April 26, 2006
The high risk of having a JOB
After I graduated high school, I moved up to Oregon with a buddy of mine. We both worked at the Nike Air factory when we got there. We were temp workers, factory drones, just sitting all day at a machine that inflated little plastic airbags that would later be used for cushioning in Nike Air shoes. It wasn't the best situation, but at least I had a steady income…
That steady income lasted only until Nike had a seasonal downturn and needed to cut the temporary work force. I got my walking papers, and so I walked back to my temp agency for a new assignment. My new assignment was to a Techtronix shipping facility, where I packaged and shipped electronics.
My first day on the job at Techtronix, I met a guy who was celebrating twenty years of working at that factory. I took one look at this guy and his sad, dumpy body, and immediately made the decision to quit as soon as I could. I think the exact words that I said to myself were, "No way am I going to end up like that!"
I use these two jobs to illustrate the point that I and many others have come to: It's just too risky having a job. Between the risk of being laid off on a moment's notice and the risk of ending up sad and dumpy if you don't get laid off for twenty years, there's no way I'd want a job. That is to say, I don't want to work for anybody else. I do want to work for myself, and that's where the "enlightening" part above comes in. My observations about the "job world" solidified my determination not to work for anyone else, and go the entrepreneur route instead.
Interestingly, I write this only three months before I'm due to go to Navy Officer Candidate School and become a serviceman. I see that as a bit different from the usual job, though. First, they're not going to lay me off. Second, I only plan on serving four years.
Meanwhile, I'm planning my escape to entrepreneurship. If you've never heard of Steve Pavlina, he's got a great podcast at his personal development website about How to Make Money without a Job. I find it a comforting thought that he has already done what I want to do.
Filed under Entrepreneurship, Personal Finance Skills by Sean
Comments on The high risk of having a JOB »
Let me give you my perspective, from a guy whose done both and shared your concern when I was standing in your shoes.
Jobs look boring from the outside. Many jobs are boring and extract energy and spark from your life. Many jobs are fulfilling and fun.
Running a company can be much less fulfilling than many jobs — EVEN THE BORING ONES. Many folks start a company, all hyped up by the Rich Dad books, and find, after a year, they are working much harder for much less pay and EVERYONE is mad at them.
Your wife is mad because you are always working and you don't "value" family time as much as your "work".
Your customers are mad because there is just always some customer mad at you for some reason.
Your employees are mad at you because they have a nagging feeling they could be making a lot mor emoney if they had "your job"…and they are convinced they could do it better than you.
Now, these are broad generalizations…but you WILL feel like this a lot of the time running a company.
If you run a company that sells services or products to other companies, you risk not getting paid. They may decide to pay you well after the contracted 60 day rate. You will have to just eat it.
Many folks who have never run a company think there is a simple contractual solution to this…just write in a penalty to the contract after 60 days. They are all shocked when I tell them the standard practice is for companies not to pay the penalty. You are then faces with a decision, you either pursue legal means (start threatening lawsuits), or you decide to forget it and continue doing business with them. Most times, you'd rather the later…so, you eat it.
Now, keep in mind, while you are getting paid WAY later than when you rightfully due, your employees will ALL QUIT if their paycheck is even one day late, or one dollar short.
Keep in mind your employees will expect to get a raise every year and your customers expect a lower price.
What you realize is that your ability to weather storms like I've described, and the risk of not making sales that you thought you would, is your personal savings. If you can live without making money at all, then you end up not so stressed out. Otherwise, you are in for a ride.
Now, when you realize everyone elses expectations on you…and you accept it…it makes life a little easier. At some point, after a year or two, you may very well come to the realization that you'd rather someone else deal with that crap and you do something more fun and interesting you saw one of your employees doing, and you get to be the demanding employee unaware of unpaid invoices.
You learn about business and an industry on someone else's nickle, and along the way you'll soon accumulate contacts and knowledge..and savings. One day you'll be older and wiser and have enough friends in the industry to launch a company with much less risk and trouble.
Just…think about it. That's all I'm trying to say. There's two sides to every story.
There's a saying about business…"You don't own the business, the business owns you." And it's true. My parents have owned a small business for 20 years. They have to ask their clients when they may take a vacation (which means they never can) and they are the CEO, CFO, Janitor, Marketing Department, etc. It sucks. I would NEVER own a business.
I realize that there is a potential downside to being and entrepreneur. There is, however, unlimited upside. Depending on the business that you choose to go into, you can pick your own hours, choose your customers, vacation when you want to, and make friends with other interesting people who are also entrepreneurs.
BudgetGuy, I understand where you're coming from. My dad actually ran his own automobile dent-removal business for a while, and it went under. He was at the office for a long time each day, and he never did make a lot of money at it. He had the hassles of keeping the books, arranging for advertisements, doing the actual "moneymaking work", and managing the business.
That being said, I believe he'd agree with me that the problems he had with that business were almost entirely related to that particular business. Not all businesses have those same problems.
Her, I would say the same thing to your parents. If they don't like being tied to their business, they should realize that in this free country, nobody has made them continue to do what they've been doing. It's simply a lack of motivation on their part to change - either change the way they run their business, change businesses, or just get out of business and get a job. My dad realized he wasn't cut out for the 6am-to-8pm business owner lifestyle, so he shut the business down and went to work in the aerospace industry.
If read my post on Multiple Streams of Income, you'll see that I'm not trying to make another J.O.B. for myself, where I'm both the business owner and the employee. Instead, I'm focusing on building multiple passive source of income that make enough money for me to live the lifestyle I want.
The thing I like about being an entrepreneur is that my results are based almost entirely on my actions, my skills, and my knowledge. If I fail, I have only myself to blame for not trying hard enough or not responding correctly to the business environment. If I succeed, I can succeed big time, and I can give myself a pat on the back and say, "Well done, Sean."
Of course, if I fail, there's always a job waiting for me…until I get laid off.