I regret wasting time building other people's dreams

A participant at the Pakasa Forum last Saturday asked a pertinent question in entrepreneurship; is working for someone else first an effective strategy that would impart important skill sets or a useless detour to what I see as my ultimate goals?

Capt. Abhay Agarwal, the keynote speaker, who worked for someone else before taking over the business, handled it rather well. He concurred that working first as an employee provides invaluable skills and understanding that form the basis for strong leadership.  

Experts will give you several reasons why it is a preferred choice. It helps you to understand your employees; helps you to understand how and why organisations make decisions and gives you a platform to build up your business networks.  You have to learn about the industry (possible on the go, but better to know the basics before you jump into it).

Lastly, as one observer notes, if the boss is the least experienced member of the team, how can s/he be a leader?

Work in progress at Sentalo's city home compound in Kireka

Charles Sentalo, the subject of our Pakasa lead story this week is a great example. Sentalo, 71, is the proprietor of Tanks and Tanks Engineering, a company worth about sh1b that fabricates metallic tanks of different sizes and varied  metal products in Kireka, Wakiso. He is also into commercial real estate and is a mixed farmer who works on over 50 acres of land in Kibale.

Although he is successful by general standards, Sentalo who never had a chance to study much in school has one regret in life; he spent close to 20 years working  for different people because that was all the work his limited education could afford him.

Was this a curse or a blessing? CLICK HERE to read his story in New Vision's Pakasa pullout of April 15. Also like the Pakasa page for more.