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Location: In a city within a state where politicians come to get their PHDs in Corruption
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OP,
I am what most would say unemployable. That is, I wouldn't be able to work for anyone else.
It didn't start out that way. I had no fire in my belly to become an entrepreneur. I've spent my entire adult working life in two industries that are about as innovative as Radio Shack. However, I had an opportunity to go out on my own, and haven't looked back. The independence (financial, creative, time, competence, learning), wouldn't give it up for the world.
Yes, small businesses have a lot of red tape to handle, and not enough resources. Yes, I'm competing for talent with companies 100 times my size, and yes it's hard to find a separation line between life and work.
I do have a cautionary tale though. Starting a business when you're frustrated, broke or have no vision, or clients for that matter is a poor choice. Self-employment should be an option that arose from an opportunity, not desperation.
As an employee, I cannot be forced to work more hours than I desire. So, I just work 40 hours and go home.
How do you avoid getting fired. Please don't say that you are "better than anyone else in your field", since, even if that is true, most employers, unfortunately, consider the "best" employee to be whoever is willing to work the longest hours for the least money.
Quote:
The incentive for me to start a business is near zero, since my objective is not to spend more time working/at work.
Being an employee sucks for many reasons, but being a business owner sucks for many other reasons.
Definitely. Even though working for an employer is a poor fit for my personality, owning a business would be an even worse fit for my personality (mostly for the reasons you and others have said). So I choose the lesser of two evils, and work for an employer.
Find companies that are not run by stupid people. If that kind of workload is expected, chances are the people running the business are slave drivers, or have no clue what they are doing.
Unfortunately, in many fields, long hours are expected no matter who your employer is.
I have never been much of an entrepreneurial type, though I've had good business sense and ideas. Problem was, my dad owned a business and I saw his struggles. Working 60-80 hour weeks for nothing more than the privilege of being his own boss. He didn't even like his work and maybe only paid himself 45k a year. I saw business owners (and still do) in similar situations, working ridiculously hard for very little gain. Work as a business owner became your life. I always felt strongly as a kid and young adult that I just wanted to work for a big company, do my work well, and everything would fall into place.
I'm 28. I've been working professionally for six years now. Every year it gets worse.... In fact, I think my first year was the best since I worked for a cool tech company for a year before getting laid off. Since then though, it's all been downhill. I've been appalled by the corruptness and just plain ****ty practices at most companies. It is an absolute rarity to find a company worth working for these days. I've seen employers gain near unlimited power and control, and most employees are treated as disposable and worthless. Positions are being combined, wages going down, benefits and pensions are disappearing, work is being off-shored, and very few jobs offer even a shred of stability of these days. Working for an employer is just NOT the picture perfect utopia I imagined it would be!
Just in my short six years, I've witnessed and encountered:
- nepotism/favoritism (preference towards "friends" rather than skills and qualifications)
- embezzlement/fraud by managers/officers
- violence/sexual harassment in the workplace
- corrupt/unethical business practices and managers
- seen people thrown under the bus for stuff they didn't do (happened to me once too!)
- people fired for literally no reason, or frequent layoffs
- the emergence of permatemp and contract jobs (low pay and no benefits with a "promise" of permanent employment that never happens)
- Management directly lying to employees, misleading them, using them.
- RIDICULOUS hiring practices
- abusive bosses. Employees treated like garbage.
Really the list could go on and on.... All that matters to a lot of these companies is the bottom line and filling the pockets of the top dogs as deep as they can. Employees of today are just getting all stepped over and no one is stopping anything. I honestly almost feel like going into a trade because unions (while ridiculous sometimes) are at least garnering some respect for employees. All and all, it's harder than ever to get hired, no job is stable, wages/benefits are going down, and employers will step all over their employees.... What's even the point anymore?
All this being said, I'm highly reconsidering my stance on starting my own business. I'm very nervous about it and not sure what I would even do... I also am not fond of potentially working 60-80 hour weeks. Not only that, but they say 4/5 businesses fail in the first year, and another 4/5 fail in five years, That leaves us, what, a 4% chance of long term success? Definitely scary. But six years in the corporate world and I don't think I can stand another year with the way employment is trending. I think I now understand why my dad worked so hard and long just for the privilege of being his own boss.... Unless you are one of the lucky people who can get in with one of those very rare good companies (and even then nothing is guaranteed), it is simply not worth the struggle of being in such a rat race.
Anyone here start their own business because they were sick of trying to work for an employer? What helped you get things off the ground? How did you handle things like health insurance or retirement savings? Are you happier now with your own business? Thanks for any of your responses!
I had my own business doing consulting work. The things you mention are far worse as a business owner. I had clients secretaries lie about things not working when it really was working they just wanted something nicer like the VP's, etc. I even video taped it to prove that it was working and that they were liars. I had clients who's employees would interfere, make stuff up, break something trying to play IT and then try to blame it on me even though the audit trail pointed to them, but it never goes anywhere because their boss is their mom and you're a vendor so fall in line, etc. You name it. It was far worse as a business owner. The only difference being you could kiss some clients goodbye if you didn't want to deal with them anymore, like I did with the ones above, before shutting the thing down.
I'm technically still a business owner as a landlord with a few rental houses, but the lies and BS goes on with tenants too. The only nice thing about this kind of business is that since I keep them all on month to month leases, if they become an annoyance I don't want to deal with or get too out of line, I just give them 20 days notice to move on and replace them with a new tenant.
But yeah, I'm in my mid thirties and I feel ya, it seems like it gets tougher every year to stomach the BS. I have until 40 to go before I pull the plug and retire. I'm soooo looking forward to it. No more BS meetings, BS co-workers who take credit for your work, managers who became managers not because of qualifications but because they are on the friends and family plan, etc.
I had my own business doing consulting work. The things you mention are far worse as a business owner. I had clients secretaries lie about things not working when it really was working they just wanted something nicer like the VP's, etc. I even video taped it to prove that it was working and that they were liars. I had clients who's employees would interfere, make stuff up, break something trying to play IT and then try to blame it on me even though the audit trail pointed to them, but it never goes anywhere because their boss is their mom and you're a vendor so fall in line, etc. You name it. It was far worse as a business owner. The only difference being you could kiss some clients goodbye if you didn't want to deal with them anymore, like I did with the ones above, before shutting the thing down.
I'm technically still a business owner as a landlord with a few rental houses, but the lies and BS goes on with tenants too. The only nice thing about this kind of business is that since I keep them all on month to month leases, if they become an annoyance I don't want to deal with or get too out of line, I just give them 20 days notice to move on and replace them with a new tenant.
But yeah, I'm in my mid thirties and I feel ya, it seems like it gets tougher every year to stomach the BS. I have until 40 to go before I pull the plug and retire. I'm soooo looking forward to it. No more BS meetings, BS co-workers who take credit for your work, managers who became managers not because of qualifications but because they are on the friends and family plan, etc.
How are you going to retire when you are 40? What are you going to use for medical insurance?
I had my own business doing consulting work. The things you mention are far worse as a business owner. I had clients secretaries lie about things not working when it really was working they just wanted something nicer like the VP's, etc. I even video taped it to prove that it was working and that they were liars. I had clients who's employees would interfere, make stuff up, break something trying to play IT and then try to blame it on me even though the audit trail pointed to them, but it never goes anywhere because their boss is their mom and you're a vendor so fall in line, etc. You name it. It was far worse as a business owner. The only difference being you could kiss some clients goodbye if you didn't want to deal with them anymore, like I did with the ones above, before shutting the thing down.
I'm technically still a business owner as a landlord with a few rental houses, but the lies and BS goes on with tenants too. The only nice thing about this kind of business is that since I keep them all on month to month leases, if they become an annoyance I don't want to deal with or get too out of line, I just give them 20 days notice to move on and replace them with a new tenant.
But yeah, I'm in my mid thirties and I feel ya, it seems like it gets tougher every year to stomach the BS. I have until 40 to go before I pull the plug and retire. I'm soooo looking forward to it. No more BS meetings, BS co-workers who take credit for your work, managers who became managers not because of qualifications but because they are on the friends and family plan, etc.
Thats what I thought. And same thing with the rentals. But renters are getting WORSE and my properties are getting to be more of a money drain than money makers. Paying the bills of life is getting more expensive and so I still have to work.
Unfortunately, in many fields, long hours are expected no matter who your employer is.
Then don't take that job.
"You want me to work 60 hour weeks? Hmmm That means OT, right? No? Ok then I won't be taking this job...."
I know a lot of people in a lot of industries. I've been working a long time. I know ONE person working 5- - 60 hour weeks...ONE: the guy that owns his own business.
(*Disclaimer...he's also making $225,000+)
Oh yeah, nothing changed since the 1960's in the work world.
Thanks! LMAO!
what about before the 1960s?
Its a way better world than since before the NLRB was enacted, way better than when there was basically no paid vacation time in any blue collar jobs, way better than when there was no discrimination protections, way better than when remote working wasn't available to anyone, way better than back in the day when if you tried to change careers you had no chance whatsoever, way better than a 100 other things that never used to exist for workers.
The US working world didn't start in the 60s. lol.
Self-sorry pessimists are full of c%&P.
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