Working for the Man

Will you look back with regret on the sum of the choices you've made? I wonder. I'm in a good place right now so it's not really the sum of my choices that I wonder about, it's the individual days.

I make choices on how I spend my time but wonder if I am choosing wisely. Will I look back and see that my daughter had to work too hard to get my attention? Will I wake up one day to what is really important and realize the ship has sailed?

Every now and then working for the man vs working for myself enters the equation. In conversation with my coach recently, she stated that I view working for myself as having no money. Way to cut to the chase Abigail but ok, yes, that's a hurdle for me.

Everyone has their own hurdles so tell me: 

If you opted out of working for the man, what hurdle did you have to overcome to do so?

If you considered opting out but elected to stay, what was your hurdle to overcome?

If you are considering opting out but not taking the leap, what hurdle are you facing?

Hit me in the comments, I'm curious.

Comments

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[Steve Boese]

I have done the independent thing and the working for the man thing, and bounced back and forth a couple of times between them. For me, I much, much prefer the independent thing. I gave up my last consulting gig because I needed to reduce my travel, and there are many times I regret that move. I anticipate the down economy and the lack of corporate job security to be some compelling factors that will increase 'free agency' in the next few years. Great questions, as usual.

[George A Guajardo]

This is a timely conversation for me. I am currently working towards "hanging my own shingle." I am not entirely sure this is the path for me, but I am also not entirely sure that working for the man is my road. My biggest obstacle? Risk aversion. I tend to play it safe in my personal life and being your own boss is not exactly the "safe" choice.

Will I choose the steady paycheck, or a life of "feast and famine?" I am not sure... There has to e a support group for this type of thing. Keep us informed of your decision!

[Job HIres]

working for the man vs working for myself - i think if we all had a choice everyone would work for thy self, being independent and on your own hours gives you more time to pursue other self fulfilling things

BTW read all your articles at http://hrworld.ontorebd.com

[Deb Owen]

Wow! I could write a tome rivaling Tolstoy on this topic.

Often, people making the leap run into challenges that they didn't expect. Everyone prepares for the money part, and maybe some other obvious parts. But my biggest hurdles once I did had nothing to do with any of that. It had to do with things I didn't expect. Things like....missing seeing the same faces and working in teams on occasion. (Or the water cooler where you catch up with the other people who watch Lost.)

That was eventually overcome by finding my tribe of other entrepreneurs -- the ones who support me and I support them and sometimes we work together and we can still catch up on Lost. (Not all entrepreneurs are like this. But some are.)

The other thing that was significant for me was hiring a coach. Not just a business coach either, but a life coach with business experience. I had no idea how much of those two areas intersect when starting your own biz. But starting your own business will bring up 'your stuff' like you would not believe. (And the first thing she had me do was work on my thinking surrounding the business. Look at what's already been written here -- assumptions about working for yourself means 'no money', or assuming that it means 'feast or famine' and that that is necessarily a bad thing. It's not. There are ways to work with that that end up being far more beneficial, in my mind, than working for the man any day.)

Overall? The things I thought I'd have to deal with were there, but I was prepared. It was the other, unexpected stuff that no one tells you about......

Still, I wouldn't change anything for the world right now.
;-)

All the best!
deb

[Lisa Rosendahl]

Thanks to all for stopping by and commenting and especially to Deb for sharing the things you don't read in business books. George, I think we found the leader of our support group :)

[Jackie Cameron]

Interesting times. I stepped out on my own after my job became redundant. In truth I had stayed working for that particular man for a bit too long but I got the chance to try something new there and it opened my mind to other opportunities. The road to where I am now as an independent consultant has been long, winding, interesting, frustrating, disheartening, fun, rewarding, inspiring....I got those negatives in employment but rarely the positives. And that's the crunchfor me.

Making a buck...well that's a whole other challenge - and only you know how much you need to live off til you have made your mark.

Keep talking and sharing ...I can't help feeling that my journey would have gone in a different direction if I had a social network like I have now.

[Travis Sampson]

I hear you all. I wanted to do my own thing when I started working, but due to some constraints, I was forced to work for the man. I enjoy working for the mans - its a way for me to learn the industry while getting paid for it and eventually saving up the capital to start my own gig.

I think its all about the mindset. I am also thinking that going on my own would be the start of the famine. My loved ones also tell me that as well. Deb is right, stick with like minded crowd. Have a mentor or a coach that has been in your current position and is now where you want to be. Robert Kiyosaki said in his book that Professionals have coaches, while amateurs do not. And the difference between a professional and an amateur is that professionals are paid for what they do.

But dont listen to me. Im still working for the man.

[Ben Eubanks]

I'm doing a bit of both at the moment. And the "day job" is becoming less important/attractive with each passing month. I have the drive. I have the ability. Now if I could just get my wife to quit thinking like Lisa... :-) I'd love to chat w/you via email on this sometime. I am VERY passionate about people working for themselves when they have a special skill to sell. And from what I've seen, you have many, ma'am. Excellent post!