Every job is a learning opportunity

A friend who owns an internet café in my neighbourhood offered me a job a couple of weeks ago. My main duty is to type CVs and motivational letters for people who are desperately looking for work.

Occasionally I type obituaries, and letters for burial or church society members. But most of the people who stream into the café come to make copies of their qualifications, which accompany their typed CVs.

It’s a mundane job, but it’s a temporary arrangement while I sort out a few things in my own business, a laundry.

The weekly income from typing CVs helps me to cover the basics. My friend allows me the flexibility to attend to my own customers when a need arises.

This means I work twice as much, typing CVs by day and doing laundry in the evenings. I work best in the quiet when the neighbourhood is asleep.

Typing CVs is not physically demanding, but it is emotionally taxing, as I am dealing with people all day long.

My laundry business is founded on this principle: helping people. Now, I’m being helped too. I’m enjoying the opportunity to learn from my friend, who has been in business far longer than I have.

I am learning about the market, which is the same market in which I operate. The best part is that I get to watch my friend handle his customers and employees.

My friend shares his insights, and the mistakes and failures which he has made while building his business.

The other day, he told me how he acquired a partner for one of his businesses. That was a mistake. It cost him financially and emotionally.

When it comes to customers, I’m learning to be assertive and unafraid to charge the right price, something I struggle with in my laundry business.

I am also learning a lot about myself, as an employee and a future employer. I’ve discovered that I don’t like working for someone else and being told what to do.

It helps that my friend’s leadership style is to delegate and trust people to do what they need to do.

The most frustrating thing is not having full control over my time. Because I’m often helping customers who are rushing to get somewhere to drop off their CVs, time is extremely important in this job.

This means I don’t have the freedom to do what I want to do, such as having lunch breaks or breakfast. I eat while I work.

I realise that entrepreneurship, as hard as it is, was the best decision for me. When I left my job four years ago, I was not thinking about starting a business at all. I simply wanted change.

I often feel like I stumbled upon entrepreneurship, but in essence, entrepreneurship chose me. I’m glad it did. Not having to answer to anyone is the best thing ever.

If I had a redo of my life, I would still choose the path of entrepreneurship.

For now, I’m making the best of this opportunity and am grateful to my friend for giving it to me.