What’s It Really Like to Take the Plunge Into Entrepreneurship?
By Christine OKelly | November 23, 2007
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I’ve had plenty of people tell me that I’m “lucky” to work for myself. One friend of mine regularly tells me how much he “hates” me for the freedom I have because I’m my own boss. I always respond in one of two ways: “you could do it too, but you probably won’t” or “I’ve worked damn hard to get where I’m at today.”
A lot of people tell me that they wish they could work for themselves. In the back of my mind, I’m thinking… “Do they REALLY want it bad enough to do what it takes to get there?”
The Decision
Going into business for myself required a drastic lifestyle change. When my ex-husband and I still worked as employees, we lived in a sweet apartment in downtown San Diego that had a beautiful pool on the roof overlooking the bay and the downtown skyline. I was winning awards at work, making an incredible impact on the company and felt great about loved I was doing.
But funds were tight, I was addicted to my Crackberry, and my family life was falling apart. The husband was never home either, hated his job, and the kids were in daycare for 10 hours a day. Is this what making 6 figures required? If so, it wasn’t good.
In order to be “free” we felt we needed more income but were just about capped at our current salaries. In our minds, the only way to do that was by starting our own businesses.
Drastic Lifestyle Changes
With no savings whatsoever and no plan for how to actually make money we depended only on the belief that if we threw ourselves into a situation without a life preserver that we could make it. With only that, we took the plunge and quit our jobs. We knew we could never afford the $2000 per month rent payment in San Diego and would have to dramatically reduce costs until we started making an income.
So I drove out on the 78 freeway eastbound through the vacant desert and into a middle of nowhere California agricultural valley, stopped at the first town (which consisted mainly of a gas station and a taco shop) found a house to rent for $850 a month, rented it and we moved in a few weeks later.
To cut costs we eliminated all extras including television. There was no time to relax and watch TV anyway, we had to bust butt to make this work.
Terror
I was terrified every single month that we would not be able to come up with the rent. Though my ex-husband was a high level programmer and I was a had just left a position as an operations manager, we had no idea about what it really took to work for ourselves.
For months, I didn’t hang up the pictures in the house because I was afraid that we’d be out of there at any moment with no place to go. Within the first 3 months, one of our cars was repossessed. There was no washing machine and dryer in the house so I had to do laundry whenever we happened to make some money. During one particularly difficult month when I didn’t even have enough to wash the clothes, every single item of clothing was piled up in a mountain in the walk in closet. I sat on the pile and cried.
I finally became so desperate that I wrote a passionate post on Craigslist detailing all of my skills and stating my availability to help with any project that matched. The next day, someone responded, stating that the passion is what caught his attention, and I landed a $5,000 web project.
That money came and went quickly to back pay for many things and prepay the rent. There were a few other sporadic projects, but nothing regular. When we did get money, we never knew when it would come again. I would buy enough groceries to last for months – cheap, non-spoilable things like Bisquick and Ramen Noodles.
Trouble
During this process, I learned that I absolutely hated working with my husband and he hated working with me. This did not lead to a very productive or profitable business. For the first 6 months, I was wrongly mistaken that his skill set was more profitable than mine so spent my time attempting to find jobs for him that were not working out as planned.
My degree was in Writing and my employment history in sales and management. His profession was programming. He never missed an opportunity to let me know that he was more valuable than I was. Slowly and surely, my own confidence began to wane until I truly felt like a worthless failure.
Breaking Free
After growing sick and tired of trying to manage projects for an unmanageable person, I tapped into my own buried confidence. I flooded myself with old college stories that I had written that had received rave reviews, dug through a box of awards from previous jobs and decided that if I was going to make it, I would have to do it completely alone.
It was around that time when I send the email that landed me $100,000 over the following year and half, gave me the financial stability and courage go out on my own, move back into civilization, and live an enjoyable life.
Lessons Learned
It is absolutely essential to create a system that provides regular, steady income. If you’re always wondering where your next meal will come from your mind is not clear or relaxed enough to see the big picture in order to generate big-picture ideas. Always have a base amount of work that will bring you the money you need to get by, but that doesn’t completely fill your time. You need this extra time to be developing bigger ideas that will move you beyond “paycheck to paycheck” mode.
Depend on yourself. Even if you have a business partner, you’ve got to depend on you. Period. If you have a business partner that is dragging you down, get out now.
Trust that everything is going to work out. It was extremely difficult to switch from panic mode to a sense that everything would fall into place. At first, I was panicked that there wouldn’t be enough work for me from week to week, but the moment that I let go and began to trust that it would be, new work began to flow in effortlessly to fill the void.
Hang In There: If you’ve worked for someone else your whole adult life, your mind must go through the process of ‘unlearning’ everything you’ve been taught about making money. It will take time, but the world on the other side is incredible and something not to be missed.
Topics: Business Development |
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Christine, this one is definitely from the heart. It amazes me that most successful people have a similar story to tell. It’s almost like you have to go through that pain and worry to come out stronger on the other side.
I certainly have a similar experience, throwing in a well paid managerial position for a sales role I knew nothing about. Oh, the folly of youth!!
BUT, the learning experience is vital to where ever you want to get to.
Have you ever heard the story of the Vikings coming to England and were forced to burn their boats on the beaches? Fight for your lives and survive because there’s no turning back. I think there’s a great deal of wisdom in that - with a safety net it is all too easy to throw in the towel without giving it your best shot.
Very motivational post Christine. Thanks
Thank you Mark - I agree - I think pain can make you stronger because it really forces you to change if you’re going to survive it. Everyone thought it was really ridiculous to leave such an excellent position at a well paying job - but I knew it wasn’t what I really wanted. Money and “things” are good, but pride and family are more important. It’s very easy to get too comfortable in a corporate world you don’t particularly enjoy if you’re compensated nicely. Congrats to you for making the leap!
That is a great story - one I won’t forget. It illustrates this concept perfectly.
I really enjoyed reading this Christine. I’m about to start a business for myself, so it’s good to be prepared! Not scared, but prepared.
I’m not taking the all-or-nothing route though, I’m going to change-over from a full-time job, through part-time on both accounts to full-time self-employment. But that probably will have major challenges as well. How to define priorities between both activities? and have a family life in the meantime too.
Who knows, maybe I’ll write a post like this in a year or two, too. Thanks for sharing this!
Congrats to you on taking the plunge from full time to part time! Much safer to go part time rather than jumping in without a way out! I had tried that in the past, but it never worked for me… my “real” job always consumed the majority of the time. It would be useful if somehow you can “trick” your mind into thinking that it’s an all or nothing leap. I hope to see a post like this from you in a few years Lodewijkvdb!
Christine,
Thank you for this post. So many people (myself included) think that starting a business and working for themselves is going to be an easy thing and that the stars will properly align and they’ll be rich overnight. This is definitely not the case. I think that far too many don’t make the MINDSET shift that is required for going from employee to business owner. It’s something that I am struggling with. Thank you again.
Eric - I completely agree - the mindset shift is the most challenging to overcome. It is something that doesn’t come with working harder or working longer hours, but something that happens over time. Once that changed, everything changed for me. I am still in the process of changing my mindset from thinking in terms of trading hours for dollars to creating passive income. The mindset change is, in my opinion, the most rewarding and exciting part of this whole process and I hope that this discovery never ends!
[…] instead. Today I run across a wonderful piece by Christine over at Self-Made Chick chronicling the first part of starting her own business. It’s very good, you should read it. When you’re done reading it, you should read my […]
Christine, this was a great piece. I realized that if I said everything I wanted to say, I’d dominate your entire comment thread. Instead, I’ll say awesome post, as usual.
Naomi - what a great response post! Left my thoughts and comments on your blog.
Wow, Christine, that is an amazing story. Thanks for sharing it. I like your “lessons learned” too.
Thank you Pat - I know that you’ve just made the leap to employee to entrepreneur too - I hope that your transition is smoother than mine was!
Christine:
You were right, I did enjoy and appreciate this post, especially because it matched my own experiences when I quit a lucrative 6 figure Wall Street career to follow my dreams of becoming a motivational speaker, author and eventually pilot.
Thanks for yet again another great story. I especially liked the tip “trust that everything is going to work out.” Very true!
Thank you Stephen - your email in appreciation of the post on fear sparked the idea for this post. My goal with this blog is not to be completely honest with my own experiences in starting businesses - both the good and the bad - so that others may learn from my own experiences.
Your story is amazing - I’m so glad to have met you!
Christine, Thank you for sharing.
Just to let everyone know, it can be scary, we cut it back to a pretty tight line ourselves, but our biggest struggle eventually was not too little but too much much beyond our ability to handle.
I wrote out our story on the plane last week and had just decided not to post it because why would someone want to read that (felt a bet ego driven). Thanks for the inspiration, I’ll take another look at our story and maybe post it after all. I can definitely use it to talk about how to transition from small to large clients.
Keep kicking ass sweetie, you done good.
=)
We certainly need that story of yours Shane! I find that some of the very best lessons can be found in the honest, ‘behind the scenes’ stories of businesses. I hope that you do post that and I look forward to reading it!
Christine,
Your words match the passion you put into your quest I assure you. Being one who has been there before, I know the dreaded feeling of asking where your next meal is going to come from(especially when you have kids) and all you are hanging on is your faith that everything will pan out the way you believe it to.
Starting a business is a kick-ass thing to do, and sometimes it is your own ass that gets the wear and tear of it.
One of my favorite quotes comes as this, and reminds me of this post…..
“Go without a coat when it’s cold; find out what cold is.
Go hungry; keep your lean existance.
Wear away the fat, get down to the lean tissue and see what it is all about.
The only time you define your character is when you go without. In times of hardship, you find out what you are made of and what you are capable of.
If you are never tested you will never define your character”.
Congrats on defining your character Christine.
What excellent insight Bunk… I agree, it is during the times when you strip everything away that you truly define your character. Thanks for this wonderful quote ~
Great post. I had a same feeling of “oh this is going to be easy” when I started out, but over time you realize it is some very hard work. You just gotta keep plugging away, learn to work smarter, and always stay laser focused. It’s no surprise that many fail, but with the right mindset you break through all of the delusion that things are going to be easy!
Definitely! I completely relate to what you are saying here. Diligence, learning to work smarter is and staying laser focused is essential and developing the right mindset are all essential elements of building successful businesses. All excellent points for the budding entrepreneur - thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing such a powerful personal story, Christine. I’ve had Ramen phases before. It’s a much more emotional roller coaster ride: up one day, down the next. And while you and many of the previous commentators above have been through some hard times, I think we can count ourselves as lucky. But then, I believe we make our own luck.
Keep rockin’ girl.
Oh yes - I definitely think that we should consider myself lucky as you say. Hard times are an essential part of making any big change. I regularly try and make myself a bit uncomfortable in order to grow. If we can learn to accept this as a natural way of things and trust that we will come out ok on the other side, thoughtful risk taking becomes far less scary.
[…] The question isn’t, “How do you turn your blog into a viable business model?” The question is, “How do you turn a viable business model into your blog?” Hugh McLeod Blogging is definitely not the best choice if you only care about the money. Compared to other means of building wealth, blogging is slow, the points of leverage aren’t nearly as strong as other methods and let’s face it - it’s hard work to be a blogger. Yaro Starak I think this is really a guide to being a complete douche-lord twunty asshole to people before you deign to meet with them. Seem very stuck-up and classist to me - kinda like fraternity hazing (the bad kind). That people aren’t worthy of spending time with you until you’ve tested their loyalty or their ability to perform under stress. It isn’t like they are going to be your employees. Andy Wibbels the Internet is making “playing it safe” a very dangerous game. If you are playing it safe, while your competitors are beginning to experiment, then you are losing ground to them every day. Because you are standing still while they improve. And that is the biggest mistake of all. Mike Moran For months, I didn’t hang up the pictures in the house because I was afraid that we’d be out of there at any moment with no place to go. Within the first 3 months, one of our cars was repossessed. There was no washing machine and dryer in the house so I had to do laundry whenever we happened to make some money. During one particularly difficult month when I didn’t even have enough to wash the clothes, every single item of clothing was piled up in a mountain in the walk in closet. I sat on the pile and cried. Christine O’Kelly […]
thank you. i really needed to read this. i lost my job last week as a graphic designer (because i was under-paid and asking for more money) and for the last couple years have been toying with the idea of being a work from home freelancer. the first thing i thought when i lost my job was i need to find another job…what? here was my opportunity, but i was scared and still am scared. i am confident in my abilities, but i have two kids (in diapers), car payment, and mortgage payment.
long story short, i came here and read a whole bunch of your posts and now feel better and motivated. once again thanks.
Thank YOU Michael - you have just reaffirmed my reason for writing this blog. I wish you the very best.
Wow, thanks for this dose of reality. Your rough road seems to be on the upswing though. I’m eager to know how the Hybrid Media project works out.
<p>Thank you Dave… those days seem like they happened a million years ago because so much has changed… it was kind of difficult to revisit them but good to keep things in perspective. BTW I love the tagline of your blog!
Christine
Thank you for sharing your inspiring story. The visual you painted of sitting on that mountain of laundry, sobbing out of fear that you couldn’t feed your family - will stay with me through a lot of dark moments. What a wonderful role model of bravery and determination you are for your children.
Thank you so much Liz - I’m glad you bring up the kids… obviously they had far fewer new toys, clothes, and trips to Chuck E. Cheese during those days but they did not seem to care one bit. They were happier to have a backyard to explore, trees to climb, and bugs to investigate - something the apartment lacked.
When they did ask for things, I told them that we didn’t have a lot right now - and by choice - that O’Kelly’s take risks in order to shoot for something better rather than settling for just “ok.”
[…] Christine wrote a post about her start as an entrepreneur, it’s called: “What’s It Really Like to Take the Plunge Into Entrepreneurship?“ […]
[…] O’Kelly at SelfMadeChick writes the unvarnished truth about her experience becoming an […]
So many people don’t realize how many hours we have to put into our work to get to the point that we have freedom. And what kind of effort it is most days to keep going on.
So true Collin… There is a hell of a lot of work and effort involved in getting a business off the ground and keeping it up and running. When you do own your own business, the moment you get lax is the moment you’re losing your competitive edge. However, I find that it is so much more fulfilling to work 12 hours a day on my own business than to work 8 hours a day for someone else. In order to go into business for yourself, I think you truly have to love the challenge of constant pursuit.
Thanks for sharing Collin - it’s great to hear from you! BTW, how are things going for your new business?
Christine
Blog Glob: Monday morning shorts
Excerpt from What’s It Really Like to Take the Plunge Into Entrepreneurship? (Self Made Chick):Hang In There: If you’ve worked for someone else your whole adult life, your mind must go through the process of ‘unlearning’ everything you’ve been…
Christine really heartwarming and inspiration story! Taking the plunge to work for yourself is a difficult and challenging one. The scary realisation that you and only you can pay the bills and buy the groceries is enough to challenge even the most confident person, your perserverance is amazing!
Its so true people say how lucky we are to work for ourselves but they do not realise the sheer determination and hard work it took to get there!
Thank you Grace! I know - it’s crazy how much work goes into running your own business. I often wonder if people notice that I’m home all the time and just wonder if I’m sitting inside watching daytime television. The amount of work an entrepreneur takes on can be staggering - but so rewarding!
i love this blog. every time i read it, it’s like sticking my finger in a light socket. but in a good way. the specifics you give concerning both your past experiences and your lessons learned are fantastic. thank you, christine.
btw, i’m still going to call you one of these days. my fault totally.
lol - Thanks Erin! NP - I have been slammed as I’m sure you have with the launch of your new website - and on that note, CONGRATS! The site looks awesome… I’m thinking about getting the ‘Bad Biker’ design for my very clumsy 6 year old - love it! I think Kentucky Waterfall might be my absolute favorite… they’re all awesome!
Please! Keep up your blog even though you’ve launched - this is just the beginning of the adventure!
Wow great post christine… I see myself in a lot of it:)
A lot of people want this but it’s not for the faint at heart…
I think you have to be a little crazy too. It’s like swimming out into the ocean until you are completely exhausted and than turning around and swimming back…
I think the panic and fear is a good thing too… they have a lot to fear and plenty of good solid reason for panic. everything not only “doesn’t work out” but mostly… the greater % fail.
So, believing “i can succeed in everything I do and the world will take care of me” can easilly turn into “oh my god, look what i did with my life/resources etc” and while it’s true, the world “will” take care of you, it’s likely not in the lifestyle you’ve grown accustomed…
In real life, their are no rewards for showing up and just because it’s “friday” doesn’t mean somebody is automatically going to hand you a check… “we” know that and no doubt have gone through many fridays wishing it just wasn’t so…
but “they” only know that it’s possible…
it truely defines ones character and personality… so the question they need to ask is…are you ready to see what your capable of… ready to see how you fair in the real world?? it’s not so pretty and you might find things about yourself that you wish you didn’t know…how well do you handle pressure do you have a good therpist at the ready? lol
ignorance is bliss… (they don’t say that for no good reason)
Great post, Christine! What a great story and so well-written.
Very inspiring post. Thanks!
What a brutally honest post. As a single mother, leaving my corporate job to pursue self employment as a performing artist and writer, I too have similar horror stories to tell but I don’t know if I have the guts to tell ‘em. I applaude you for your courage.
This is a very inspiring post! It was well written and full of tips for others to feed on. Being that I am turning 22 and creating my own business there are many hurdles to jump over. You’ve managed to get past the problem and act on it! Great work!
[…] Know what you’re getting into. You don’t just whip up a few gift baskets and call it a […]
[…] Christine wrote a post about her start as an entrepreneur, it’s called: “What’s It Really Like to Take the Plunge Into Entrepreneurship?“ […]