Introducing: Dear Steemit
Dear Steemit is a weekly contest in search of the best advise on a given situation.
What you need to know
Edit: Resteem no longer is a contest requirement. Feel free to do so though to increase reward pool on the succeeding ones :)
- A sticky situation will be posted once a week (Sunday/Monday) and contest will run for 7 days.
- Contestants share their insights and give the best possible advise by posting a comment
- Contestants must upvote and this post to qualify
- At stake is a total of 10 STEEM, broken down as follows:
- 1st Place- 5 Steem
- 2nd Place- 3 Steem
- 3rd Place- 2 Steem
- Winners will be announced on the 8th day from contest posting.
- 1st place will be chosen by yours truly (for now), 2nd and 3rd will be chosen via most upvote count.
WEEK 1
Dear Steemit,
I've been in the customer-service industry for the past ten years and I seem to excel on what I do. From being a front-line, I now hold a managerial post, but am about to leave my current company. I am torn between finding a similar job, or starting a small business that I have always wanted to do, but never have tried. What do you think should I do?
Regards,
Ms. EmployeR/D
Comment your thoughts on this, upvote and resteem!
Most of us may have found ourselves in a conundrum, and we seek other's counsel to help us in our decision-making. Dear Steemit aims to be a venue for this- the scenarios may be real-life experiences, or theoretical, that most people may relate to.
If you have a challenging situation to share and would wish for the steemit community's advise, feel free to message me via discord or steemit chat, username dreamiely.
Need advise? Most of us do.
Share some insights? Most of us can!
Steeming happily ever after,
When I was working for someone else, I had a week vacation time come up. I took that week and went door-to-door, literally, in search of business. I made more money that week than I would have working for the boss. 16 years later I have all the work I can handle. I told a friend I would never work for anyone else again, even if I had to sleep under a bush in the park. Get yourself ready, get out of debt if you can, line up some clients, run, Run, RRRUUUNNNNN....
Thanks @jonsimmons! quite encouraging. I'm glad to say that at the least no debt to take care of. I guess that leaves me with lining clients up and starting the marathon!
what kind of business? Did you just knock on the door and ask if they needed any work around the house, or did you have something in particular, like girl scout cookies?
I repair office equipment, copiers, printers, and sell toner. If I walk through a business district, every door is a potential customer. 1 in 5 has a problem right now and just haven't taken the time to call someone, so when I show up they are happy.
This business, like many others, is being disrupted and will not be around in 10 years. Paper is going down hard and fast. Good thing, too. Paper production is very damaging to air and water. I don't mind working myself out of a job. It is time to do something different anyway, just for the stimulation.
My job is to support a multinational company's paperless solution. They still need to keep the paper for tax and compliance purposes. They use scanners all over the world then pack the papers up in a box in a warehouse somewhere because they are required by law to keep it. There is still some work for you out there 😉
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Regretting not trying is something that may haunt you. If you have a sound business plan for your new business, I say go for it!
I found myself in a similar situation 3 years ago. I started a food truck after I was laid off. It wasn't hugely successful, but I can say I was a great learning experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything. You can always fall back on your retail experience if things don't work out with the new business. However, you will never learn the life lessons of starting a new business if you just go straight into another retail job.
Thank you for sharing your encouraging experience @doctorcrypto. Getting easier to decide.
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This post received a 21% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @dreamiely! For more information, click here!
You will never regret trying something new. Go explore and start your own business. Seldom do people get that chance to have time to start a business. You can do it! Or maybe fulltime steemit blogger will also suit you well. ;)
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Will do! :)
Hands down.go buid your own business based on your interests.
Thanks Abi for sharing your thoughts. With the passive income here, getting into business is getting more and more appealing!
I say follow your dreams. You excel at whatever you do so your new business will also excel.
Thank you for your kind words! you excel at whatever you do...
You're welcome!
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i would say "you have already been running a company for some time handling both the customer relationships and managing the business, there is a chance of failure but if you persist you already have the skill set and already kick ass doing it!, start your own business and go for it!"
Thanks for the insight @sols, enthusiasm on starting a business is getting stronger!
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Failing To Try Is A Lot Like Trying To Fail...But Worse. Please Allow Me To Explain: Failing Is An Integral Part Of Success. Keep Your Eye On The Prize! Keeping "Trying To Fail" Until You Succeed. Good Luck!
Thanks @bitcoinsky! Failing to try is trying to fail. I'll remember that :)
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Thank you for your good post. The world is beautiful. I want to know about all the corners of our planet and everything that happens on it. Who owns the information is that strong.
Thanks @nezaigor!
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Good
Dear Ms EmployeR/D
Thanks for your letter regarding career advice.
I can understand how daunting a decision this is for you, not least considering that you've spent the last 10 years within the customer service sector!
However, I suspect that given the fact that you are questioning yourself and which path to take, you have reached a point in your life where some sort of change is needed.
Unfortunately, I'm not privy to your business idea, nor am I aware of your current financial circumstances. I am therefore going to assume that this is something that you have been thinking about for sometime now and so have set aside sufficient funds and have developed a business strategy to allow you to make the business a viable alternative.
Fear of the unknown is a common feeling but I honestly live by the rule of: 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained!'. My personal thoughts are that if you don't at least try make a go of your own business you will live to regret it for the rest of your life. Whether it turns out to be successful or not, at least you'll be able to hold your head up high and say I gave it my best shot!
Of course, if you are not quite there financially or have dependents, you may want to go with the 'dip your toe in the water first' approach. This is where you continue to work in the customer service sector, but on a part time basis, thereby ensuring a guaranteed monthly income. with your remaining time you could then concentrate on your own business. This will take off a lot of pressure and will mean you're not having to commit everything to the business straight away. Should it be successful, you can always part ways with customer service side of things.
I hope you found that useful!
Thank you kind sir for your thoughts. To add, a wise person once said, i am a firm believer that we make our own luck.
Yes, I recall someone saying that too!
Wise man. For a while I thought those words were from Confucius
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Thanks @Dreamiely!
I suspect that these are going to get progressively more difficult as they go along. I look forward to reading this tonight when I'm back home.
I shall put on my serious face (eyebrows lowered with a concerned yet distant expression) and tap the end of a pen on my lower lip for added effect whilst I contemplate the dilemma!
The greatest piece of advice I've ever received was that behind every fear is a person you want to become. If you're afraid to start your own business it is because you want it so badly that you don't want to fail at your dream. Let me tell you that it is impossible for a person to fail at their dream. A job at another company will always be available but the chance to live out your dream fades every day you procrastinate it. Live YOUR dreams instead of someone else's.
Thank you for those powerful words @amrgiol! Specially loved this-
it is impossible for a person to fail at their dream
Will keep this in mind.
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I would: Find a New Job at half time, and work on a new personal project the other half. :)
Short and concise. Thank you for your thoughts @troilo!
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good job
Thank you @ahmedezzat! Care to share your thoughts?
I would say do what u love and start the smb build up your smb in till u feel it's at a level where it puts u and it's brand where u planned and worked hard for secure you're self and family first input from others is great but only u know what's best for u to success may it all work out great thank u for this as well. this is great
You are right @racryptospace, one can only solicit advise, weigh the pros and cons, and see what best suits you.
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If you money that you can spare to lose, going for your small business would be ideal. Because money woes could turn any situation into a nightmare.
... and I would want to be living the dream, not be in a nightmare.
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I would say it depends on your personality. Do you like to take risks or do you prefer stability? I personally would like to find a similar role but that's because I am risk averse. If you haven't listened to the podcast series called StartUp from Gimlet media I would highly recommend it. It has great case studies about people who have started their own businesses.
Thank you @snooway! I haven't checked this- StartUp from Gimlet media, I would now. Checking risk tolerance is a sound advise :)
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You have neglected to provide enough information. How many months of living expenses do you have saved up? Can you go 2 years without making a profit? If you can't, I don't think this is a +EV decision.
Living expenses will be covered, zero profit for 2 years though would limit my ability to grow crypto portfolio.
Wow, well done. I think you're doing better than most business start-ups in that category. 2 years is a nice buffer. Congrats.
Starting any business is risky. Is there anyway for you to combine some of the advantages of both options? Could you begin your business on nights and weekends, or scale back your hours at work, so you continue to have some income coming in for some time, guaranteed? That would extend the period you could go without profit. Even if you only got a few extra months of expenses out of it, it may be worthwhile. It's a high stress option, but starting most businesses is much higher stress (and hours) than having a delegated task and paycheck.
I advised a friend to do this who was starting a personal training gig. She wasn't going to have a full-time job's worth of clients to begin with, and she could work on some aspects of the marketing at night while taking initial clients during evenings and weekends. As a result, she still has the option to bail on either choice (keep job / quit to go solo) and is testing both for feasibility.
Another friend of mine stayed in med school until his company reached a certain pre-defined level of profitability, proving his concept, then he quit around the middle of year 2, if I recall correctly.
Ultimately, it all depends on what you'd be doing. If you were doing freelance web design, you could probably do that at night. You couldn't run a coffee shop from 7pm-1am though.
I would be hesitant to advise you in either a positive or negative direction without being able to research things like the rate of failure in the business you are going into (for example, restaurants are very risky); neither would I request any of this information as it's up to you how much you want to tell us.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
PS - I won't deny that sometimes, certain projects and opportunities demand throwing yourself at them 100%. This is a personal judgment call that should be based on a number of factors, like estimated profitability, etc. We may not all agree on what those factors should be. I'd want a lot of research, but some people just go for it. You hear a lot more about the successes than the failures though, and I think the former are far outnumbered by the latter.
Wow, thank you for your counsel @lexiconical. Definitely something to think about. I'm sure glad steemit has a lot of experienced individuals taking the time to help out :)
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Go for starting a small business, if it is an idea you truly, deeply believe in, but always remember to have some sort of back-up plan in case it doesn't work out. And remember these words: "If I try my hardest and fail, well-- I tried my hardest." Don't be afraid to get out there and start doing what you love.
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Thank you @makitheneko. Giving up, or not trying at all, is refusing yourself.
Creating a small business can take a lot of time, especially with the website building and such. If you plan on outsourcing the website design, you'll need funds for it, and it's almost never as cheap as everyone always thinks it is.
I would suggest finding a similar position for the time being, and getting all the ground work for your business out of the way in your downtime. Also, if possible, try to set aside some money from your job to live off of once you leave to jump fully into your small business.
For appearance sake, in case your small business fails, I would suggest working the new job for a year or two while you get your business up off the ground and starting to grow. Then dive right in to your new business and enjoy the ride!
You should definitely chase your dreams. If you don't, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. But you have to also be smart about getting into it. You don't want to sabotage your future if your business fails. (And it failing might not even be your fault, some businesses just don't succeed.)
Whatever your decision, take pride in what you do, and do what you love.
I hope this helps even a little bit.
It does help tremendously @novaatebatman! Striking a balance between practicality and dream-chasing. My dilemma though is if i can commit to both, as my job requires so much time and attention (not to mention the stress that goes with it).
Well, you never know until you try, right?
I'm not especially skilled in anything, but I am willing to try to help you out with getting the foundation work done if it's something I'm capable of doing.
I want to get my own small business off the ground as well, so I understand the need to chase dreams.
I'm also available if you ever need to rant or just talk about stuff regarding it in general. (Or really, if you ever need an ear for pretty much any reason. There are very few topics that I'll turn people away for.)
Oh thank you so much @novaatebatman!
I'm also available if you ever need to rant or just talk about stuff regarding it in general. (Or really, if you ever need an ear for pretty much any reason. There are very few topics that I'll turn people away for.)
SAME. HERE. Include cats, writing and medical mystery :)
:O
Kindred spirits?
By the way, I don't know if you're in the Steemit chat or not, but I finally am. So if you use it, feel free to direct message me. Same name there as here. :3
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Thank you very much for the heads up! I'll be on my way after I catch up on a few things. <3
Thanks for sharing
Always a pleasure! Feel free to share your thoughts on this! ^_^
Since most new businesses fail. I would suggest buying an existing business from someone looking to retire. That way you can still follow your dream, with much less risk.
Great point! Definitely worth looking into. Thanks @financialcritic!
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why are you leaving the company?
Company restructuring, making role unnecessary ^_^
i see.. are you working in a mobile telecom company?
Business process outsource company actually, handling a printing and photography company
Oh I thought this was a completely hypothetical situation. This reminds me of all the times a mate of mine would come to me and say "I have this friend who...blah blah blah" when really he was talking about himself!!
Lol. I have a friend who is exactly like that!
Ha Ha Ha!
You're so funny!!!!
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A much wiser person once said to me:
"life is like a pair of pants....if you don't change it every so often, it may start to smell!" - this may be a little uncouth, but certainly rings true!!!
nice thoughts you created in this post @dreamiely <3
Thank you @fernwehninja! Hopefully it picks up, might just be able to help lots of people. Cheers to more success!
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