WeeklySA_AdminQUEST: Author and banking technology manager Thembelihle “Thembi” Buthelezi challenges the pressure to resign in pursuit of entrepreneurial dreams, arguing that a salary can provide the foundation for building a sustainable business…
By WSAM Reporter
For aspiring entrepreneurs balancing business ambitions with household bills, debt and family responsibilities, handing in a resignation letter can carry consequences far beyond the workplace.
A new book by Thembelihle “Thembi” Buthelezi challenges the idea that leaving employment is the ultimate proof of commitment to entrepreneurship. Instead, it makes the case for using the security of a job to build a business that can eventually stand on its own.
In The Employed Entrepreneur: Building a Business While You Still Have a Job, Buthelezi presents employment as a potential source of income, experience, discipline and breathing room for people pursuing business ownership.
Her central argument is that entrepreneurial ambition and financial responsibility can coexist.
“The message is not ‘quit your job’. The message is ‘build wisely while you still have the protection of employment’,” she says in publicity material accompanying the book.
The approach speaks to a difficult question facing many working South Africans: how to pursue greater financial independence without jeopardising the income on which their households depend.
The message is not ‘quit your job’. The message is ‘build wisely while you still have the protection of employment’…
Rather than urging readers to take an immediate leap, Buthelezi advocates preparation. That means testing an idea, understanding the numbers, developing customers and putting systems in place before deciding whether to leave employment. The decision to resign, in this view, should follow evidence that the business and the entrepreneur’s personal circumstances can support the transition.
A salary as a foundation
The book challenges a familiar narrative in entrepreneurship culture: that serious business owners must “go all in”, and that remaining employed signals hesitation or a lack of belief.
Buthelezi offers a different perspective. A salary can help an aspiring entrepreneur meet everyday obligations while developing a product or service, learning from early customers and working through the practical demands of running a business.
Her argument does not mean remaining an employee indefinitely. It means recognising that the route to business ownership can be gradual, deliberate and shaped by the responsibilities each person carries. The book is aimed at professionals, working mothers, graduates, young leaders, side hustlers and corporate employees who want to create something of their own while managing those responsibilities.
It also draws attention to the difference between earning extra money and building an enterprise with lasting value. Moving beyond a side hustle requires attention to customers, delivery, systems, growth and the ability to sustain operations.
Experience on both sides
Buthelezi brings experience of both corporate employment and entrepreneurship to the subject.
A Software Development Manager in the banking sector and an MBA graduate of Wits Business School, she is also the founder of Connection House, an events and production company.
She co-founded Venuapp, a food ordering and delivery platform built for live events. Her other roles include speaker, media commentator and independent director.
That combination of responsibilities informs the book’s premise: a business can begin while its founder is still building a career.
Its first steps may be modest — an idea developed after work, a prototype, a first customer or a weekend spent calculating costs. What matters is how those beginnings develop into an operation with structure and a clear purpose.
For readers who have postponed their ambitions because they cannot afford to lose a salary, the book offers a way to reconsider their starting point.
Ambition comes with boundaries
Building a business alongside employment also raises questions about workplace obligations and personal capacity. The book opens a conversation about how employees can pursue their own ventures without compromising their jobs, what ethical boundaries they should observe and how to manage the risk of burnout.
Financial readiness is only part of the calculation. Prospective business owners must also consider whether their operations are sufficiently developed to support a move away from employment.
When does a side hustle become a viable business? How dependable are its customers and income? What needs to be in place before its founder leaves a regular salary behind?
These questions give Buthelezi’s argument relevance beyond the moment of starting a venture. They concern the quality of the business being built and the conditions under which it can grow.
At the heart of The Employed Entrepreneur is a recognition that the dream of owning a business does not cancel the obligations of daily life.
Buthelezi’s message is to take that dream seriously enough to prepare for it — using the resources available today to build a stronger foundation for tomorrow.
