Unemployment and entrepreneurship

By Obvious Muzawanga

Introduction

Unemployment rates continue to soar globally as financial markets plummet and the world’s
fortunes waver. Young people are amongst the worst hit by this challenge; with many turning to
drugs and numerous vices sometimes leading to cases of suicide. There is much debate on the
actual figures of unemployment rates in Zimbabwe, with ranges from of the unemployment rate
being staggered at 90% in contrary to 10% from other sectors. This emanates from a contested
pluralistic interpretation of ‘unemployment’. According to Zim Stats as at 2021 - Unemployment
rate for youth was at 24% and highest rate was of those who had completed up their secondary
education (20%). This is in contrast with International Labour Organisation (ILO) trend analyses
which recorded the unemployment rate in Zimbabwe to have remained unchanged at 4.90 percent
in 2019 from 4.90 percent in 2018 with an expectation to rise to 6% in 2021. It might be suggested
that one of the reasons for these mismatched statistics is the huge informal sector in Zimbabwe. It
is estimated that between 80 to 90 percent of Zimbabweans are engaged in informal economic
activities, and that the sector, which is also linked into supply chains and the formal economy,
accounts for 40 percent of Zimbabwe’s GDP.

1.0 Definition of terms

Unemployment: the state of being unemployed or not having a job. In Zimbabwe, the
unemployment rate measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of
the labour force.

Entrepreneur: An entrepreneur is a person who undertakes enterprises

Enterprise: is a company, business or any other purposeful endeavour, it may be called

undertaking or project especially a daring and courageous one. Last we may call it a willingness
to undertake new or risky projects; energy and initiative.

2.0 Unemployment

2.1 Understanding Unemployment

The term “unemployment” is often misunderstood, it as it includes people who are waiting to
return to a job after being discharged, yet it does not include individuals who have stopped looking
for work in the past four weeks due to various reasons such as leaving work to pursue higher
education, retirement, disability, and personal issues. Also people who are not actively seeking a
job but do want to work are not classified as unemployed.

Interestingly, people who have not looked for a job in the past four weeks but have been actively
seeking one in the last 12 months are put into a category called the “marginally attached to the
labor force.” Within this category is another category called “discouraged workers,” which refers
to people who have given up looking for a job.

The categories mentioned above sometimes causes confusion and debate as to whether the
unemployment rate fully represents the actual number of people who are unemployed. For a full
understanding, one should juxtapose “unemployment” with the term “employment,” which the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) describes as individuals aged 16 and above who have recently
put hours into work in the past week, paid or otherwise, because of self-employment. Types of
Unemployment

There are basically four types of unemployment: (1) demand deficient, (2) frictional, (3) structural,
and (4) voluntary unemployment.

1. Demand deficient unemployment

Demand deficit unemployment is the biggest cause of unemployment that typically happens during
a recession. When companies experience a reduction in the demand for their products or services,
they respond by cutting back on their production, making it necessary to reduce their workforce
within the organization. In effect, workers are laid off.

2. Frictional unemployment

Frictional unemployment refers to those workers who are in between jobs. An example is a worker
who recently quit or was fired and is looking for a job in an economy that is not experiencing a
recession. It is not an unhealthy thing because it is usually caused by workers trying to find a job
that is most suitable to their skills.
3. Structural unemployment

Structural unemployment happens when the skills set of a worker does not match the skills
demanded by the jobs available, or alternatively when workers are available but are unable to reach
the geographical location of the jobs. An example is a teaching job that requires relocation to China,
but the worker cannot secure a work visa due to certain visa restrictions. It can also happen when
there is a technological change in the organization, such as workflow automation that displaces the
need for human labor.

4. Voluntary unemployment

Voluntary unemployment happens when a worker decides to leave a job because it is no longer
financially compelling. An example is a worker whose take-home pay is less than his or her cost
of living.

3.0 Causes of unemployment

External forces

 Prevailing macroeconomic conditions in the country

 Political conditions
 Wars
 Natural disasters

Internal forces

 Lack of experience and skill

 Lack of exposure
 Poor educational qualification
 Laziness
 Not thinking outside the box

4.0 Results of unemployment among youth

 Behavioural; substance abuse, illicit sexual activities, addictions eg porno

 Psychological; depression, suicide, mental illness, loss of self confidence
  Political; riots, looting, political violence
 Social; stealing, robberies, financial gaining rituals (kuromba)
 Economic; inflation, illegal money exchange, illegal migration, recession, low GDP,
 Spiritual; low tithing and offering, slowing down of advancing the mission.

4.0 What can we do about unemployment?

It was by God's design that man should be self-reliant and depend on his or her God-given abilities
and resources to live on earth. Genesis account introduces us to entrepreneurship as the solution
to unemployment.

What does the Bible say about entrepreneurship?

No man can lay up treasure in heaven without finding his life on earth thereby enriched and
ennobled. All who do this are making the best possible preparation for life in this world, Education
p.67.

Christians have always find comfort in being unemployed and poverty in justify the condition by
associating wealth with evil. It is far from the truth to assume that God want us to be poor. The
Bible has a lot of empirical evidence godly men who had great possession, Abraham, Job, David,
Solomon all had great wealth. Most Christian will miss heaven for one sin, not fulfilling their
purpose on earth. It is every men's duty to take hid of the great commission in Mathew 28:18-20
and Genesis 1:28. One should note that our purpose on earth is:

Goal 1: To preach the gospel and make disciples

Goal 2: To multiply in numbers and subdue the earth and have dominion over all creation not to
be under dominion of another creation.

When God said be fruitful and multiply He meant to be fruitful biologically and also to be fruitful
in our talents that he had bestowed in us. He expects everyone to be fruitful of the seeds of talents
and multiply by using the created earth he had given dominion to man. In Genesis 2:5 we find why
God gave man dominion to earth. God did not allow it rain until He had created man lest there will
be vegetation without a dresser. After man was created there was rain because the manager of the
garden was there to have abundance of possession to support his livelihood and the mission.
God wants tithe and offering in His house to be used in mission 1, Malachi 3:8-10. If a man is not
fruitful with the seed of talents in him, he is shortchanging God in advancing the mission. He who
discover his or her talents and does not multiply them, he or she is qualified to be a wicked servant,
Mathew 25:26-27. This wickedness of not multiply talents is the reason most of people are poor,
God in His wisdom saw that these are not good managers of their talents and will not give the
much to manage Luke 16:10-12.

In as much as it is commanded for every man to keep the commandments of God by keeping as
they are, proper and true observance of Sabbath mean working for six days and in those six days
making sure that talents have multiplied. The command also gives the charge that Sabbath keepers
should be employers who gives rest to their servants not the vice versa. Sabbath keepers should
not be employees but employers.

Solomon gives advice to those who do not want to multiply their talents, sluggard should learn
from ants, Proverbs 6:6.

Among the first things to be aimed at should be a correct position, both in sitting and in standing.
God made man upright, and He desires him to possess not only the physical but the mental and
moral benefit, the grace and dignity and self-possession, the courage and self-reliance, which an
erect bearing so greatly tends to promote. Let the teacher give instruction on this point by example
and by precept. Show what a correct position is, and insist that it shall be maintained. Education
p.97

What shall we do?

For one to become an entrepreneur there is need to understand how a man is modelled

As a man thinketh so is he

We have grown up and educated in the way that we must not realize our potential. This occurs
when the learning system teaches us to be employees. We choose career that will not make us
useful in life without someone giving us a job. For those who have made it in life they are never
employees, there are bosses of their own enterprises. So how can one unchain himself from this
mentality is the fundamental question. There are a lot of misconceptions about financial success
especially among Christians that are always shuttering people to become successful entrepreneurs.
Some of them are as follows:

 The conviction that who do better are better than you. No one is better than you and no one
is smarter than you. Those who have made it are ordinary people like you. Self-made
milliners are ordinary people with average education, average jobs, living in average
neighborhoods in average houses, driving average cars.
 Thinking that life will start when old. Most successful entrepreneurs started while teenagers.
 Fear hinders people to unlock full potential. Fear to fail is the greatest reason why people
do not want to be entrepreneurs. Everything in life is a risk. Not taking the risk is a risk.
Failure is a learning way to success, it is the only robot that tells you that you are taking
the wrong direction. Failure informs you more options that do not work. 90% of all
financially successful people started off broke or nearly broke and on average the self-
made millionaires has been bankrupt or nearly bankrupt 3.2 times. Biggest success comes
from biggest failures
 Thinking that one does not have enough educational qualification to achieve financial
success. Most billionaires and millionaires have average school qualification and most of
them do not have graduation qualification e.g Steve Jobs and Bill Gates dropped out of
college to pursue their dreams. If financial success and education were on the family tree
the two would be distant cousins

Unlocking the way, we think

The iron law of human destination is Law of Cause and Effect. It says that for every because they
are an effect, for every action there is a reaction. Success is not an accident.

The basic idea is that every outcome you experience in life either wealth or poverty is a result of
how you have responded to an earlier event or events.

We live in the world of duality i.e. ups and downs, light and dark, so for every cause there is an
effect. For every event there is a reaction that is in duality either positive or negative

It can be summarized by the formula

Event plus Response =outcome (E+R=O)

The outcome you get are a result of how you responded to the event. If you don't like the results,
there two options

1. Blame the event for your lack results e.g. In Zimbabwe you can blame the government for
your brokenness.
2. Change response to the event until getting desires outcome

Option 1 is easy and obviously most of us we opt to choose it because it gives self-comfort. Option
2 is the most desirous to take if one is earnestly seeking success.

How can one work on the responses to the event?

Response is determined by the way an individual thinks. Life is like a tree which bear fruits. The
fruits are the results. What determines the quality of results is the seeds and roots. If we do not like
the fruits, we should first change the roots. If you want change, you must first change the invisible.

There are four quadrants that make up a human being, the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.
The only visible quadrant is the physical, which is a print out of the other three quadrants.

Thoughts lead to Feelings, Feelings lead to Action, Action lead to results.

Financial blueprint of an individual consist of combination of thoughts, feelings and actions in the
arena of finance. Formation of financial blue print consist primarily of the information or
programming one received in the past and especially as a young child. The sources of programming
or conditioning for most people are parents, siblings, friends, authority figures, teachers, religious
leaders, media, culture to name a few.

Where do your thoughts come from? why do you think differently from the next person? Your
thoughts originate from the files of information you have in the cabinet of your mind. This
information comes from the past programming. The past programming determines every thought
that bubbles up your mind. That is why it is often referred to as the conditioned mind. To reflect
this process

Programming lead to Thoughts, Thoughts lead to Feelings, Feeling lead to Action and Action
lead to Results.
Primary way of programming is

1. Verbal programming. What did you hear, when you were young?
2. Modelling: What did you see when you were young
3. Specific incident: What did you experience when you were young?

There are four key elements to change each of which is essential in reprogramming your financial
blue print.

1. First element of change is awareness. You can’t change something unless you know it exist
2. Second element of change is understanding. By understanding where your thoughts are
originating from can help you recognize that the change can come from inside you
3. Third element of change is Disassociate
4. The fourth element of change is reconditioning.

You only have control over three things in life, the thoughts, the images you visualize and actions
you take. How one uses these three determine everything one will experience. If you don't like
what you are producing and experience, change your response to events. Change negative thoughts
to positive ones. Change your visions n dreams, change your habits, change on who surround you,
change the way you talk.

 Take 100% responsibility of your life

 Give up blaming others or anything else
 Give up complaining
 Give up criticizing
 Be able to adapt and embrace change

Now that your mind is ready to give up the old habits and ready to start the journey of
entrepreneurship, how does one become a successful entrepreneur?

How to become a successful entrepreneur?

1. Dream big. Allow yourself to imagine the kind of life you want to live and kind of money
you want to earn
2. Develop a clear sense of direction. Take your dreams from the air and crystalize them in
written specific goals. You will become what you think about most of the time.
3. See yourself as self-employed. Accept 100% responsibility of your life. Be in charge of
your life
4. Do what you love to do. This the greatest secret of financial success. This is also your
primary responsibility in life. Find out what you enjoy doing, what natural talent do you
have and throw your heart into doing that very well.
5. Commit to excellence. Set yourself a goal to join the top 10% of your field. This is a
decision to become good at what you do. There are no successful people who are not
recognized as extremely competent in their chosen field.
6. Develop a workaholic mentality. All self-made millionaires work hard, they start work
early and finish later. Develop the reputation of being the hardest worker in the field.
7. Dedicate yourself to lifelong learning.
8. Pay yourself first. Save and invest 10% of your income thought out your working life. Save
10% of your income and invest it.
9. Learn every detail of your business. Market only pays excellent rewards for excellent
performance. Be the expert in the field by learning every single detail about how to do it
better and better.
10. Dedicate yourself to serving others. Your rewards in life will always be in direct proportion
to your service to other people
11. Be impeccably honest with yourself and others. Perhaps the most valued and respected
quality you can develop is a reputation for absolute integrity. Be honest in every transaction
and activity.
12. Set priorities on your activities and concentrate single on one thing at a time.
13. Develop a reputation of speed and dependability.
14. Be prepared to climb from peak to peak in your life and in your career. Life is two step
forward one step back
15. Practice self-discipline in all things.
16. Unlock your inborn creativity. You are a potential genius
 17. Get around the right people. 85% of your success in life is determined by the quality of the
relationships that you have in your personal and business activities. The more people you
know in a positive way the more you will become successful and move ahead.
18. Take excellent care of your health. Your goal must be to leave to be 80 or 90 even 100years
old in excellent health.
19. Be decisive and action oriented
20. Never consider possibility of quitting. Fear to fail is the greatest obstacle to success in adult
life.
21. The twin qualities of persistence and determination. Persistence is the iron quality of
character. Persistence is the character of man as carbon to steel

All the varied capabilities that men possess--of mind and soul and body--are given them by God,
to be so employed as to reach the highest possible degree of excellence. But this cannot be a selfish
and exclusive culture; for the character of God, whose likeness we are to receive, is benevolence
and love. Every faculty, every attribute, with which the Creator has endowed us is to be employed
for His glory and for the uplifting of our fellow men. And in this employment is found its purest,
noblest, and happiest exercise. PP p.596

Success in this life, success in gaining the future life, depends upon a faithful, conscientious
attention to the little things. Perfection is seen in the least, no less than in the greatest, of the works
of God. The hand that hung the worlds in space is the hand that wrought with delicate skill the
lilies of the field. And as God is perfect in His sphere, so we are to be perfect in ours. The
symmetrical structure of a strong, beautiful character is built up by individual acts of duty. And
faithfulness should characterize our life in the least as well as in the greatest of its details. Integrity
in little things, the performance of little acts of fidelity and little deeds of kindness, will gladden
the path of life; and when our work on earth is ended, it will be found that every one of the little
duties faithfully performed has exerted an influence for good--an influence that can never perish.
PP p.576.

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