At Major Fork In Road. Need Advice. What Would You Do?

Hi Jedi-

There is no reason that you can't start an offline business , ramp it up, then leave thee JOB when you feel a bit more secure.

Lead generation is easily handled off hours and done properly is not time consuming nor will it cost money

The work can be done by outsourced help...while you are at work

I have taught many people how to make the transition...just takes action ...you can do it... once you start done the path then right way it will all come together

If I can help just pm me and best wished for the holidays !
Dr Bruno

Why are you giving yourself that ultimatum? Doesn't make sense to me.

You can make money on the side with offline... you don't need to be superman at your job. Handle what you can handle, if your production starts lacking, then I would assume they'd lay you off, right?

I don't think you should quit your job. That gives you too much pressure. I think it would make more sense to be able to collect unemployment while you're working on your business. If you have to... put it on hold. Save up 6 months of expenses before you decide to go fulltime.

The problem is definitively the fact that you don't have cushion to be able to support yourself while growing the business..
As for work, do what you reasonably can, but stop trying to be efficient at work, they'll lay you off anyway and that's what you want. So be a bad employee, don't care about it, focus on your offline job while putting the normal hours at your day job. When you finish your day job, don't think about it anymore, focus on your offline marketing stuff since that's what you're going to do next for sure.
Of course the boss/managers will talk you some nonsense about trying harder, say yes I will and then don't. End of story. Don't care about what they think, they're old story already.

Thanks James. Yep, that is the problem.

What you're saying (and what iAmNameLess said about not being a superman at work) is very true, and I think that's a major part of my problem. When there is work that needs to be done and folks (both within the company and our customers) are clearly upset and having their own work impacted by my backlog, I do have a hard time stepping away and letting it go. It's hard to have clarity of mind working on the offline biz when things at the job are blowing up so bad.

I'm with IamNameless...there's no reason you can't work and do it. It's just going to suck for a bit. However, there's nothing that'll make you work your A$& off like not knowing where your next meal/mortgage payment is coming from. So, there's something to be said for quitting and working your butt off.

No matter what, you can make whatever YOU want happen.

Well, from what he's said it's NOT feasible. Let's be realistic, IF he could save up 6 mos of pay...he would not need to quit his job and he would be happy. Furthermore, he's looking at a layoff no matter what he wants to do, so I'm thinking he doesn't have 6 mos to save up, and from the way he talks, he hasn't...so it's a moot point.

He can only go with what is feasible and actually an option, and that doesn't seem to be one.

Jedi - I'd love to know more about what you actually do...care to PM and I'll see what I can come up with for ideas?

David was working out of the home a few years back and he quit to come work with me It was scary, but it worked and we never looked back. I'm PM'ing you some links to his blog that may help you out.

MWind076, thanks a ton man. Got somewhere I got to head out to now, will be online later this evening to check the PM.

Don't forget about overworking or breakdown, overload I don't know how it is called, but it is real, suddenly your brain and body stops responding and you're left really ill and unable to do anything.
Maybe it is the overall mentality of US to be so professional at work and believe it is important, but personally I think a good life and health is more important than anything.. Especially working for someone else benefit (an employer), should be looked ONLY as a mean to survive, but the next logical move is to work for yourself, that means customers, if possible even removing as much as possible the relationship with customers so that you don't trade a boss for a needy customer. So ideally it is to sell a product. But as it is a final step, I understand you have to go through the motions and work for a boss, then customers then finally reach the stage of working on finished products that people will buy.
If you're only option is to stick at your job until nobody knows when, then do that, but be careful of work overload and the real consequences. Being lazy is one thing, that can be good, but being unable to work because of health issues is not cool at all because then all forms of work become impossible.

You can keep you job, create a system that allows you to just do what you are good at in the part time business of your own and outsource to a small team to do the boring and repetitive tasks that hold no value but need doing, this will free up your spare time allowing you to leverage the business more.

Dont get scared by thought of paying people to do work, you can get small jobs done cheap and your business will grow so much quicker through it.

You can then leave your job knowing the business is working when the time is right.

Nameless,
I honestly appreciate a ton of what you are saying. You're clearly not one to offer some ra ra pep talk, but would rather be brutally honest. I respect that.

As I mentioned in the first post, it was in 2010 I reached the point of needing to make a little extra money on the side. Since then I have cut back everything I can down to the bare minimum necessary to survive. We do bargain shop, never go out to eat, have cut back all non-essential expenses, etc.

There is honestly not much more cutting back I could do. I appreciate and totally agree with what you say about extravagant spending and how it has gotten the nation in the mess it's in.

I know how to budget. I do budget.

But despite all the budgeting and being frugal, income at the job continues to go down while expenses continue to go up.

I am not considering quitting my job. But I am considering letting the boss know that if there will be more lay-offs in the future to consider me for it. Worse case scenario, they walk me out the door, and I collect unemployment (which honestly is not much less than where my income from the job has gotten to already). Best case scenario, they lay me off, I'm still able to collect unemployment, plus I have a package of a few months income and benefits.

Appreciate the honest feedback. Please keep it coming.

I don't know your boss but if you came to me and asked
to be laid off I'd have security walk you out immediately.

That is a bad idea.

Im not advising that you do this....but if it were ME- I would make a call list of 1,000 people and tell myself, "I KNOW there are five people on this list I could sell to".

I would bust out the phone book, and lock myself in a room and find those five people within a week, but then, as an experienced person at this, I KNOW those 5 clients are there....you may not know that yet, and so you might not approach it with the same confidence.

Anyway, thats what I "did"- and I never looked back. Dont suggest it for everyone, but thats just me... I know I will pull through somehow and have that confidence.

The same customers are there for you too....but you might freak 400 numbers in , and start sabotaging yourself...whereas I would keep going and just know that the business is there. You have to keep your eyes on the prize.

There is NEVER a perfect time to go into business...but if you dont feel confident then keep doing what barely pays your families bills, and start asking God to show you a break in the clouds and give you an opportunity to make something happen....He will make that opportunity for you.

Another route you could try is offline, or online advertising...which works while you are at work on the clock...

It isnt as predictable or aggressive as proactively going after customers via phone, but it could pull you the one or two sales you need to get that good break, which enables you to go full time.

How much money do you need to make per month to pay bills and such?

Dang it, I hate it when I type a full message then somehow lose it.

John Durham: Thanks for the feedback. I absolutely know that what you said is true. Though my experience is extremely limited compared to many on here, it's been enough to bear out the truth of what you stated. And I am definately willing to cold call, walk into businesses, etc. Appreciate your comments. Also, I perceive that you too are a man of faith. If you'd be willing, take a quick moment to throw up a prayer on my behalf.

Eddie: $3500

Just want to pause for a minute and express my honest gratitude for everyone who has taken a moment to chime in on this. Every comment has been much appreciated. Thank you.

You could try to "encourage" them to lay you off.
How to Get Laid Off: A Step-By-Step Guide | Wise Bread

3 quick questions...

1. What are you GOOD at?
2. What do you ENJOY doing?
3. If you had NO chance of failure, what would you do?

We're often given difficult choices to allow us to grow and move in a new direction

Could you find just 3 customers in a month to pay you in advance (and tie them into a 3 month contract)

then another new 3 the next month....

...and leverage yourself into working and doing what you LOVE full time?

Don't just think of a "loan", there could also be some alternate methods to raise
the capital you need (only if you want to go down that route...)

* Sell Something
* Family & Friends
* Crowd Funding
* Your social network contacts
* Overdraft
* Credit Card
* Pre-Orders

Also write down all the things a typical prospect needs to meet to be an ideal client, and do the same for an "advocate" or someone who could refer you, bring you or introduce you to those people who meet your criteria and match your profile.

Can you get them to endorse you on their website, in their blog, their newsletter, ezine, at the end of their own consultations, (moreso if you offer them a %), maybe then can refer you the 3 clients you need to be up and running?

Hope that helps.

Regards


Fraser

Jedi,

There has been some great advice here already. And as often is the case Nameless has touched on many of the points I would make. That said I would still like to give another perspective and hope something I say can help you.

1. You don't have to do the work of two or three people at work. The job is making you do that but you don't have to stress out over it. Think about it this way.

Is it your business? No it's no so other than a paycheck you don't have any skin in the game. So stop stressing.

Were you being paid fairly for the production level you gave before all this happened? I bet you will say yes. If that is the case unless you got a raise why are you working harder now?

Is there any benefit to you to work harder? If you are not getting paid more I doubt there is. If they laid people off but have the same amount of work that says their business model is flawed. So working harder may delay you being laid off but the company itself is likely doomed so it's not like you will work hard for 6 months and than be back to normally. They will expect this and it is already burning you out.

2. Is running a business right for you? Do you truly believe you can do it?

As Nameless pointed out you could create the income you need part time in a few months. Do you believe this?

How soon do you think you could create $3,500/month working full time? Can you survive till that point? I believe personally I could do it in under two months. Maybe even under 1 month.

How soon do you think you could create $7,000/month working full time? This will cover your taxes (self employed costs more) and give you a small bit of spending money. Can you get this done in under 3 months (so you can pay your quarterly taxes)? If not can you do it in 6? How about 9? If you don't believe you can do it in 6 or 9 you shouldn't do this. Not trying to be a downer but if you don't believe in yourself and what you are selling enough to make a living doing it the first year full time you either need to change how much you need to live or you need to accept what you want to do can not fund your current life and move on.

3. Not sure what you do but how quickly could you find another job that would allow you to pay your bills? How about how soon could you find a job that would allow you to survive (reduce your expenses first)?

Myself I know I could find a job that I could survive on within a month (two max). I believe I could find a job that would allow me not to lose my Corvette or Cable/etc within 3 months (6 max). I have done management and sales all my life and I know I could find one or the other very fast.

4. What would you do if Monday you were fired? Not laid off. Fired. So you would have no unemployment or any income.

Personally I am confident I could start a business and succeed. I would also apply to a few jobs just to have a back up. I would be back on my feet in 3 months. Worst case I might lose my Vette. This is the reason I believe in having car payments vs. owning since if the crap hits the fan you can always give it back to the bank. Harder to sell a car. And selling a car you own doesn't lower your expenses that much.

Honestly for you what would you do?

Closing:
Once you answer these questions you will know how to handle the situation. Over the weekend I want you to think about these questions and know the answers confidently.

Then on Monday I want you to do two things. First promise yourself you will stop stressing over the job. Second stop doing more work than you can handle. Do you job but don't overwork. This company will lay you off or fire you down the road. But if you have thought this out that shouldn't stress you.

If you think you can make a business work full time than do what Nameless said and really focus on it part time. Explain to your family that for the next few weeks you need to use at least 1 if not both of your days off for your business. This will allow you to have a head start as it should take a few weeks if not a few months for you to be fired or laid off.

If you don't think the business is for you than you need to start looking for a job.

The key here is which ever of the two paths you take you can likely get enough of a head start that you can quit vs waiting for the axe to fall. But if the axe falls first you will have the confidence to dig out fast and likely without much personal sacrifice.

One final note to think about.
5. How much do you have in your 401k. You can always take the penalty and cash this out if you are laid off or fired (or quit sooner vs later). Could you survive 2 months without that income(it takes a bit to get it)? And with the 401k how long could you survive?

This step is your way out now or if the worst comes too soon. I don't advice it but think about it and use it if you need it. Just remember you get a 10% extra tax penalty.

What do you do in your day job? Can you outsource part of that? I would look into that if it's at all possible.

I did it years ago when I first read the 4-Hour Workweek and there were some bumps (bad eggs) but after a got a couple good workers it was amazing how much time I had on my hands... and was getting twice the work done. I was in grad school and working full time and still had a social life

I WOULD try to keep the day job as long as you can stand it. Use some of the money from the day job to leverage your offline business and do some marketing to get prospects to call you.

Postcards - Chamber newsletter - PPC - Endorsed relationships - etc

Plenty of ways to market your services in a leveraged manner so you only have to invest time with prospects that WANT to do business with you...

Update: Just had a meeting with my boss, and it went really good.

My current boss used to be my colleague for many years. We've worked on numerous projects together, talk frequently about our families, have great rapport, etc. Otherwise I likely would not have done what I did.

First we spoke a little about bandwidth and he has agreed to help relieve a little of the current workload.

Second, I kindly let him know about some of the work I am doing on the side. Assured him it is not impeding on my work (which it's not) and that I will continue to be fully engaged while here and do the best I can (which I will), but just let him know that financially I have to do a little extra on the side right now. He was totally cool with that and encouraging of it.

Third, we talked about the possibility of more upcoming lay-offs in the near future. He said he did not know for sure, but just looking at the business could see the possibility. I let him know that if such turns out to be the case, to talk to me as soon as he knows about it as I might be interested in being a recipient, giving me a few months pay and the time needed to focus on my biz, and sparing the job of another that wants to keep it. He said he would keep that in mind, but meanwhile needs to see continually that while I am here, I am fully here and committed to the job.

I am well aware that the course of action I have taken here is contrary to what many advise. As is often the case with such stories, there's more to it than what is being posted, and as I consider it everything I am confident I made the right choice and am very comfortable with it.

So now I still have my job and will have a few less pressures at it, yet at the same time the fact that I had the conversation with my boss (even though he's a friend I have great rapport with) means it's only a matter of time. Which is a good thing as it gives me the little extra edge I need to focus on my biz and make it succeed.

I'm sure a few will read this and gasp & facepalm. No worries. Like I said, I am confident and comfortable with my decision.

Thanks again to everyone who took a moment to share your thoughts and advice. I very much appreciate it!

Jedi,
Everyone and every circumstance is different. So what is right for you may not be right for everyone else. However, in all the conversations I didn't see anyone saying you should work on your side business during lunch, breaks, how about on the way home? Utilize any extra time you have available to boost sales and network with businesses. You just never know who will be your next customer.

Please keep us all posted on how you are doing and how you are progressing with your business.

All the best!
Cathy :-)