Sohail Somani <soh...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Scott Jensen wrote:
> > Sohail Somani <soh...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >> Hmm. Lets see, with your own business, you get:
> >> * Choose hours
> >
> > Ha! You run from one appointment to the next when they can meet
> > with you. Oh, and that's never when it is convenient for you.
>
> Who is they? Your customers? What if you have a business model that
> doesn't require you to physically jump from here to there? This sounds
> like a consultant's life.
It is with any sort of business. You go from meetings with not only
customers but vendors of all sorts. Shrink-wrap doesn't magically
appear out of nowhere. Nor does anything you will need for your
business. Now if you want to only have a tiny business, you might not
need to jump around so much but your business is also more at danger
of failing. The more a business depends on you, the more it is at
risk and the more it is just a risky job you made for yourself. The
more you grow your business and you can delegate jobs to others, the
more secure and profitable your business will be. But as it grows,
you jump around even more.
> > Instead, you lay awake at night in your bed
> > wondering if you can keep your ****p afloat one more day. Hollywood
> > fantasies aside, that's the reality for the VAST majority of business
> > owners. If you think "I will be different", you are very likely
letting
> > your ego delude yourself.
>
> It isn't so much about me saying that I will be different, it is about
> why. The only way is to find out why other people screwed up and do it
> differently.
But only if you have a sound business concept to begin with and the
right mindset to make it succeed.
> >> * Choose location
>
> > Then look into tele-commuting to work. Hunt for an employer that is
> > willing to allow you to do that. I know many that do allow their
> > employees to do just that and love it. They don't have to pay for
> > office space for them. You will need to come in for regular meetings,
> > but that's usually only once a week.
>
> I don't understand how this is better. I'm still not responsible for
> myself.
Yes, you are. You are responsible for the work you do for the
company.
> I still cannot improve the way the company runs.
The better you do your job for the company, the better the company
will be. And if you want to improve a company, get hired as a manager
for one and then work your way up the cor****ate ladder. The higher
you rise, the more you will have impact on that business. If you just
want to have impact on a company, this is a far better and safer way
of doing it than starting up your own business.
> I still cannot improve my wealth.
You improve your wealth with each paycheck you get. Also job hunt for
better paying jobs.
> >> * Reward pro****tional to work
>
> > And so is the penalties. 90% of all non-franchised businesses fail.
>
> Again, I am fully aware.
Saying you are and really being can be two separate things. Given the
muddy reasons why you want to start a business (Technician reasons), I
think this is a potential blind spot for you.
> >> Compare to my last job, which admittedly, must be one of the best
> >> places to work, and where I did quite well
> >> * Physical presence required during "core hours"
>
> > Then learn how to negotiate your job contract. That's far easier than
> > starting your own business.
>
> Having gone through it, I don't agree.
No, you just underestimate how hard it is to start and run a
profitable business.
> If I start my own business, in 10
> years, I have ac***ulated a lot (Yes, I will!)
As far as I can tell, so far you haven't said anything that would
indicate this future is what is in store for you. You say you have
spent a year thinking about going into business. And the end result
of that year is your original post in this thread? You should have
been able to answer the questions you raised in your original post a
long long time ago. Hell, six months should have been more than
enough to work up a very decent fully-fleshed-out business plan. A
plan that has been reviewed by a CPA, lawyer, and at least a marketing
consultant, a general business consultant, a consultant that has
experience in your intended industry, and a few business owners who
are doing something similar right now as to what you want your business to
do. The money spent on such reviews will be money wisely spent.
> Even if it is easier to renegotiate, the long-term is still worse.
No, the long-term will be more secure. Starting your own business is
anything but secure.
> >> * Reward pro****tional to how much you are liked by someone.
>
> > Then bone up on your people skills if that's all that stands in your
way
> > of a raise. Besides, you will need max people skills as a business
> > owner so if you don't play nicely with others at work, you will
probably
> > be even more of a pain when you think you're Head Honcho. You will
have
> > to work with a lot of people and if you're socially inept, your
business
> > will suffer.
>
> Hmm. Give myself a raise or people skill myself into one. I prefer the
> first.
You need people skills to make a business succeed. I know that is
hard to believe as a Technician, but it is nevertheless true.
> >> I'm more than willing to have hours be 24/7 while I get things up and
> >> running.
>
> > First, your family will suffer in the process. Social life? Ha! Send
> > going-away greeting cards to your friends when you start your
business.
>
> > Second, it might be years before things are "up and running" to where
> > you can pull back and take time off from your business. Hell, it
might
> > never happen. You might always have to be working your ass off to
keep
> > from sinking.
>
> Nah. I have a plan which is actually working.
That is not the impression your original post and subsequent posts in
this thread gives.
> >> What I am not willing to do is sacrifice owner****p of my creations...
>
> > No, if you're an employee, you get paid to create them for your
> > employer. Surely your current employer doesn't pay you to just sit in
> > your cubicle and do nothing.
>
> I am my current employer and I'm still doing alright.
Hmmm. You're your own current employer and also an employee. Explain
that.
> >> ...and work when/where I'm told.
>
> > You agreed to work at their place of business and during their
business
> > hours when you signed their job contract. If you wanted different,
you
> > should have negotiated for it. If you now want different, re-open
> > negotiations with your employer. If he doesn't want to do so, look
for
> > an employer that will give you what you seek.
>
> Feels like just as much work that is still subject to the whims of
> someone else's stupid decisions!
Or smart decisions. Why you always think other people are dumb is a
bit disturbing.
> >> Being able to get a hug from my wife or daughter any time I feel like
> >> is worth everything to me.
>
> > Then get a tele-commuter's job and not put your family's financial
> > well-being at risk. Be a lazy employee that only gives his employer
> > eight hours a day Monday through Friday so you can spend the rest with
> > your family, friends, relatives, and on your favorite hobby.
>
> So you are suggesting that I lose 8 hours of every day for the rest of
my
> life to have a "no risk" life?
Lose? You're getting paid for those hours. Or do you volunteer your
services to your employer?
> Having no financial risk is bull****.
Minimizing financial risk is prude thinking ... whether you're an
employee or a business owner. Any sane business owner would prefer no
financial risk.
> I also don't have the personality to lose 8 hours of every weekday for
the
> rest of my life.
No, you're getting paid for those eight hours.
> >> I have actually read the E-myth. Behind me is a full-year wall
calendar
> >> where I tick off each day where I address the three personalities:
> >> Technician, Entrepreneur, Manager. Admittedly, lately it has been the
> >> Technician personality taking over but that is corresponding to the
> >> phase I'm in. If I was really only a Technician looking for greener
> >> pastures, would I be posting to this newsgroup?
>
> > Yes. It is called voyeurism, daydreaming, and leaning on the fence to
> > admire a neighbor's lawn. And just because you read something doesn't
> > mean you have learned from it. Just because you come to an
entrepreneur
> > newsgroup doesn't mean you got what it takes to be a successful
> > entrepreneur.
>
> You do realize that things take time. I don't have the benefit of 20
> years of experience like yourself. Guess what the first steps are?
> Education and action. Get off *your* high horse my friend.
But I earned my seat in this saddle. That is supposedly why you came
to this newsgroup was to get advice from people just like me. That
you don't like the advice you're getting not only is another issue but
reveals the real reason why you came to this newsgroup.
> > From what you have said so far in this thread, you are a
> > Technician.
>
> [snip lots of assumptions]
>
> I am not trying to convince you otherwise. My business, however, does
> need the other two personalities to do well and that is all I care
about.
But you're not showing this thread those mindsets. All I see is a
Technician.
> >> Having worked in shrink-wrapped software before, you have to learn to
> >> say no. Every customer's request is im****tant but you have to
consider
> >> the trade-offs.
>
> > But you still have to listen and accommodate the majority. And once
you
> > have, you have to go back and listen more so you can adjust your
> > software product to changes in consumer needs and desires. If you
> > really think you know what's best for most without listening to
others,
> > you need to climb down from that high horse and walk alongside us
common
> > foot soldiers on this long never-ending muddy campaign march.
>
> You've really got to stop reading what isn't there. I never said that I
> would not accommodate the majority. The point I was making was that if
> Joe Blow makes a request, I cannot bend over backwards to fulfil that
> request unless it makes economical sense. If a whole army of Joe Blow's
> make the same request, the action I must take is obvious.
That isn't the attitude your previous statement was giving. You might
not have meant it that way but that is how I read it. It isn't me
reading what's not there but me reading and interrupting what you write.
> > Think about it.
>
> Well your mind is made up!
And your mind seems closed. Take a deep breath. Relax. Lower your
defenses. You're getting free advice from an experienced pro. This
isn't a fight. Contrary to what you're probably thinking, I am
actually trying to help you. Right now, I see your two biggest
problems going into business as wrong reasons and wrong mindset. I am
trying to get you to see that. Those two things can be changed IF you
see them for what they are. They are not your only problems but they
are your biggest.
Scott
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