Full time employee, no way!!!

[coollikeme]

My wife and I both work part time for other people and still manage to get by OK, in one of the most expensive places to live (northern New Jersey), because we have our own business that we run full time. The business was slow going at first, but each month we have more and more customers. It is a lot of work, but well worth the time. We would much rather work hard for ourselves, growing our business, than for someone else. We really enjoy having the freedom to do things our way and we only answer to ourselves. My wife had a job, at one time, where they even made the employees ask permission to go to the rest room. Can you believe that?? Even though we only work part time for someone else, now, we still feel like their puppets. Hopefully, our business will be going really strong soon and we will both be able to quit our part time jobs. That way we can make ourselves rich, not our employers. Hopefully, in the long run, we are doing the right thing.

[Baltar]

Hi there! Northern NJ is where I live too, and I'm working on building up my business as well. You're right that it's very expensive to live here, hence I'm living with family right now. I lived in central NJ for a short while but it's expensive there as well (although certainly not as bad as here). But if you really want to save money you have to go all the way to Delaware. Do you belong to any entrepreneurial clubs or organizations around here? I'd love to make friends with other business owners. Good luck with your business!

[PMcDonald]

Originally Posted by coollikeme

Hopefully, in the long run, we are doing the right thing.

Congratulations on your success to this point!

And tell yourself this - instead of using hopefully, say the following...

"I know we are doing the right thing"

It does wonders for the mindset!!

[Milo Riano]

There is nothing wrong in being an employee as long as you are in the right company where you get paid well, learn things you cannot get from anywhere and at the same time build you an enormous network which are all beneficial if in the future you decide to put up a business.

So many billionaire entrepreneurs who founded Oracle, SAP, Peoplesoft, Salesforce, etc. (long long list) were all employees at first which used what they learned from their previous employers to become billionaires.

Take this for instance -- Bob Nardelli was fired from Home Depot because of his pathetic performance but went away with 210 million dollars. Exxon mobile CEO received 1 billion in separation pay, etc.

One of the senior executives I know in the Philippines is already earning close to 1 million dollars a year and is only 32 yrs old. That is a large amount here in the Philippines and with that amount he can put up a McDonalds franchise every year or put up any business he wishes every month. With his influence and network he gained from being an employee, putting up successful businesses as long as it is not in conflict to his employer is easy.

[Baltar]

Originally Posted by Milo Riano

There is nothing wrong in being an employee as long as you are in the right company where you get paid well, learn things you cannot get from anywhere and at the same time build you an enormous network which are all beneficial if in the future you decide to put up a business.

Well, it depends on what your values are. I've said this before and I'll say it again -- for me, freedom is more important than all the money in the world. Also, unless you're a CEO/VP/executive you're not going to learn much about running a business or get paid a lot of money. And as an executive you're most likely going to be working at a large corporation, since at a small company it's more likely that the founders would take the executive positions. Knowing how a large corporation runs doesn't help you learn how to run a small business -- they're very different things. All this assumes you can even get an executive position, which I imagine is very hard in itself.

Another thing you need to consider is that many companies make you sign a non-compete agreement where you give up your right to start a competing business for one or more years after you leave the company. I had a programming job once, and had to sign one. It makes even more sense to force people in high positions to sign something like that. That means you can't use what you've learned about that particular industry to start your own business.

[Milo Riano]

As I said and pointed out it has worked so many times over and a long list of companies were started by former employees from large corporation to building businesses from scratch. From my friends alone I can already count as many as 30 of them. History has proven it.

I never mentioned to put up a company that is the same as your employers. My example were even franchises which raises your chances of success. Resign if you want to put up something similar to your line of work.

If you don't see how the training you get from being an executive could help you run your business then I feel sorry for you. If others can see and use their training to their advantage then that gives them the leverage against you.

Making a business successful against other established businesses is a lot harder than becoming an executive.

As I said many people in history and whom I know were smart enough to have succeeded because of it. Those people whom I know who complain about having a business and feel shortchanged on working for someone else never saw their career progress, I wonder when will they ever get the resources to start their business.

I agree with you that freedom is more important than money (I have the same philosophy) but sometimes you'll just have to live on the concept of delayed gratification. If you are an employee and don't have an inheritance of wealth or resources in sight, live by it, see the bright side and excel for greater things. The worst thing is not having the resources for your own business and being a mediocre employee.

[Isis Kali]

Originally Posted by Milo Riano

As I said and pointed out it has worked so many times over and a long list of companies were started by former employees from large corporation to building businesses from scratch. From my friends alone I can already count as many as 30 of them. History has proven it.

I never mentioned to put up a company that is the same as your employers. My example were even franchises which raises your chances of success. Resign if you want to put up something similar to your line of work.

If you don't see how the training you get from being an executive could help you run your business then I feel sorry for you. If others can see and use their training to their advantage then that gives them the leverage against you.

Making a business successful against other established businesses is a lot harder than becoming an executive.

As I said many people in history and whom I know were smart enough to have succeeded because of it. Those people whom I know who complain about having a business and feel shortchanged on working for someone else never saw their career progress, I wonder when will they ever get the resources to start their business.

I agree with you that freedom is more important than money (I have the same philosophy) but sometimes you'll just have to live on the concept of delayed gratification. If you are an employee and don't have an inheritance of wealth or resources in sight, live by it, see the bright side and excel for greater things. The worst thing is not having the resources for your own business and being a mediocre employee.

Congrats, coollikeme! Sounds like your life is great, and improving rapidly! I actually live in northern Jerz, too, and am looking to make new friends who have an entrepreneurial mindset. Maybe we should have a get-together?

Anywho...being an employee for a bit is always a good thing. You do need that in order to learn how people act while involved in commerce and service. However...that being said, working full-time forever and ever, amen, is a great way to lose your momentum.

Most people aren't going to get those shiny promotions into exec land, and are stuck working in the middle ranks, without a hope of really learning the in-and-outs of business in general. You're right, it doesn't have to be in that particular field, but the exposure to the exec mindset does wonders. Being an employee, though, and putting on a happy face for a while, clinging to your dream...well, that seems like a great way to keep yourself sunken in employee hell for a long, long time. I would think that your motivation would shrivel up and die after delaying yourself for too long. And there will be a long delay in most cases, since the bulk of employees will never get to the top echelons of thier companies.

I think that starting your business and working part-time is the best way to go. Or, do like I'm doing, and just dive in. Like I've said before, poverty is a great motivator We can't all start out with several hundred thou in the bank, and a Palm Pilot full of contacts.

[flabastida]

I tried the "Jumping right into self-employment...because poverty is a great motivator..." but it kind of backfired on me at this stage of the game. I have 4 kids, ages 16 to 2, and my wife is a full-time stay-at-home mom. After I got laid off from my last job in June of 2006 I thought, "well, I'm starting my company with my partner, I might as well jump in head first." My expertise is in sales, making cold-calls, setting appointments finding opportunities, closing sales. My partner is the creative side of the equation. We started a production company. I closed an initial $7000 in sales initially, but for some reason it took us a REALLY LONG TIME to produce the videos. So I stopped selling so we could catch up and not get into hot water with more clients. By the way, we had charged them up front, so it looked bad that we had their money but no end-results yet.

In the meantime, the money ran out, I was living off credit card and other unsecured credit, until it got unsustainable. Now I had to get a full-time job, which I seem to be doing really well at (at this early stage in the game), and my partner is getting caught up. We've had a "come to Jesus meeting" so-to-speak about how we can accelerate our production and still keep the video quality high, so that we can start making a regular income for ourselves.

Needless to say, my wife is mad at me, and I've been stressed out. I've become privvy to the Law of Attraction from the movie The Secret (that my partner introduced to me), and found Steve Pavlina's website through doing a google search of "Law of Attraction." He's been very helpful in terrms of setting goals, doing what's important, and learning how to implement the Law of Attraction in a practical way. I like the "creative observation" bit, because it's not hocus pocus, it's practical, and it allows me to come to terms with my current, seemingly awful, debt-ridden, full-time-job-holding circumstances, and at the same time see the light at the end of the tunnel so that I know that I know that I know I'll come out of it fine. The latest podcast was good because of Steve's prescription for getting to your goals quicker by implementing some of the "side effects" of having more money, for example.

[John Wesley]

Milo Riano, how can you count on becoming a CEO? I know many very successful people have taken that route, but it seems like a big risk to me to put your fortune in the hands of the people above you. There are also many people who went out on their own without making it big at corporations. At a big corporation you are competing against many other people for the same jobs. Many of these people have longer tenure and more experience. Growth is very slow and you need luck too. What if the place above you never opens up? By being an entrepreneur you effectively make yourself a CEO and give yourself I great opportunity for growth that doesn't exist as an employee.

[Taking Action]

I absolutely agree John Wesley. I spent 28 years moving up the corporate ladder of an airline and when things got tough after 9/11, they said bye bye with pretty much nothing after all that time. So, in a flurry of fear, I got a job very quickly with a family owned company until they decided that family members probably knew more than anyone else. So when they informed me that only family members could go higher, I had a real awakening. Got to looking, found a great opportunity, retired my husband and myself within 90 days and that was almost 3 years ago. Now, I am the CEO, my time is my time, I work when right for me (about 20 hours per week), live at the beach, travel and enjoy my life. That is what it is all about. When you work for someone else, they own you (my last boss even told me where to go on vacation in case they needed me I would be close!) Now we travel the world, and no one can stop us!

My point is, a job - regardless of the level, is all about renting yourself out. Self employment is a wonderful thing. It is a matter of getting your priorities in line and allow the LOA to bring you the right opportunity.

Live your life on YOUR terms and no one else's.

[richie]

This thread is giving great insights and really motivating, i am glad i am starting my business in my teens

[coollikeme]

some taught me sooner about running a business. How come schools don't teach you about running a business ,and its advantages. Do schools teach that now I wonder?

[Peter S C]

Thank you for the inspiring stories.

I'm currently a fulltime employee but I am definately taking steps in the direction of being my own boss. The desire for something better is the first step in my mind....

Peter

[Alex2007]

Originally Posted by Isis Kali

Like I've said before, poverty is a great motivator We can't all start out with several hundred thou in the bank, and a Palm Pilot full of contacts.

Very good point.....I really liked it... But insetad of "We can't all start" I would rather say

We CAN all start out with several hundred thou in the bank, and a Palm Pilot full of contacts


Especially that "Palm Pilot" full of contacts.....got in my mind and is seriously becoming my goal....

Thanks wonderful people....

Alex

[Isis Kali]

Originally Posted by coollikeme

some taught me sooner about running a business. How come schools don't teach you about running a business ,and its advantages. Do schools teach that now I wonder?

Oh, puh-lease. That would mean teaching people to think for themselves and not be corporate wage slaves. Hell, no! Better to scare people into cashing into the system. It's less of a threat to the status-quo.

[Alex2007]

High Schools are there to confuse and dissapoint people.

[Gene]

Originally Posted by Alex2007

High Schools are there to confuse and dissapoint people.

And if that is their purpose, and it often seems like it is, they succeed way too often in confusing their students.

I was so confused by the time I graduated from high school that the Army was a place of kindness and understanding where I found a life of purpose and service to others.

[Alex2007]

Not confussed and dissapointed, is the Student who already knows how to play the game, equally before and after the school.

Alex

[Lychee]

High school is a joke. You leave high school knowing practically nothing of what to do in the real world.

[Dwane J.]

Originally Posted by Lychee

High school is a joke. You leave high school knowing practically nothing of what to do in the real world.

The same can be said for college as well

[Lychee]

Originally Posted by Dwane J.

The same can be said for college as well

lol You're absolutely right.