Corporate America vs. Entreprenuership

Yes, I am a late bloomer to the world of new form blogging and internet social societies. The last social website I was a part of was MySpace and that was to look at pictures. For blogging, was Xanga and that was back in high school.

I guess the new things are Blogger, FaceBook and Twitter. 2 out of 3 I created so I can view pictures and videos. Maybe I'll make use of this one. Whatever... away with the past, on with the new, and back to the subject.

So, I have been contemplating on what to do next year as far as career goes. Right now I am sitting pretty, working for an Oil & Gas company, slowing moving up the corporate ladder. Laid back, work 7 to 4 (regularly, but not as of late, 7 to 7ish), taking advantage or all training and schooling the company provides, decent salary, insurance, 401K and all the other great perks of working for "The Man." Why leave right?

On the other hand, why not start your own business and work for yourself. Look at the big picture optimistically; your business does great, blossoms immediately and you are making, let’s just say, twice to three times your salary. Worth it, but if it was that easy, everyone would do it, right?

Why the sudden change?

In the past three years, I have worked for five different companies, and each move has been for the better (of course). Right now I am at the bottom of the totem pole at my company. There is tremendous room to grow and I can probably spend the next 20-25 years here if everything goes right. This would be the perfect situation for someone who wants to settle and become that loyal employee.

I am not content with that.

So where do I go from here?

That is what I have been contemplating on. For some of those who do not know, my dream is to open a hamburger joint. Well hitting the lottery would be a dream, but what’s the odd of that? So not necessarily a dream, but something I really want to do and I know I would enjoy doing. Are my hamburgers even good enough for me to market and start a business with? To me, yes and that is a risk I am willing to take and find out. (Two keys to being successful: ambition and confidence.)

Right now, I am slowly marketing my burger just to get feedbacks. I ask them two questions; "How do you like it?" and "Would you pay to eat this?" So far, everyone who has tried it has really enjoyed it. But sometimes I feel that people avoid telling the truth so they do not hurt my feelings. Honestly, I need the negative feedbacks in order to proceed forward. Let me just get 50-100 feedbacks from random people and go from there.

Given that they are tellind the truth, the feedbacks I am getting are very good. Here is a few: "Damn where you buy this from?", "Let me know when you open up your place", "I'd drive for a good burger", etc.

The only negative is the size, but that is an easy fix. I can go into details on how far I have looked into building my franchise, pros and cons, but that can wait for another day.

The hold backs: wedding, ecnomy & money, and my soon to be wife’s fear of the risk.

Wedding. Right around the corner, but I do not plan on proceeding with this until next year, so this hold back is obsolete.

Ecnomy & Money. The way the economy is now, it is almost impossible to get a business loan. Unless things take a turn for the better next year, I would have to save and/or borrow. I actually have a few interested investor friends. Also, with the wedding coming up, which is a big chunk of change out of the pocket and we do not know whether we will be profiting, breaking even, or taking a lost. Whatever happens happens. You are also probably thinking I am crazy wanting to pursue a business when I have a stable job during this tough time. To you, it is tough times, to me, opportunity. Crazy, I know.

Significant Other. The fear of failure, which is normal. Nine out of ten times, it is the women in the relationship who tends to tell the man to think realistically and think what is best for the family. To her, why change our situation if everything is good the way they are? To me, why not take the risk and hope for the best? Why go through life asking the question ‘what if…’

There is also the subject getting a new house and starting a family. With the start of a new business, getting a house is definitely out of the question, unless, as I stated earlier, your business just booms. I told her that I do not mind staying home for the first year or two in order to do this, so we are good on that. With starting a new family, this subject can be a blog of its’ own, so let’s just skip it for now.

So, why now?

Five years ago, I was not making burgers because if I was, I would not be writing about it now. With all the feedbacks I have been getting as of late, it just makes me want to go after it.

So, why not now?

I figured, I am 25, take the risk now. Everyone knows the two outcomes: success or failure. You already know what success can lead to. With failure, it will give me time to recoup and go back to what I was doing, but I get the satisfaction of knowing I tried.

A good friend once told me that we are the few who have the capabilities of being successful. One step at a time…

Looking forward to 2010!

Alright, too much rambling, back to work.