The New Entrepreneurs

One of my new neighbors is an attorney.  Who is bent on doing something else for a living.  Sooner rather than later.  Her sentiment has a lot of company with one distinct exception – those who own their business.  A big part of the reason is the autonomy; people like having ownership of the decisions that impact their lives, even if those decisions involve the periodic stereotype of the business owner of someone who is never truly off the clock.  Opportunity, control, and freedom are also on the list.

The growth in entrepreneurship is at its highest level in 15 years.   A still-sluggish economy is part of the reason; for a large chunk of the workforce, spinning one’s wheels has become the new norm.  The average anticipated pay raise for employees this year is about 3%.  Weigh that against the increase in your cost of living; for the most part, it’s a wash.  That sameness is the impetus for wondering what else is out there, particularly among more seasoned workers. 

And that’s just the population still in the workforce; the labor participation rate is at its lowest since the late 70’s.  Think about that for a second.  Millions of people who are no longer counted in unemployment figures.  It defies reason to believe that each of those individuals has simply given up. 

My attorney friend couldn’t help but notice that her previous firm had a definite preference for people barely removed from law school.  My own experience as I was finishing graduate school was not much different.  There are few things more unusual than being interviewed by someone who, literally, is the same age as your children.  In an earlier time, experience carried an implied value.  Today, the primary implication seems to be “he’s going to want a lot of money” even if he doesn’t.  The secondary one is “he’s after my job” even when he is not. 

You have not truly lived until you have actually said to an interviewer “I’m not here for your job; I’m here for the one being advertised.  I’ve had your job and it has headaches I do not particularly want again.  On the other hand, I can help you in coping with those headaches and I will not add to them.”  That, evidently, is not convincing.     

A cursory Google search of why people become entrepreneurs yields more than 24-million responses, many of them like this.  None of this is to say that the process is all rainbows and unicorns.  Small business owners face a lot of worries that the typical employee does not – making payroll, coping with new government mandates and their costs, and the day-to-day of keeping a business humming.  But it seems those worries are the fuel that drives the decision in the first place – determining how to conquer uncertainty, controlling the calendar, and being accountable to that person looking at you in the mirror.     

When does yes mean yes?

The English language is a marvelous instrument, where even the simplest words either need legislation action to codify their meaning or become the topic of deep-thinker navel-gazing.  And that’s just in personal relationships.  Business dealings are a different bear to wrestle.  

No tends to mean no.  Except when it means ‘not now’, which is still a no of sorts but one with the potential to change.  That sort of no rears its head with things like auditions for movies or commercials, and sometimes with resumes.  It’s directed at a person or idea that does not answer the question of the moment but holds promise for the future, i.e. “you’re not what is needed for this role/job, but I like your background and there could be something down the road that works”.   

A bit more baffling is the maybe; it can mean no but the person is too polite to actually say so, or it can a bridge to yes by implying ‘tell me more’.  The latter version of maybe is all around the sales process; you have a prospect whose business has a need for something that you offer but the specifics need to be nailed down.  You have likely heard how people hate to be sold but love to buy; this fits in the maybe category, in the section where you differentiate between process and thinking. 

While process has its place, no one likes dealing with a process-driven person.  It’s like the news interviewer who has a ready list of questions and simply moves to the next one, never listening to any of the answers.  One customer asked me, “So, do you have the answer for me?”  My response was, “I tend to ask a lot of questions and the answers have a habit of revealing themselves.”  Maybe it’s because I used to be one of those news interviewers; if you are listening to the answers, what you hear should be spawning the next question.  And the interviewee notices this, too; people can tell when you’re paying attention or when you’re waiting for them to take a breath so you can ask the next question on the list.  

Which brings us to yes, which sometimes means maybe, which as previously mentioned, can mean just about anything depending on a person’s mood, the tides, that morning’s commute, or an argument from last night that is unrelated to you.  There are times when saying yes can be a problem but that is usually confined to thinking emotionally instead of logically.  We often say yes when no would have been the better answer because we don’t want to be perceived as jerks or the person asking is someone we value or it seemed like a good idea at the time.  

In graduate school, I did a project involving a book that highlighted the importance of saying no and how saying yes too often could be counter-productive because it chewed up time better delegated toward greater priorities.  The book put a premium on thought before action, on weighing the consequences that an immediate answer would have.   The word yes became a mirror twin of one aspect of the word no, as in “Yes, that sounds interesting and I would like to, but this is a bad time.  When might be better?”  That is far less harsh than a clear-cut no, it is tempered by having seen some value in the request, but it also preserves the pecking order of things in front of you.  

Salespeople love yes, of course; it usually means the cash register is ringing.  Just be sure that yes is the answer you want to hear.   Most people are familiar with the corporate version of the 80/20 rule; the key is differentiating whether the next person saying yes to you will be among the 80% or the 20%.  Many in the 80% will be little more than break-even customers; others will actually cost you money or created unnecessary heartburn.  

So to sum up, no usually means no.  Except when it means not now.  And yes tends to mean yes.  Unless it’s a guilty yes that may later turn into a no.  And maybe means whatever you want it to mean.  All clear?  

Six Months to Genius

One of the first things I was told in moving down this road was "set your genius aside for six months."  In other words, the wheel for this venture has already been invented and it has also been refined, so no need to try and  re-create it.  It's good advice; one of the curiosities of people is our desire to stamp something as our own, no matter what it is.  It may work in decorating a home or office, or in mapping out an exercise plan - a bit of personalization here, some customization there - but it is seldom a good idea when inside a larger framework that includes other people.  

Systems exist to guide activity and communication among the components of any organization.  They have been the subject of a great deal of academic inquiry, this being one example.   System theory began as a biological application but has since spread to multiple disciplines.  I am not going to belabor the particulars (though if you really want to get in the weeds, this is a good start); suffice it to say that most aspects of your life - work, home, play - involve some sort of system.  

Ironically, the concept of systems and advice like "set your genius aside for six months" are treated as anathema to entrepreneurs.  In a sense, the very act of entrepreneurship stems from the belief that an existing system could use some re-engineering.  And when the tweaking is done, what's left?  A new system.  That the next guy will want to tweak a bit further.  There is a "lather, rinse, repeat" nature to it, isn't there. 

Since Russ (he's the guy behind "set your genius aside...") has been doing this much longer than I have, I'll work with the plan.  In many ways, it makes life easier by eliminating any guesswork, providing a sort of road map for the ramp up process.  And you ladies know that guys tend to like maps; they certainly don't like asking for directions, so that is one dilemma already avoided.  

For the most part, I am a systems guy with perhaps one quirk - I like for things to make sense.  "Because we've always done it this way" is a horrible rationale.  "Because it works" is not hard to understand.  Things that work are less likely to inspire attempted fixes.  You know how the wheel analogy keeps coming up?  It's with good reason.  The wheel has been round for a long time.  Oh, sure; there are new alloys and new materials used in building wheels and a lot of new uses, but the basic concept is the same.  

Six months.  I'm on the clock.  I think Russ' advice came with two implied parts:  everyone is going to do some juggling within the system to reflect who they are but changing "happy" to "glad" is not a big deal.  Second, he has nothing to gain by setting me up for failure.  And with genius in storage, the game is on.      

 

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.    

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.   

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.