CAN'T work for others anymore!

[bemyself]

I'm hoping for some basic advice from all of you smart people, especially the self-employed out there.

I was a history/literature/art history/French focused undergraduate and went back to school again in my late 20's to earn a Master of Landscape Architecture degree. I have no business knowledge and know nothing about computers or websites aside from the software I use for work (AutoCAD, Photoshop, etc.) I have always worked for others and the lack of freedom and inability to get ahead financially is making me crazy.

I have passions outside of the mainstream (I wrote about my passions in the Character & Contribution forum) which seem to all lead to one big desire/value-FREEDOM! (Can you picture Mel Gibson in Braveheart?) But I need to learn some business fundamentals especially as they pertain to being self-employed. And since the Internet seems to be THE way to have your own business I need to learn some basic skills for how websites/blogs are started and maintained. And how they earn you income.

I don't want to be one of the many who fail to be their own boss. I want to be one of the many who succeed so I don't have to ever go back to working for someone else.

Thank you all in advance for reading this post and taking the time to add your thoughts.

[cdn2wheeler]

uh... there's blue paint on your face, William Wallace.

But to the point...

I fully and completely understand your frustrations. I spent HOURS and HOURS in meetings today to listen to someone yak and yak and yak and yak about stuff that's already been decided and really doesn't matter anyway. I'll never get those 2 1/2 hours back. I could have been watching The Wiggles instead and got more accomplished.

But there's a fundamental and very real difference between wanting to do something to get out of where you are now, and wanting to do something because you're truly driven to do it.

So before you go burn any bridges - and I don't get the sense that you'd do that anyway - determine what it is you want, rather than what it is you don't want.

[silicon toad2000]

working for yourself or working for someone else is purely a conduit to doing what you love.
figure out what you love first
the do it working for someone else and learn from them
while doing that do a few courses in community college on running a business
go out on your own and then be your own boss.

so many people put the cart before the horse and begin their own business for the sake of having their own business.
If you don't love what you do it will be very difficult to succeed

[ciarac]

Hi Beyourself,

Listen, don't worry about what you don't know.
The thing to remember is that entrepreneurs are not business majors, generally. Business majors, again, generally, take jobs in companies, working for somebody else. They have the knowledge and the skills, but at the end of the day, they work for somebody else.

You HAVE what it takes; you realize that working for somebody else is basically ridiculous. You make someone else rich and you yourself become stagnant and unhappy. Some people have a job that they love; most don't.

So, the first step you need to take is to decide what business you want to start.
What service could you sell? What product could you create? What system could you fabricate?
This may take some brainstorming or maybe you already have an idea.

Then decide whether you want to maybe work part-time for someone else whilst you build your business, or maybe you have enough money saved to help you through the starting phase of your business.

If I were you, I would read and read and read the abundance of information which steve has on his site, I find it really inspirational and it makes you feel you can do it, which is important.
And you can do it, you just need to want it.

If you need any help whatsoever, you can PM me and we can exchange emails. I don't know how much I can help as I am no expert, but it's nice sometimes just to have someone to talk to who is in the same mindset.

Let us all know how things go!

[mellom]

I went on my own three months ago and it's the best thing I could have done.

Like you, I was tired of working for somebody else. Tired of the constant office politics and regular 9-5 BS that goes with it.

I'm a Web Developer. So when I was at my job, I moonlighted as a "Mentor" for a Jr. level at another company. After a couple of months, for a few hours a week, they fell in love with my work. Next thing you know, we're discussing plans to bring me on for a more involved role.

Those discussions gave me a way out of my job. I was able to make 2x the amount in half the time. Yeah it was only one client, but luckily I had socked away enough money in case something went wrong.

Well, three months later - here I am. My relationship with the client is very strong and it looks like a good chance I'll be there for a while. And along the way I picked up two more Oh, and I work from home!

With that said, I'm now starting a new venture: Learn how to blog for money and you might be interested in following. Hopefully I can help you along the way. But of course, don't quit your job to blog... yet

Anyway - follow your heart but use your head along the way. Don't be afraid to take risks, but make sure they're calculated. That's what I've learned.

Good luck.

[Ree]

My advice is a lot like all the other advice you've received: Be yourself, figure out what you love and find a way to make a living doing it. As far as the business end of things, it's really common sense. Track everything: get a bank account with a bank card that is dedicated to your business; run all your expenses through this account; keep a ledger either on paper or on your PC; run all your income through this account as well; hire a CPA if you can afford it; if not, talk to the IRS and find out how to estimate and pay your quarterlies.

Really all it takes is a lot of desire and a healthy dose of common sense. I've been self employed for a while now and it's the best thing I've ever decided to do! Good luck!

Oh! Don't forget to ENJOY!

[4Mind4Life]

Focus exactly on what you want to do. If you don't really know what you want to do experiment with a bunch of things that you may be interested in. Begin by educating yourself on whatever you want to do and dive right in. You will learn whatever you want if you are determined enough. If you truly want to do something, nothing will stand in your way. By the way, there is nothing wrong with failing....you will learn a lot if you do. Just set a goal and DO IT UNTIL IT IS DONE! Check out the featured article on my blog, I think that you may find it helpful.

Best wishes!

[Brutha]

And since the Internet seems to be THE way to have your own business I need to learn some basic skills for how websites/blogs are started and maintained.

It isn't necessarly easier to have your own business online than offline.
Most bloggers don't make much money. While there certainly is money to be made it isn't an easy road.

[ticktockclok]

Originally Posted by Brutha

It isn't necessarly easier to have your own business online than offline.
Most bloggers don't make much money. While there certainly is money to be made it isn't an easy road.

Adding on to Brutha's wise words... If your purpose for blogging is to make money, you're going to be a straight up failure. Making money should be a secondary purpose for a blog. Even if Google decided to get rid of Adsense, for example, Steve wouldn't stop blogging. His primary purpose is to help people grow.

[Saidin]

Hi BeMyself,

I used to be in the same boat as you. I quit my job and I'm now happily freelancing. I'm a software/web developer, so it's easy to find work anywhere at the moment. It will probably be harder in your line of work, so like somebody else said: don't burn your bridges just yet.

If you want to make it online, I suggest you start doing that besides your normal job. For me, it's great to make an online living and I'm slowly moving from mainly freelancing towards mainly working on making money online.

The online work gives me much more flexibility and the freedom you and I both crave. It makes it easy for me to get up when my alarm goes off at 5am, because it's something I love doing and that'll give me freedom.

My advice is to gradually move towards having freedom in your life. Try to find more ways of working less. Whether it's earning more money or working less or making money while doing what you love. Ideally you'll achieve all three.

Go for it, it's really worth it! Good luck and let us know how you're doing.

[bemyself]

Thank you all for your advice. I guess I know inside that the real challenge isn't the nuts and bolts of setting up a business but what that business will be and how passionate and hard working I'm driven to be for it.

This probably belongs on another forum but my deeper issue is my lack of confidence. I worry that I don't have any talent at anything to a degree that will support me financially. I may have enough book smarts to earn two college degrees but I don't feel like I have any natural talent for anything. Just interests in a few wide ranging things. Lately I've even felt that the ability to learn is getting more difficult. (My brain feels full and exhausted.)

The goal is to deliver value at the price customers are willing to pay for it but the biggest challenge is making your value stand out above others offering the same value so they pick you to pay for that value. (Value meaning product, service, etc.)

I understand everyone's advice to do something you're passionate about and then the money will come. I just find it hard to believe that everyone's passion will lead to the ability to support yourself with it. You also need talent. I may be very passionate about writing to make a living but the competition in that field demands that I be able to write extremely well at what ever topic or genre I tackle or I will never make a dime at it. Reality for everyone is the need to eat.

[cdn2wheeler]

Originally Posted by bemyself

I understand everyone's advice to do something you're passionate about and then the money will come. I just find it hard to believe that everyone's passion will lead to the ability to support yourself with it. You also need talent. I may be very passionate about writing to make a living but the competition in that field demands that I be able to write extremely well at what ever topic or genre I tackle or I will never make a dime at it. Reality for everyone is the need to eat.

There's a mind-set among some that in order to succeed you need to really burn your bridges and leap headlong into your passion without a thought given to the possibility of failure.

Frankly, I'm not sure that's particularly good advice. I know personally of a fellow that's destroyed two marriages, been bankrupt once and is well on the way to doing it again because he did exactly that.

Yes, there are those who have done the whole "leap into the unknown" thing and had spectacular results. But (there's always a "but" isn't there?) there are likely far, far more people by orders of magnitude that have done the same thing and ended up broken and broke as a result. We just don't hear their stories because nobody crows about their failures. If it's just yourself, that's one thing because you can dust yourself off and try again. But if you're responsible for the health, feeding and well-being of kids, then that's another issue entirely.

Fortunately, there is a middle ground which mitigates the risk. Do what you love in your off-hours (away from work, for instance) and monetize it until it's generating enough revenue that you can safely bid your employer good-bye.