This past weekend, I was bed-ridden sick. Jessie has already given you all the details about that, so this post might be lacking in content. I think I broke my record for how many movies I have watched in one weekend.
It might be better, rather than give an update of what is going on, to talk about prospects that I have been thinking about.
I have really been liking my new job here in Dallas. The pay is good, the work is what I like to do (fix trucks), and the hours are easy. I have been able to complete almost everything thrown at me and my boss is happy. There is also the opportunity for further training. Life is good, right? But there is still this nagging urge in the back of my mind to do something crazy. Something as crazy as work for myself.
Self-employment or self-infliction, as my mother calls it, has always been something that I have thought about. But maybe that’s everyone little dream right? Opening your own shop, greeting your happy customers one by one, and providing a unique service that nobody else has ever thought of. Washing your hands and sweeping the floor as the sun sets. Satisfied with another hard day’s work, knowing that you left an impression that meant something to people and made some real money that goes straight in your pocket, not to some corporate overhead. The problem with this is it's just a dream. I know enough about business to know these ideals are not very realistic.
More likely you have thirty or so odd-ball people screaming at you to unrealistically get their work done simultaneously. You hate them for the way they treat you, but you’re bending over backwards to put on one more smile for them because they are the only hope you have to try and pay off the huge business loan you took out to afford the shop you work in . The landlord cut the lights off and you are scrambling with flahlights into the night just to make it through one more day, exhausted. All the while at home awaits three weeks of paperwork in a corner drawer that you haven’t yet dealt with. You keep it in that drawer because it's important and if you don’t deal with it something bad will happen. You don’t know what that is, but its bad.
I really see it from both sides. You can go to work, clock in and clock out without having to stress about all the difficult things in business, but you get paid less for that luxury; on the other hand, you can work for yourself and get all the pay and all the accompanying stress. This is not to say that hourly jobs don’t pay well and owning a business does. Or that hourly jobs are stress-free and owning a business is all work an' no play. I think that a lot of it has to do with one's personality.
I know myself fairly well at this point, and I know that it takes a lot for me to take care of certain things. Things as simple as sending email replies, filling out some insurance papers, writing weekly blogs on time -- they are difficult for me and take me forever. I have always had this struggle, and I purposely try and battle it with the little things. But if you give me a task and a time to show up and do it, I have no problem. Wake up early or stay out late, whatever it takes. I can work hard but not in that way that is helpful for an entrepreneur.
Seeking out contacts, setting up meetings, researching tax benefits, and filing the right paperwork for the right time are things that I just want to run from, and I know that is not a good business plan. I will need to work on things that I’m not good at in order to even think about trying to start a business. And I know that there are lots of different paths besides employer and employee. These are the things that I have been thinking about and looking into as I work my job every day. Every day is a day under my belt for whatever I need to do next. Thanks for reading.
Currently listening to: Hillsong United, Gregory Alan Isakov, and Jessie Welsh Piano.
Currently Working on: 2011 Mack CHU613 with active engine code 4094 derated condition likely caused by faulty EGR flow. Found the EGR cooler clogged with soot.
Currently Thinking about: all of the above.
Of course you can imagine my first reaction; noooooooooooo!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWell well well. I seem to remember a young man about your age stretching his wings in the self-employment world. It took about 20 years to figure out the things you are already self-aware of. That’s a good start. Balance, that’s the key have your priorities clearly in view and then maintain those standards and don’t compromise. Sometimes those priorities mean putting off your wants and dealing with your needs. God honor’s that as you mature and grow and he wants nothing but good things for you. Just like your Father.
ReplyDelete