find out what skills and knowledge you need to have to be effective in that line of business.

2. Study the job opportunities or positions available in your current employer. Identify those positions that can equip you with skills and know-how you need as an entrepreneur.

For instance, every entrepreneur needs marketing, sales, and book keeping knowledge to function effectively. Startups often have to multi-task a lot in those areas.

Therefore having your employer give you roles that enable you work in sales, sales management, marketing, finance and HR can be valuable.

This is not being dishonest. Your long term purpose will remain. But in the short term, you’ll still ensure you deliver justifiable work quality to your employer while doing such jobs.

3. If you can deal with the additional work load, MOONLIGHTING (running a business on the side, while employed) could be a viable approach. But do not shortchange your employer.

4. Sometimes your current employer may not have job positions that offer exposure you need. Depending on how determined you are, you may explore taking up such jobs elsewhere.

5. Accepting a pay cut to move to another company to take up the job you need to learn, may be appealing, if you feel convinced better options do not exist. It would be risky. But probably no riskier than hoping you won’t be asked to retire early…or worse get laid off!

6. Then again you may not need to switch employers at all. Consider talking to a friend(s)  competent in the areas that interest you. Maybe s/he is employed in such a job. Make out time to undergo private coaching with him/her – even if you have to pay. It will be money well spent.

Your Knowledge & Skills REMAIN Yours When You Leave – You Have Nothing to Lose!

More opportunities and incentives exist today, to pursue self-employment, than was the case a few years ago.

But experience in certain areas of business can be quite essential. Without it, things can get tougher, messier – and costlier – than they should be, for you.

I know this from working closely with CEOs of small to medium sized companies, in different industries, over the past 10 years.

Here’s the trend I noticed…a very distinct trend:

Those who had never worked (or who had spent little time) in paid employment, often struggled with daily running of their businesses. They frequently employed a lot of trial and error in managing employees, organizing sales teams, planning marketing etc.

Most noteworthy however, was their inability to ensure reliable and accurate business data recording and report generation – by themselves or their workers.

This caused trouble when financial reports for tax purposes had to be prepared, for instance. I sometimes had to facilitate the process of helping them setup systems to address the problems.

Integral to the best practice solutions I developed was often a custom spreadsheet application that performed multiple functions. Some adopted it, and made it work. Others never got it going.

In contrast, those with relevant work exposure, prior to starting their businesses, rarely had such issues. They readily brought their experiences to bear in setting up in-house. It was that simple.

Final Words

I know this is supposed to be a career development article. A first look at what I’ve written above may suggest it is not. That it’s more of a pre-retirement primer

But it is still a career development focused article. It just offers an unusual perspective

The truth is long term jobs are much harder to find, than they were in the past. Indeed, many employers no longer offer such jobs.

By implication therefore, most people now have to take up contract jobs, and temporary employment of all sorts.

In between jobs, many have learnt to be MORE entrepreneurial, to keep their income levels up while searching for new employment.

That’s why the strategy I’ve proposed above, is so relevant today. There’s no point being needlessly sentimental about it. As you move around, deliberately acquire NEW knowledge and/or skill. Over time, you’ll be better prepared to run your own business as the need arises.

And the need will arise…eventually…unless you win the lottery, and never have to work for money again…