Who Created Your Job?

Following the TED talk from my last post, The Rich and Job Creation, I got to thinking....

The assumption on job creation is that somehow the super rich have all the answers. That the rich owe it to the rest of the population to create opportunities for others to take advantage of. In the African context however, how many jobs can Aliko Dangote create? He is a tremendously rich industrialist no doubt, but in relation to the 160 million (and counting) people in Nigeria, exactly how much of an impact would a single man have on the bottom line? Okay, lets play fair. If all the super rich individuals in Nigeria were put together, how many jobs would they create? So going by the Forbes List, the likes of Mike Adenuga, Jim Ovia, Folorunsho Alakija and the six other juggernauts could drum up a good number of jobs. A really good number. But not nearly enough.......

Image courtesy of [image Stuart Miles] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It's like watching an edition of Cake Boss on TLC. The programme centers on Buddy Valastro and the bakers of Carlo's Bakery, who design intricate, couture and sometimes life-size cakes. This is all fabulous, glamorous and exciting and one begins to imagine that with the hefty price tags attached, the business survives comfortably by making those cakes alone. That was until I saw the shop floor and the hundreds of mini cakes, desserts and sweet treats that fly off the shelves for the 'regular' guy down the street. The 'people', let me rephrase that..... the 'regular people' not the stupendously rich are the ones who drive businesses and therefore, the economy. Buddy is a very smart man who knows where his bread is buttered (no pun intended). The super rich will create jobs if and only if they find it necessary. If they can achieve the same results with a bit of restructuring, they will take that option because the rules in that sphere of business are different. The 'regular' guy creates jobs because he has to. That's the only way his business will stay afloat.

The 'regular people' used to be called the middle class at some point in history. That term is slowly nearing extinction as policy makers seem to be consistently ignoring this vital sector of the economy. The'regular' guy has 'regular' problems and can therefore solve these problems which every other 'regular' guy has. Like an app that tells you what streets are traffic free, or a real time update of traffic situations in the chaos of Lagos. If it gets too tough to handle, the super rich will sort it out the super rich way, a helicopter. So really. Who created your job? Was it a super rich industrialist, a millionaire heir to a massive business empire or someone who was late to work just because they didn't know what route would work better and decided to do something about it?

So you're looking at your life and wondering how 'regular' you are. No super rich friends or family members to 'shine' with once in a while. How about using the energy used to complain about the hustle of the super rich and look around. What issue did you have today that you wish could have been 'magically' solved? The super rich will not help you. Like you, they have way too many long lost relatives and parasites fighting for a piece of their pie. Being 'regular' is a goldmine; a gift. Revel in it and always keep your eyes open for a way to solve a problem. Once you find it, solve it and you'll create jobs too. It might turn out to be the next best thing, or it might not. Either way, no one gets rich by not trying.