Monday, August 18, 2014

What. Was. I. Thinking?

“Doing the same thing will bring you the same results” is a cliché to be sure, but clichés are almost always grounded in some truth.  A recent poll found more than half of the workforce is unsatisfied, but much of this cohort chooses to stay mired in sameness, because sameness brings consistency and people would rather have predictability than mystery, even when that predictability is dull or toxic.  But while you know what you’re getting at such jobs, you also know what you’re not getting. 
After years of working for one version or another of “The Man,” I left the cocoon of sameness and predictability.  It was no small step walking away from a guaranteed paycheck every other Friday (plus benefits) and into the uncertain.  But the anxiety is laced with exhilaration, the fear tempered by anticipation, and success or failure based on what I do.  Or don't do.  No; no pressure at all.   
Ironically, the poll cited above is the polar opposite of what you find among entrepreneurs.  I have yet to run across someone running his/her own business who would trade that for a return to the corporate arena.  I know one professional who said no to an offer that would at least doubled, and possibly tripled, his income.  It would have also come with many of the strings that he is not bound by in running his own shop.  Even people who have experienced serious turbulence on their own -  realtors in the wake the housing bubble collapse are a good example - have told me they would not have it any other way. 
The biggest adjustment, of course, is not having the daily camaraderie that comes with an office full of other people.  On the other hand, there is none of the drama that seeks company, either.  Like everything else associated with being on your own, you will have to generate interaction with others.  As a bonus, the interaction will be almost exclusively positive.  You’re not going to call people, setup appointments or lunches, or join networking groups in order to have gripe sessions.  And that early morning time in your home office will be far more productive than the first couple of hours in the typical cubicle farm.  Plus, think of all those meeting you won’t have to attend. 
Will it work?  Don't know.  But the present is not going to appreciably change; there is as much chance that, left as is, conditions will worsen rather than improve.  That sort of predictability is highly over-rated.  One of my go-to sayings is "first show up, then see what happens."  I'll keep you posted.    

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Summer vacation. In Waco. What?

Waco, TX.  Population, just north of 127-thousand.  Located along the Brazos River halfway between Dallas and Austin.  Probably not on the list of hot-spot vacation destinations but it is where I spent mine.  Because that is where the company that is my new business partner is headquartered.  And so goes the life of an entrepreneur.

Before I go further, let me say Waco was not what I expected, though it's a bit fuzzy what I did expect.  The impression you get is of a place that is kind of out there, a spot where no one goes on purpose.  Which would be incorrect.  I went on purpose.  It was a pleasant drive down I-35 from Dallas (because Southwest has not yet discovered Waco), the highway bracketed by the vast Texas countryside. 

I know "everything's bigger" is a cliché but all clichés are grounded in some truth.  Everything about the state is massive, from the space for access roads along most of the Interstate to the vast plains beyond it.  Not many trees, though; at least not many tall ones, which the nature gods must have done on purpose.  If there were tall trees, they would obscure the view and the mass of land would be minimized, at least from the point of view of a driver.  The sense of bigness would be missing.

In the city itself, far more water than I anticipated.  My daily route from the hotel to the training site took me along expansive Lake Waco and the usual homes ones sees along a lakefront.  Someone has made a lot of money there, which brings me to the central point of the trip. 

I had a week's worth of training on the products that will make up my business, and a week's worth of interaction with a half-dozen or so other souls like me.  A couple were also new to entrepreneurship, a couple were branching into a new area, and one couple was planning for the next phase of life.  Good people.  You get to know a bit about folks when you spend eight hours a day or so with them.  I hope the result is some new friendships or some resources to bounce ideas with, maybe both. 

The key lesson that was stressed was an echo of what the guy who recruited me emphasized - set aside your genius for six months.  A company with hundreds of millions of dollars in sales say do that and a smart guy heeds the advice.  I figure people with that sort of track record have probably learned something, that the ideas they're sharing are the result of trial and error, and the value behind the ideas have been confirmed through practical application.  Something about reinventing wheels and things not being broken comes to mind.  Besides, genius is hard work. 

In a word, the week was exhilarating.  With each passing day, the sense of "I can do this" became more pronounced.  As I was driving back to Dallas to catch the return flight, it had moved to "of course, I can do this; how could I fail?"  Any entrepreneur knows that failure is a possibility; it's a risk you take in doing anything, though the risk is a bit larger when you don't have regular paychecks on the 1st and 15th on which to rely.  But there is no reward without risk and not much fun without it, either. 

The remaining ducks are lining up, though Bernice is a little stubborn.  Probably her genius not wanting to be set aside which, when you think about it, is a bit odd for an animal that relies on the flock.  A rebel duck, probably the side of my personality that gets a bit restless and wonders "what if I tried this" on occasion.  For now, though, the company's system makes total sense and it is my system to execute.  Which will begin in a few weeks.  Which has me very excited.  And a bit terrified, too.  Just not as terrified as not taking the plunge.   

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Leaving the nest

Sometimes, you jump out of the nest; other times, you have to be pushed out.  My experience includes a little bit of both.  It wasn’t a bad job nor was it a bad company.  But, it wasn’t a great one, either, and nothing about it was going to change.  The outlook was for sameness, mind-numbing sameness.  And then, my boss did me a favor. 
The company has an intranet site that shows who is in the office or out, if people were traveling on business, when they’ll return, etc.  Beside the boss’ name was “PTO.” Nothing unusual there.  “Honeymoon.” Or there; newlyweds should be able to celebrate, right?  Then came the kicker:  “Bora-Bora.” In one sense, good for him.  In another, it smacked of waiving your wallet in your employees’ faces, a message that explicitly said “because I can” and implicitly stated “and you can’t.” 
He was right; working for him meant that Bora-Bora or some similarly exotic destination was out of reach.  It was that final nudge I needed to jump from the nest.   Into an entirely new world.  One that entails working without a net.  One that puts the onus of success or failure squarely on me.  One that is equal parts exhilaration and abject terror.
In all fairness, it was not a rash decision prompted by one man’s actions.  The idea of making such a move marinated over time, spiced by conversations with others who work for themselves, some for most of their careers and others who faced the same decision point that I did.  The common denominator among these entrepreneurs was that not a one yearned to return a past professional life.  One did so over lunch, where lifted a mug of beer and said, “It’s a lot easier to do this when working for yourself; sure, I’m only going to have one, but it’s one more than I would have dared have before.”  Another, a commercial real estate broker who survived the downturn, told me “If that’s the worst thing that can happen to me, it still beats working for someone else.” 
You wait for life to happen or you can make it happen.  For years, I was the regular workaday guy – earned my degree, went into my chosen field, had a couple of steps up the ladder, changed professions, lather/rinse/repeat. Each job had a ceiling, the ones closest to it are scarce by definition, and then came the economic downturn.  Getting an advanced degree just made me a more educated workaday guy returning, ironically, to the same company for whom I had worked prior to returning to school.  And given the overall outlook, I was grateful for the opportunity.  Until I started to get restless.
Everyone invokes some sort of spirit at some point; I asked my deceased dad for a little help in plotting the future.  Within a few days, I had an interview with a local company for a job directly in line with my education, another with a company that focuses on job postings within my field, and a third that was totally unexpected – an offer to work with a multi-million dollar firm but as my own boss. 
The first interview sounded very much like moving the existing limitations to a different address.  The second was with someone who sounded no older than any of my children; seriously?  The third became two, three, and four interviews with my initial question of “why” gradually becoming “why not?”  What was there to lose in striking out on my own? 
It helped greatly, and I cannot stress this enough, to have a supportive spouse.  When the person who will be as impacted by your decision as you will is on board, finding reasons to say no becomes increasingly difficult.  And so, we said yes.  Which meant spending my vacation week in a place where I daresay few people go just for the fun of it.  But that’s a story for another time.