Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Enh...the quoting system doesn`t work reliably, from what I`ve seen. Most people just don`t pay that much attention. :-)

No response Craig? Figured you`d have some sort of statement, question, critique, etc. (Other than to the quotation issue)


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Team: Leadership Development Service Provider
"If you`re going the opposite direction of everyone else, keep going." - Sam Walton
"If you know how much you make per hour, you don`t make much." - Orrin Woodward

Well, we`ve been quite busy lately, what with business in a spring-time surge. Aside from that, you`ve given a clear analysis of how to exit the Catch-22 loop. The point of any topic, in my view of it, is to provide advice for people who are looking for solutions. From what I`m seeing, this topic has been pretty well covered, right?
:-)

Well, the topic may have been discussed, but that is of little real value. People actually getting out of the catch 22 is of real value. Discussion is good for writing books and things, but discussion on forum without results is aimless, in my opinion. A number of people in the "catch-22" are in a self-created "catch-22". You can only claim to really be in that situation if you try everything you can to get out. Talking about it on forums doesn`t really count, unless you are looking for, and subsequently applying the answers you find. The worst kind of would-be entrepreneur is one who talks to much and acts to little. Not making this claim of anyone in particular, I`m just saying.



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Team: Leadership Development Service Provider
"If you`re going the opposite direction of everyone else, keep going." - Sam Walton
"If you know how much you make per hour, you don`t make much." - Orrin Woodward

As you`ve seen, the forum here on SuN is pretty large in terms of topics. There are discussions on all things related to entrepreneurship. But we also get people who read the forums because they hope to start a business, or they`re trying to figure out their first step. They`re at work, an employee, and they believe they simply can`t change anything.

So this topic is designed for those folks, to show them that it isn`t really a Catch-22: that they can indeed start their own business. To that end, I wouldn`t say it`s fruitless, right? :-)

Well, yes and no. KNOWING there is a way out is sometimes worse than NOT KNOWING, if you do nothing about what you know.


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Team: Leadership Development Service Provider
"If you`re going the opposite direction of everyone else, keep going." - Sam Walton
"If you know how much you make per hour, you don`t make much." - Orrin Woodward

Craig,

I am experiencing the situation you are inquiring about. Let me briefly explain my scenario.

35 y/o happily working at a `secure` job for over 10 years in IT. My wife works part time and we do not rely on her income at all (she pays for kids activities, her gas, and clothing). The institution I work at requires a security clearance and such which adds a higher level of job security. Known in the past 50+ years as a great place to retire with a nice pension, I was happily cruising along. Well, all of a sudden, the dream is over with a new contract/owner, and downsizing is the new thing here. I have at least 1 year, maybe 2 left before I`ll be eligible for layoff as well. I just broke the six figure mark and equalling my salary somewhere else is probably not going to happen. I have almost no savings and marginally vested in my pension, meaning it won`t be remotely enough to sustain after retirement. Also, due to the housing market, I am now upside down in my house almost 50% (~$180,000). My plan has fallen apart, so it`s time for a new one.

In the meantime, I`ve spent the last 2-3 months reading all sorts of texts on success conditioning & the like  (Tony Robbins, Mill Next Door, Think and Grow Rich, Rich Dad Poor Dad...etc). I was very motivated to branch out on my own. Filed my DBA, got my business license, and was ready to get things moving when I came to the next book in my reading list, The E-Myth. Well, needless to say I had to take a step back and refocus.

Did I really just want to create a job for myself? Not really. I know that I`m not going to become wealthy working for someone else for my entire life, and since this is going to be a pivotal moment in my career path, I need to decide carefully. I am fortunate to know I have at least a year of employment to make alternate plans, but it is not as comforting as it sounds. Don`t get me wrong, I enjoy what I do, but lets just say I wouldn`t be doing it if I had a million dollars.

I have about $500 I could potentially invest in any venture, and nothing more. Since I`ve just found this website/forum, I`ll be spending some time continuing to read through looking for ideas. Although there are plenty of opportunities out there fore me, having family obligations greatly complicates the situation, as you know.

In the meantime, I`m focusing on debt reduction (ala Dave Ramsey, The Tightwad gazette, & Your money or your life.). Should be done by 3/09 excluding the house. This will put me in a better position to take a cut in pay should I lose my job. I hope to have this all figured out before then though. Right now I`m in limbo (researching, passion seeking) unfortunately.

-Eric

Hi Eric,
I think you`ll find plenty of people in your position. They may not be in the IT field, but it doesn`t really matter. You`re in a better place, to an extent, because you`re still working AND you know you`ve got a limited time. It may be a year, but that`s longer than a lot of folks have had, right?

As you`ve also come to learn, the likelihood of your replicating your current salary is pretty slim. To that end, you`ll want to do what you`re doing, and reduce your cost of living to something more in line with what you`ll be able to afford in a year`s time.

One option is to change your mind, regarding your wife`s income, and start either setting that aside, or use it as a target number for your family income.

You`ll want to get rid of all debts other than mortgage, phone, utilities, and whatever other absolutes are involved. No credit card debt will make your life a whole lot easier during a startup situation---particularly with $500, which makes it a bootstrapping situation.

Far more important is to sit down with your wife, and decide on your life plan. What is it that you want out of life in general? You`ve said that if you had a million dollars you likely wouldn`t be doing what you`re doing. What WOULD you be doing?

The next key event is "The Idea." What do you think you`d like to do as a business? Corporate IT has a sort of built-in market, what with the computers everyone uses in the enterprise, and the need to keep them running. Small business IT is a very different world, often conditional on pricing.

Not all small businesses can afford to spend much on IT at all, which is where you see a lot of do-it-yourself technology taking place. So you may want to do something entirely different than IT and tech support.

To my view, having a real, tangible product is often a strong way to begin a business. That, or a service that everyone *must* use, in some way.