Enterpreneurship or Job 7

[Gregorydas]

I am employed in a good company with good salary. But I had a dream which was always in my mind to start my own company. Me with my brother, we already started a firm which is going official in a week. The funds are coming from our salaries only. I want to fully commit to our own company we have started but it would be foolish to leave the present company leaving the new firm to a financial crisis. What would you suggest.?

For your info we have appointed a well experienced manager to run the company. We know that he will run the company well and it will be a success. But as owners, our commitment lies on the funds. Please help us out.

 

[MacGyverS2000]

I've always said... if you have to ask other people, you're not ready to make the jump.

Do you have a year's salary saved up? Have you considered who will pay for health insurance in the mean time? What equipment, business insurance, etc. will you need for the new venture, and where is the money coming from for that? And on and on and on...

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[oldestguy]

Dopes your current employer know about this side business? If not, you may be in for a surprise when they find out.

 

[SlideRuleEra]

When starting a new business, the important thing is to plan what you will do if the new business fails.
If the new business succeeds, the future will take care of itself.
Have you planned for failure?

http://www.SlideRuleEra.net

http://www.VacuumTubeEra.net

 

[TenPenny]

If I read this correctly, you're relying on your existing salary to fund the new company.

And you're asking if you should quit your job? Read that first sentence again.

 

[monkeydog]

It sounds like you have no business starting a new business, that has no funding, on top of that, you and your brother are now working for the manager you hired to run the new business. Your salary now goes to pay his salary - correct?

Your subject title is incorrect - you are not in an Enterpreneurship, you are in a hole.

 

[zdas04]

I found myself writing the same advice I've written several times before. Decided to move it to an FAQ. I don't know how long it will take management to approve it, but when it is approved it will be faq784-1900.

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual. Galileo Galilei, Italian Physicist

 

[IRstuff]

There's all of the above, but there's also the fact that having a day job potentially prevents you from really committing to your own company to the level that's really required to make it succeed. When, or if, you decide to get married, you don't keep your other girl friend in your back pocket in case you fail. You're all in and have everything on the line. That's not to say that you don't follow David's excellent advice, but I think you need to have an exit plan from your existing job to commit fully to your fledgling company.

TTFN
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!
homework forum: //

http://www.engineering.com/AskForum/aff/32.aspx

faq731-376 forum1529

 

[brandonbw]

If you have any plan to fail, you aren't ready. I think its important to go all in, unless you can run it on the side until the time is right to go full time. But it will never be right until you are all in. Its a ton of hard work to get started.

B+W Engineering and Design | Los Angeles Civil Engineer and Structural Engineer

http://civilengineer.la

 

[Sparweb]

The advice above specifies EXACTLY why I still have a 9-5 regular job, and didn't go out on my own when I had an opportunity several years ago. In a way I regret the choice, but in many ways the opportunity should still be there for me when or if I am ready in the future. In the meantime, I'm reminded that I made the right choice when I take vacations to visit family, and every Saturday sharing martial arts classes with my son. Those opportunities WON'T be there, someday.

STF

 

[oldestguy]

SparWeb: It's a matter of balancing or comparing the current knowns with the future unknowns that may be considerably better than the known ones. Tough to do, but without trying you won't know. Without ambition it won't work.

 

[SlideRuleEra]

Based on the thoughtful comments of other members, I have reconsidered my advice early in this thread and have concluded that what I called "planning for failure" is wrong.

I'll try again. When starting a business, carefully establish a realistic definition of "success". If, over time, you do not reach that goal, implement an orderly "exit strategy".

At age 26, I had the opportunity to start-up a company, and did so. After six years of full commitment, the company was no better off than when started and had no prospects of improvement. Made a carefully considered decision to call it quits and took these steps:

Immediately informed all employees or the decision. Most of them (the best) agreed to stay.
Successfully completed all existing contracts (took 6 months).
Paid off all suppliers, in full.
Liquidated all company assets.
Assisted employees in getting new jobs (on-site job fair, letters of recommendation, etc.)
Distributed proceeds from sale of assets to all company investors.
Formally (legally) filed final tax return and closed the corporation.
At age 32, I found a new job and resumed my engineering career in a totally different, but related field.
(Total time for all of the above steps: About one year)

My point is: Without a definition of "success", you may "run your company into the ground", and wind up bankrupt, deep in debt, and unemployed.

http://www.SlideRuleEra.net

http://www.VacuumTubeEra.net

 

[IRstuff]

Sure, a proper "pass/fail" criteria should be in the mix. Of course, sometimes, it's not obvious that you're completely failing until it's too late. But starting a business is a gamble of sorts, and as such, you should know when to cut your losses should the investment go south. The biggest potential problem is the gambler's fallacy, that it's been going so bad for so long that it "must" turn around. The slippery slope is when you perceive that things are "improving," and if you hang in there "just a little longer," the business will take off and be the success you envision. "Shark Tank" often has people like that. "Oh, I've spent 5 yrs on this business, and last year we had $10,000 in revenue, and I just know that with the investment I'm asking for I can finally make it take off."

The converse, of course, is that some things defy rational analysis, but it's difficult to determine whether your case is one of those. When Intel developed the 4004 microcontroller, there was no obvious market for small computers, except as possibly a niche, hobbyist, market. Obviously, a drastic sea change completely altered the computer landscape, to the point where a typical house probably contains dozens of microprocessors. This is contrasted with the odd novelty where my buddy, during high school, had PDP-8 computer in his house, Up until then, computers were somewhat abstract and only remotely accessible, like the dial-up connection we could get with the city college's computer.

TTFN
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!
homework forum: //

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[IRstuff]

There was a funny saying I ran across a while ago, "How are burglars and entrepreneurs alike?"


"They both think they can get away with it."

TTFN
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!
homework forum: //

http://www.engineering.com/AskForum/aff/32.aspx

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