Should I?

[greenoak]

the scary thing is that the main idea of an actual business can be so wrong,,,,and when you first get it it seems so possible....but you sound like the driving force is making something work and not that it has to be a certain thing....like if your passion is luxury cars and you live in a struggeling middleclass town then all your efforts might be for nothing.......or if you are all about chitlens and grits and you want a resturant in minnesota...
how about pick your business area and make yourself dig into it and do your research, find a forum where active owners reveal all the problems...subscribe to their magazines..

we have lasted and have had to change and be very flexible.....but our basic mission statement is still in there somewhere......

it is all about the freedom to do it your way,,,,and the grand experiment....all the great points that the capitaan made!!!!....

i think its probably harder when you are leaving a secure place...if that can be said of a marine.....it probably was easier for us because we were total bootstrap....and started this business that has lasted 25 yrs after failing at another...

[Toolman]

This is my first post here, but I feel that I must add something of my own experience.

I have been self employed for the last seven years, except for the last seven weeks. I recently closed down my business, and took a sales job on the basis that I could make just about the same money with no investment whatsoever. It was a pretty tempting offer.

I am here to tell you that I hated it! Even though this was a straight commission position, I was always being micromanaged, being asked to account for my time (I understand the value of time management, as I always kept track of my time in my own business), and just other things that were a bit frustrating. I went from having respect as a business owner, to just being treated as an employee. Perhaps some of this had to do with the place that I went to work at (it probably did), but the experience was less than "fulfilling."

I was sought out by another franchise to join them to help them to establish a market in my area. The offer was just too good to pass up, and with my new "career" going nowhere fast, I took it.

I left my "job" a week ago, and am now preparing to go back to work for myself. This last week has been one of the happiest of my life, knowing that I am getting back to doing what I seem to have been born to do.

Am I worried about the risk? Not really. Maybe I am crazy or stupid, but I feel that there is more risk involved in working with a company and sales management that is not working right for you. I know that I can make money on my own. And it is only my fault if I do not. I think that it is good for me to place the trust in my own security in myself, and not the management, owners, board, or shareholders.

How does this apply to you? Evaluate the risk carefully. Evaluate your own abilities and will carefully. If you believe strongly in your own abilities, and have the will to succeed, you are probably more than halfway there.

I somewhat agree with the post about reading about the negatives of the business, but that has its issues as well. It is good to know the negatives that are out there. However, if you concentrate on them excessively, you will quickly become bogged down by them. You may begin to wonder how anyone could succeed in this type of business. Or worse, once you are actively involved in this business, all of the negatives may weigh you down so much that you begin to believe that you are destined for failure. I know... I have seen it first hand. Research to go in to it and see some of the "challenges," and have a plan to meet those challenges head on, and execute that plan.

Personally, I have always been at my happiest working for myself. If you feel that you will be as well, then go out there, and give it your all. No turning back, and you must succeed.

Best wishes!

[cbscreative]

For a first post Toolman, that was a worthwhile contribution. I liked your perspective on researching, but not letting it cause defeat or discouragement. I share your experience in sales. It's better to sell for yourself because you can't control the political crap that goes on above you. Chances are, if you get too successful, they will change the deal on you (or you might outgrow your usefulness and get terminated while they get your customers). Sell for yourself and reap the rewards and the residual rewards. Yes, as business owners, you can't be happy working for "the man," you need to be the man (even if you're a woman).

[AutomationAlex]

cbscreative,

I am relatively new to the forum and have to give you "props" on the TR quote I am starting up via the nights and weekends approach, and during my long commutes back and forth to my regular job have found it useful to listen to audiobooks -- I was listening to a Jim Rohn audiobook this past summer and have since taken one of his powerful sayings as my daily mantra - "Set your goals for what they will make of you to achieve them".

[cbscreative]

Alex, many of us have done the job thing getting a business going. I did mine working 3rd shift so I would be available for business during the day. Works great in theory, but by 10 am I was usually shot after being up all night. Try working on a computer that way. If I could make it much past 10, I'd get a second wind for awhile. Keep at it, you'll get to do your business full time (and then some).

[greenoak]

i agree with dont be too discouraged by the research, even tho i suggested it.......but im in an industry where people loose lots of money because they didnt do any at all....small gift shops, that can be started on a creditcard.....and 8 months down the road they owe thousands and have no business at all...
it definitely takes more than willpower....you have to do a lot of things right and hopefully have some luck thrown in as well...

good luck

[Toolman]

Just to clarify as well, I did not want to give the impression that research is NOT a good idea. Research is a VERY good idea! You need to do your own research.

Some people are so put off by any type of risk, that the research and chance for failure will stop them from doing anything. Arguably, those types of people should not be in business for themselves anyway. However, Let's be realistic... if most of those people knew just how risky it was working for someone else... well, you get the picture!

Some people have different tollerances for risk. I am a pretty analytical and deliberative type of person, but I don't mind taking risks. I just make them smart risks!

My concern at times is research by asking other people who are in the same business. It is pretty biased information as a rule. Many people want to convince you that what they are doing is the best, after all, they have chosen to do it, and that alone should make it the best thing to do. Others will be so enamoured with the negative about what they do that they can cast an overly dark picture. If you obscess about this dark picture long enough, it will begin to affect you as well. Trust me, I know this from personal experience.

So, I would say, do your research, speak to others in the business, but balance that with your own research into financials, as well as oppinions from trusted advisors. Once you decide to do something, and that decision is balanced with your THOURGOUGH research, go for it! Once you are doing it, associate yourself with POSITIVE people from the same industry. Those who want to do nothing but complain, ignore like the plague! Think about it... we pay big money for advertising to created impressions on consumers to make them do or believe something. The more impressions, the more likely the outcome! Therefore, these negative people will create the same impressions, make you believe that you can not make it, and probably eventually have you fail.

[vividreamer]

Do you have a teenage son or daughter, neice or nephew that would help you, whilst you are working for somebody else, Having a business partner seems like a good way to maximise time, and effort, and if it goes bust, well then, at least you still got income for your family, and if it booms, sack your boss:P

[Cheyenne5786]

Originally Posted by Shaun

Shaun.

It's all about the "

shaun".





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[bizbuzz]

Indeed, you have a tough decision waiting for you. A friend of mine who has been working for the same industry for the past twenty years decided to quit and pursue his dream. Fortunately, my friend is still single (but his girlfriend has been frowning a lot lately, so go figure).

What I could suggest is to try to strike a compromise between your job and your business. If it is possible for you to juggle both and then slowly focus more of your time on your business as it grows then it would be a relatively good situation for you and your family.

One important thing to consider though is that you should bring you wife into the decision making process because, although she may not have a say in the business, your decision will have a significant impact on her too.

Good luck!

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