Not Working For The 'Man' - Doing Your Own Thing
 

I've read a lot of great advice on this board so thought I'd put this out there....

I know there are quite a few people on here that decided to stop working for the 'man' and set up their own thing. Or were forced to stop working for a company and decided to create their own thing.

I'm interested to know what made you go brave and strike out on your own rather than carrying on with the security of working for a company.

Also did you have any regrets, what were they or do you wish you had done it sooner?

Reason I ask is even though I have a secure job, working on stuff that interests me, with people I like, for people that want to keep me as long as I want to stay, I keep thinking I should jump out of the boat into the water to see where it takes me as its all starting to feel too comfortable.

I'm don't want to set up my own company but work inside other companies to help them push forward and improve. I guess the role I'm thinking of is as an engineering/deign or project management consultant. I have a very specialized +20yr career history working in a variety of senior roles for a number of world known brand names in one of the most competitive design/engineering environments there is.

I'm sure my experience, knowledge, attitude, strengths, working methodology would be of interest and benefit many high technology companies in different industry sectors eg green energy, aerospace/military, automotive, sporting goods, marine, motorsport etc but am unsure of how I go about making contact with the right person in each company and then selling myself into a job.

As always on this board I'm looking forward to some good advice and feel free to be the Devil's advocate when replying.

I'd think with your skills and experience, you should be able to make a go of a consulting career pretty easily.

+1

I left a lucrative Management Consulting firm to start my own. Figured "security" in a job is an illusion and wasn't worth kicking 70% of my bill rate upstairs.

Basically, I ran the math, figured I had the discipline for leans times, low liability and went for it.

The problem with working for yourself is that you'll always have an a-hole slave driver for a boss ;)
I plan to retire early and work part time consulting.


BTW A consultant is a guy who knows 100 ways to make love but doesn't know any women ;)

I do it on and off as the mood strikes me.

Coming off a two year round of doing my own thing and getting the itch to get back into a company again.

My clients are on the East Coast, Midwest, West Coast and Japan.

My day starts at 8 am and ends at 10 pm with a couple of breaks in between.

Since the Japanese are a day ahead they like to bother me on Sundays, their Monday, so I also have a 6 day week.

Gets to be old and draining after a while.

I think they are conspiring against me, they always seem to have emergencies simultaneously.

I can have a nice quite day and hear from none of them then there are the days they all call at the same time.

I've done simultaneous conference calls with 3 at a time. Those are fun. Trick is to remember to mute each one after you say something and try to predict when one will ask you a question so you can preempt the other two.

Figure out what you "want" before you're forced to.

Start doing it while you still have the stability in your pocket.

Easier said than done, though!

been running the cafe for twenty seven years, so far so good.

I have, and continue, to consult, act as COB and own separate companies.

Your life will not be your own. I am on a Skype now with a client in Manila as I type this.

Know your taxes/tax posture inside out.

Get very smart on consulting agreements. PM me and I can send some examples.

Have at least a year of operating capital in the bank before you commit to going solo.

It is a sleight ride, but a good one.

Quote of the day right there. ...

I was never one to work for someone else. I worked for someone a long time ago to get my foot in the door in the computer industry. When my dad was a lawyer, he wanted to try and get his law firm off the old dictaphone and into the computer age. Bought an IBM PC for his secretary, his desk and one for home. 8086 proc. 64K no HD.

A while after working for the small shop, I went out on my own with an old HS friend and started a web hosting company. Ran than until mid 2000 when I walked away due to biz issues that ended up killing a friendship. Lost a bit of money on that one. Went to work for another IT company and finally quit at the end of '06 when I couldn't take being taken advantage of anymore. I also reasoned that I could collect all of the hourly rate, not just get paid a small fraction. The last seven years have been quite the roller coaster ride and I am currently trying to segue out of the IT industry. Word of mouth biz, that has not given me much biz.

I am not going to find another job/career, but switching to something I enjoy much more. The money doesn't really matter anymore.

I'm still not quite able to talk about this much on Pelican, but I am doing this now:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1399608789.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1399608851.jpg

The above is supposed to be in the Pelican catalog, but there seems to be a little hold up.

One has even made it into a 3 wheeler Morgan:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1399608995.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1399609032.jpg

I also do this:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1399608902.jpg
Bentwood rings.

And of course, a guitar here and there. ;)

I worked for a tech start up right out of college. A few years later they went bankrupt. My next job was for another tech start up. This time I saw the signs. They were heading in the same direction. Bought a small business before things fell apart. Figured that if I worked as hard for ME as I did for the first two companies, that things would work out. I grew my little company to a much, much bigger little company and cashed out.

That was in 1999. I haven't had a "real" job since. Really can't imagine being a full time employee again. Walking away from a salary is a scary thing. A "failure is not an option" attitude and being willing to put forth whatever effort is required to succeed are key to pulling it off.

I tried work, but decided it wasn't really for me.

So I worked three jobs at the same time, and now my tenants are working for me :)

Everyone I know who consults in the technical field starts out with a very good network that they grew through their careers. That gets them a baseline of jobs in. From there it does usually grow further. I am a little worried that you may not have this network, from what you describe?

If you are truly an expert at a certain discipline, you can sign up with expert consulting / expert witness referral services. They of course will take their cut, but it will also help you expand your network and land you gigs it he future that may no longer go through the expert referral service.

Consulting is my plan for late career. I am not ready for it now, as income is very spotty for consultant, unless you hire on for long term contracts.

Not sure this helps, but it is my viewpoint into technical consulting.

G

It has been almost a year since I jumped ship on the corporate world and opened my consulting business. I hit the ground running by lining up 4 consecutive weeks out of town working and have continued to work very hard. I slacked in January and will slack again this month as a matter of choice but still make more this year (and last year) than I have ever made in my life. More importantly, I love what I do. Every morning I wake up looking forward to my day, not dreading it.

There are things that I miss. Knowing that a paycheck will magically land in my account every two weeks is now a thing of the past. I have to plan accordingly. I do miss that - LOL! But what I miss most are my coworkers and our daily interactions. I've been blessed to have extraordinary coworkers. Smart, funny, loving and talented people. Though we remain facebook friends, phone calls, occasional visits, it is not the same as working with someone every day.

Am I glad I did it? Hell yes. The benefits outweigh the disadavantages and I've never been happier in my life.

angela

He is...trust me! ;)

+1 on consulting...I'd think your QC would look like the local phone book. Best of luck!

I truly work for "the man;" I'm a federal employee. I've often thought about branching out on my own, but the security of that bi-weekly paycheck AND the fact I'll get a decent pension when I'm not TOO old make it a very difficult move for me. I think if I were single, I'd do it. But since I'm married--for the second time--I've got a wife and 5 kids to feed and house. That security that my "decent" paying fed job offers is hard to give up.

I like to DO things; work with my hands, etc. My current job, I use my mind a lot, but 90% of the time, I'm sitting behind a desk, and I hate that. I'd be much happier spending my days detailing cars, but that doesn't exactly pay the bills.

Best thing I ever did was go it alone. I was an engineer, good salary and great security, but I hated feeling enslaved. I went into publishing first, then branched out into other entrepreneurial projects. I love the freedom to do whatever I want (most of the time). I start projects, prove the concept and get it rolling, then hiring someone to take over and make the donuts. I make more money than I ever could have as a W2 engineer. Fun!

thanks for the replies and helpful advice

sammyg2, your quote made me chuckle, I shall use that, I can't see me retiring for another 20yrs so part of me is thinking maybe its a bit early and the part of me is thinking if doesn't work out it won't be too late to jump back into the boat.

stomachmonkey, interesting to hear your experience, I'm thinking I should try it for 3yrs, should be long enough to workout if its the life for me

Seahawk, I work long hours most of the year, deadlines can not be moved so some weeks I work from 8 to midnight and weekends, whatever is required to get the job done. I'm lucky my family accept this as they know its my job. Very interested to see some sample consulting agreements, I'll send you a PM, thanks. I will have a reasonable financial buffer which is why I'm thinking now is the time

slodave, life is too short not to enjoy it and money doesn't always make up for the loss of quality of life, I'm glad to hear it is working for you

LeeH, I've only ever worked in a failure is not an option and never give up environment, even when everything is impossibly stacked the wrong way. I know no different way of working and this pressure what I enjoy about my job,

aigel, many thanks for your views,
only 12 companies (soon to be a 13th) in the world work in my industry, I've worked for 4 and have worked with either the technical/engineering directors, chief designers, heads of design departments in all 12. An extremely small gene pool full of inbreeding :) but this won't be much help as I'm keen to gradually over time stretch my wings outside of my industry. I'm on Link-in and will update my profile at the right time (my boss, his boss and his bosses boss are all linked to me so I can't do it before).

I could be considered an expert, I've been call worse names that that though, with my first job I started out as a technical specialist, 1 of 4 people in the world doing the job I did, then I became 1 of 1, wasn't an expert as such, just I had a senior role in the first ever project of its kind at the time. I work with mainly technical specialists but in recent years I have become more of a generalist but I'm still very much a specialist in the general world of engineering (hope that makes sense). I'm hoping that by becoming less of a specialist that is able to be thrown in the deep end of most engineering situations while quickly working out the weak areas will stand me in good stead for working in new fields of design/engineering I have no experience of. I'm also hoping the way I am used to working, being able to bring a unique perspective and my broader engineering knowledge/experience will be more valuable to a company than my specialist engineering skills.

Jim, thanks for the kind words of endorsement, but you must be referring to me being an expert in talking random bull$hit over beer and pizza :D

angela, I enjoyed reading your reply the most, your enthusiasm makes me want to do it right now and I know what you mean about how much difference fun co-workers can make to your day

wdfifteen, do you mind if I PM you as I'd like to know more about how to get involved with entrepreneurial projects as this really appeals to me, I would miss this but would try to bring the fun with me

Please keep the replies coming as it is giving me a lot of food for thought and helping to clear my head

Starting your own company is not what you do because you're bored or want a change of pace. It's really hard work. It's something you do because you have a burning need and desire to do it. You'd rather try and fail than keep working for the same miserable s.o.b. any longer. Or you have a need to see your vision in practice, and your current job does not allow enough freedom to do that. It's a burning passion, not a hobby.

I agree. :) Great way of putting it.

PM away.
I never had a firm plan for it, I just kept my eyes open for things that I could do that would be fun and make money for me. I developed a core publishing business with a manager that I trust so I'm not tied to it, but it brings in a reliable six figures. I get royalties from projects I started 25 years ago and that helps keep the inflow steady. From there I publish books, write books, photograph books, remodel houses and commercial buildings, design and plant landscapes and native prairies, restore cars and trucks. I've traveled all over Europe and Mexico taking photos, both on spec and on contract, and tons of little things. Vanity publishing is my current venture. I got into each project because I first had an interest in the subject, learned all I could about it, and they started selling my expertise to others who wanted it. Currently thinking about how I can profit with my new video cam quad copter.
It is not a life for anyone who likes order, because I can start the day thinking I'm going to go shoot pictures of something and find the weather is bad, drop down to plan B to finishing up writing an article, but get a call from a tenant that the water heater needs my attention. Every day is an adventure.

Sounds good to me Patrick.

After all this time I thought the polite thing to do was to give an update on this....

My previous employee 'working for the man' contract finished this summer and since then I've been keeping myself busy with some hard, manual labour (great way to clear your head) in the garden while serving out my end of contract anti-competition lock out clause to the letter. I have too much respect for my old company, work colleagues and for myself to do anything sneaky.

I've been so busy in my garden and not been off the reservation much my job for next week was to put into motion the processes for registering my company, talking to legal and accountants etc. Hell I haven't even found time or the need to buy myself a new cell phone :rolleyes:

I have deliberately not done any networking or made any approaches to find my first contract or consultancy role as I thought the best way to see what new opportunities are out there was to carpet bomb all my contacts and the companies I'd like to work for in one short, concentrated burst of emails to see what response I get back. I had planned to do this the 1st of next month which would be my first day of freedom.

As motorsport is a small world over the last few months I've bumped into a few old work colleagues who have asked me what I'm doing next and I've casually mentioned my plans of doing my own thing so I'm a little astonished and pleasantly surprised as how today has panned out.

Today I had my first meeting since deciding to go it alone, a lunchtime meeting to discuss a small project, basically to see a friend out who asked me for my help with an engineering challenge he and one of his client were trying to fix. I've offered my help as it looks like a suitably hard challenge which involves a GT race car and a multi-national company developing a new automotive design concept. Won't put much food on the table but its always I nice feeling to help a friend out and fingers crossed it could hopefully lead on to bigger things in the future

When I got back home in the afternoon I had an email confirming an interview next Tues. for a senior design contract role on a car project ????? with a world respected high performance engineering company specialising in designing and manufacturing cars for GT, touring car, rally, sports prototype cars.

Supper time a good friend working for another advanced automotive engineering company called up and offered me a design contract to help him design a new racing car for one of their clients. Got a meeting next Mon. so I can find out more to see if I want to get involved or not.

Then later this evening a another old work colleague phoned up from Germany after somehow finding out my home tel. no. asking for my help to design out some weight on his teams DTM race car.

On top of this I'm also still waiting to hear back after a telephone interview I had with a F1 engine manufacturer a few weeks ago for a very interesting contract position within their design group

Nothing signed yet and I know it is early days but it is looking like I may have made the right decision to stop working for the man. Thank you all for the advice, very much appreciated and your words helped give me the push I needed.

Congratulations, sounds like things are popping. But you might want to slow your roll there Playboy, don't spread yourself too thin too quickly! :)

100% right brother

There is only me, no plans to spread myself too thin, I've never had a problem saying no, better to do one job well than many badly as the bad is remembered long after the good.

If I'm lucky enough to have to choose between more than one it will be a quick and decisive decision as I'm itching to get back in the game.

Hoping you get a chance to come to this side of the pond...Should the weather chase you out of the garden; I'm pretty sure I have some gear-sets you can use for your mock up! :)

BEST OF LUCK!

Thanks for the update. Good luck on your future ventures! Please keep us apprised.

Thanks for the update. Great news, keep at it. Setting your own course is a great thing, best of luck.

I don't know too much about working for someone (on the payroll) for a long period of time. I have been on my own since about the age of 20 in the construction related industry. After college, I was a high school shop teacher for several years but can't stand the people, some of the teachers and admin. Kids will be kids so that was fine. I don't think I can ever work for someone else again. Its been more then 25 years of driving myself into the ground. There is no boss to bail me out when the crap hits the fan. I am it and I take it in the shorts and make it work somehow. My father was a small business owner, custom jeweler for many years, so lots of that rub off on me, he somehow made it work.

The one other thing is your age. How much longer do you want to chase jobs to the point where you no longer has to chase them. Its really nice to know they are looking for you and that work is lined up so there is no worry about making the buck or payroll. The down side to that is work should never be turned down. Once that happens, news travels fast and some of these folk will not call you again unless you are established. The last question is retirement. Guys who own their business never retire. Smart ones do, dummies like me will never do it. You become selective with who you want to work for and slowly fade away. I have been thinking about retirement for a couple of years. In a few years, I will be 50. I like to work a little less after that, but I am afraid that I do not know how to do that. How much money do you have to invest into this new venture? What if it doesn't work out, do you have an exit plan and go back to work for the big man again and how much longer will that last before you have that feeling to go out and kick everyone's ass again? Age and family is a huge factor IMO.

I pretty much "did my own thing" while working for "the man" before I called it quits at 48. $ don't motivate me and I'm happy as can be seven years later.

I decided corporate IT sucks after 25 years of it....
I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more SmileWavy

If anyone reading this is thinking of going it alone then after 4 months in of jumping in with both feet I would say go for it, you may wish you did it earlier.

I decided when I started not to chase the money but go for the more interesting jobs that would stretch my abilities, challenge me and allow me to up my game. Also maybe give a little bit of money back so as to have a bit more of a life not revolving around long work hours.

So far this approach seems to have sort of worked out ok as I'm already fully booked up for 2016 to work on some interesting projects.

At the moment busy working on a weight saving and performance adding mission with a single seater racing car. Then in a few months time while still working for the same company I'll be switching projects to do more of the the same on a high performance limited production road car.

It's not F1 but after 18yrs of it I'm in no mad rush to jump back into the game even when a local team and one of my old haunts announced today they need another 200 people in their quest to get back to the top.

The bit that hasn't worked out as I planned is doing less hours, quite the opposite has happened, 55 hours in a 5 day week since I started is the new normal and I don't see it backing off anytime soon.

Got no complaints as I'm enjoying what I'm doing, the people I work with and the company employing me is easily one of the best I've worked for.

Thanks for the update. You sound very happy and your work sounds challenging and exciting. I'm very happy for you and wish you the greatest success.

All the best for the new venture. It sounds very rewarding.

Sounds like you made the right decision, congrats!

Why work 8 hours a day for someone else when you can work 11 for yourself?;)

Glad you are doing well and satisfied with your decision.

now you just need to find the perspective required to be in charge of your job and not the reverse.

the consultant comment earlier in the thread is gold.

Good luck. As someone that thinks sweeping the floor in an F1 shop would be cool I'm sure its not easy. Great job making a change and scratching the itch, now you know what you've wondered for some time.

All the best

Thanks for positive comments gents, much appreciated, I'm now 9 months in and still no regrets or 2nd thoughts.

Someone the other day asked me what its like working for myself and the best way I could describe it was...

You are sat in the permanent employee mini-bus which is driving along a freeway, some people are busy working away, some are just gazing out the window and some are asleep in the back. In a moment of madness I kicked the back door open jumped out so I'm all alone and now have to run as fast as I can so I don't fall flat on my face while trying to keep up alongside :D

I also think I'm working harder than I have ever done as it's my name above my companies name which is a reflection of me rather than me being just another face in a crowd working for a company

I'm used to working at a relentless pace, it's what I enjoy and gets me out of bed in the morning, race dates don't move so you find ways of getting the work done in time. My working week is still very long but I still want to go to work every morning so count myself lucky.

However the last few weeks have been mentally quite tiring. Instead of finishing one project and then moving over to the next my working week and sometimes days are split 50:50 between design work on a race car project and a high performance road car project using 2 different CAD software packages one of which I last used 8 years ago :confused:

Never had a problem saying 'whoa slow down there tiger I'm not keeping up with everything' when I think I'm pushing beyond my limit. Yesterday I had to say something as on my way home the night before I couldn't phone home as I'd run out of RAM and couldn't remember my home tel. no. :eek: I'm under no great stress just thought I was close to my limit of being empty in the brain department which will for sure compromise the quality of my work. Juggling two highest priorities set by two different people never works well for long.

Still not done any networking/advertising yet, only bought a cell phone a few weeks ago (lived without one for the last year which is very liberating) and only just created a company email account today but it hasn't stopped potential work offers.

I've been quite humbled by the type of companies asking if I'm interested in working for them, I've had approaches from an F1 engine manufacturer, an F1 team setting up a technology offshoot company to build a hyper-car, a very cool road car engine project and a company making modern retrofit products for the classic car market.

I'm happy where I am and have too much work to think about moving or taking on more work so I accepted a 6 month contract extension which will take me up to the end of Dec. After that I have no idea what I'll be doing which I find both exciting and scary in equal measure.

Well done! Sounds great.