Kiss your boss goodbye--it's time to become an entrepreneur
I recently read a reliable report on the attitude of the American workforce. To my surprise I learned more than half of all employees are not engaged at work. In other words, most workers are not happy, not satisfied, not productive, not loyal, not inspired and will jump ship if another opportunity arises. In fact, most are looking to leave now and have polished their resumes. If this is the case, I would also assume that the managers who supervise these disillusioned employees are probably jerks, or are carrying out the mandates of thoughtless upper management.
If you’re a company leader who doesn’t focus on keeping employees engaged, make note; your days are numbered. I suggest you change now, with sincere intent to take care of your people, or suffer the disastrous consequences of your own unemployment.
I have more to say on this topic to company management. Who do you think does all the work in your business? Who do you think makes your products, sells them, provides support, collects receipts and pays workers? It’s not you, my friend. Have you forgotten that you hired these people as a resource to help you build a highly profitable business? Have you forgotten they are a precious asset to be valued and protected? How long do you think you can mistreat quality workers until they bolt? In a word, it’s not very long. Do you get the picture? Am I making sense? In sum, your financial success, your promotions, your glory, all depend on how well you treat those subordinates who have placed their trust and confidence in you.
Now a word to Les Miserables. If you are going to quit, for heaven’s sake, don’t go to work for another pathetic firm. Do something wild: Kiss your boss goodbye and launch your own business. If you have had enough, become your own king. The money you have made for others now shifts to yourself. Take that idea that’s been in your mind for months and turn it into a profitable company. If you are an engineer, a programmer, a salesman, a teacher, an accountant, a whatever, start today planning your escape from corporate prison.
I am sure you are similar to the entrepreneurs I spend time with everyday. As a principal investor, I put money into emerging companies that have all been founded by someone who, for the most part, previously worked for a clueless company. They left seeking their own destiny and fulfillment, hoping life would be much better on their own. I know their employment history, their state of mind and the decision process they followed as they took a leap of faith to follow their dreams.
Over the last few months, I have spent several evenings giving advice to a gentleman who is a full time employee of a large company. He possesses a great business idea. He is anxious to understand the steps he needs to follow to properly organize his own company.
Today, I am pleased to share with you the same information he is learning. So, if you are ready to soar, please make note of the following initial guidelines:
1. Keep your day job until the time is right to leave. Keep in mind; you really have two options to consider:
A) You can leave tomorrow if you have the resources in hand to sustain your efforts long enough to reach profitability. Give yourself at least one year to succeed. If you can’t reach your goal in that time frame, look for other ways to survive and prosper, or, B) You can ponder, prepare, organize, and execute plan overtime, at night and on weekends until everything is ready to go.
2. If you have signed a non-compete with your current employer, honor it. Wait until you can legally pursue your opportunity. Find some form of income to sustain your personal life in the interim.
3. Determine your purpose, your vision, your strategy. Why are you in business? What do you hope to accomplish? What must you do to be successful? Are your answers sound and realistic?
Comments
Hello Alan,
Thank you for this post. I just did this by the way – send bye-bye to my job : http://blogbysuchitra.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/five-reasons-why-i-just-said-bye-bye-to-a-great-job/
Your seven points are useful inputs for me indeed – some I have followed and some are in progress- and will help me progress on my adventure in a more structured way.
Thanks again,
Suchitra
Inspirational and with good pointers on how to actually set out to achieve this. Thanks.
Absolutely love this article! A situation for employers to take into account and for us who are en route and heading that way! Thank you Allan for the great advice!
In this economy, many disgruntled employees are clinging to their corporate prison walls, not wishing to be sent to ‘The Hole’, for the sake of security. It isn’t easy to soar like an Eagle, when you have the mind-set of a lemming. Still, for those who wish to be their own ‘King’, or ‘Queen’, you give very concrete steps to accomplish this. Great article and advice.
Now is a great time to start…Shopify just launched their yearly (I think) Build A Business competition. They give you a free domain name, a free month, google ad credits, and other free stuff for signing up, and there are several high profile mentors (Tim Ferriss, Daymond John and more), a $50K grand prize, and other motivators.
I just launched my new online store, and I can’t wait to quit my day job and strike out on my own! Keep the good motivational articles coming!
Matt
Great article. I have recently done exactly this. I have 3 points to offer anyone thinking about self-employment.
1. Most definately have AT LEAST 1 year’s full income if not 18 months banked. Most start-ups fail due to lack of funds to survive. Hence, you run out of money and go back to finding employment.
2. Understand that the resources in people and equipment you had at your employer are now gone. No longer can you delegate, unless you prepared to pay for it. Hence, back to the funding issue. You are going to be the one to carry the ball in all issues.
3. You will need self discipline to have a consistent work ethic over a long period of time without necessary seeing a lot of results.
If you are aware of these 3 points, then you are going into self employment with your head up. If this is your decision, Congratulations! Welcome to the world of having total control over your destiny. You are now in charge of your company, brand and direction.
Great points that I’d like to elaborate on.
1. In regards to point 1, I would say that if you rent to keep renting to reduce your risk. Second, reduce your expenses to a minimum. Your are not going to live like you did while working. Be prepared to be poor. I would say that you need a minimum of $50,000 – 100,000 saved in cash to pull it off. That just may be a down payment on a home. These are real choices that middle-class entrepreneurs have to make (unlike our rich cousins who have it easy).
2. Be prepared to nobody. Don’t expect anyone to be like “wow you are an entrepreneur, I love entrepreneurs”. The business guys will probably just think you’ll start a hokey business because you were fired or something (rather than quit to follow your dream). Your coworkers and business partners can no longer use you for money, so they don’t care about you nor understand how they’ve been basically sheltered all their life and been handed every success they’ve had.
The people who will love you are entrepreneurs, usually in California. That’s where I’ve found the greatest respect. Californians really understand entrepreneurs and have alot of empathy for them. (I’m Canadian and I’m saying this)
3. You will find that about 40% of what you do is thrown out because your skills grow so rapidly and you only want the best. That’s normal, but time is costly. Be prepared for it.
I would add point 4:
Be smart, aggressive and ambitious if you are getting into tech. Your competition, especially in San Fransisco etc, is really good. So don’t think you are going to just march past them. This is the real world and you’re not going to be as great as what you think you are, when you leave the sheltered environment of a business.
My saying is:
“When you work in a company you live in a zoo. You can expect to be fed every day and have a predictable routine. But you’ll never accomplish much.
When you become an entrepreneur, you are leaving the zoo to go back in to the wild. You won’t be fed by anyone and will die if you don’t recognize that your survival is entirely dependent on success. But you can attribute your success to yourself and there is much more of it to be had.
Thanks for your remarks, Dave – and some very good points. My next ebook will be all about funding – you are right that it is a very critical topic, especially right now. Thanks for reading!
Hello Dave,
Thank you for your comment on this topic. I am currently still employed in Tanzania with an advertising agency and I specialise in Public Relations. You are exactly right that when you are working within an organization you are limited within that organization to work to your full capacity. I feel exactly that – that I am not working to my full capacity. There is so much more that I can do in terms of PR. I want to learn more about Public Relations, conquer PR internationally something that this company is not giving me.
I have made my decision to leave at the end of next month and go out there and conquer the world. I know that it will not be easy to having that guarantee of receiving a salary at the end of every month.
Luckily I already registered my company in 2009 ( it’s called Bizquest Consultancy and can be found on www.bizquest-tz.com) and it is only now with the immense experience in Public Relations that I have been able to build on my network, client base and so now as you said I have a few pending contracts and prospect clients that I would like to go after. So as you say point #8 I am going for it!!
Thanks.
Great stuff – I would add one additional point: #8: Do it! Most of these steps are about ensuring you can be successful, and that’s a smart approach. But the thing that holds most people back is fear. You can never be 100% ready, few people will have a guarantee of success (contracts/ clients waiting) before they make the leap. It’s OK to fail, but one reassurance you have, is everything you know about the organization you are leaving, and what it was like to be a performer within a company that seemed to limit your ability to perform, if not resent it. One thing you will quickly realize after you venture out on your own is how much of your time was wasted every day in that organization. Don’t waste any more!
Great points. Organizations are wasteful for young business leaders. In fact my previous manager who was a managing director of new ventures encouraged me to start something on my own. He said if he was me at my age (29 at the time), that’s what he’d do.
My advice is if you don’t have something, start a business that may not be as scalable as you might like. Scalable business models can grow to a much larger size, but they take more initial investment and planning. That’s time that you can’t yet afford.
Start something at first that is sales-oriented and existing. Then move to your next project which should be scalable into the millions. Then of course, try to make a scalable model into the billions. Move in that direction.
Thank you, Dave – and you are right about fear. You may be interested in my eBook, Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur, and the chapter on courage. You can find that ebook on Amazon or email me through my website at www.AlanEHall.com for a copy. I’ve actually written another article on Forbes about Taking the Leap that you may find interesting as well. Thanks very much for your note!
I purchased this book titled Halo-Orangees employer-employee “one accord” Volume I One Mind, One Body, One Team at www.outskirtspress.com/HaloOrangees. If you are not a book reader you will become one after you read this book. Author B.L. Brown former director stated to her that another employee, who held the same title, was better than she was. This author took this one negative statement, which was intended to hurt her, wrote a book and launched her own brand. This book is so full of motivational life purpose, the real –life experiences in this book will change your mindset. It will aid you with the needed courage to launch your own brand. The Introduction is life changing “explosive”. This book is so real (reality) so relatable! Quotes from the book: Confinement is not a part of your destiny. Your life purpose is to take the totality of your negative experiences, roll them up into one, and use them positively to lay the foundation for your destiny. Think of your negative workforce encounters as grass seeds entering the ground, planted and watered, especially designed for you to walk on as you enter a new path into your marvelous future. I look forward to seeing you at the top!