Freedom vs. Online Poker
This morning, the King Kong of motivation smacked me upside the head.
I received a phone call from a recruiter named Mark. (When I first arrived in Ireland, I sent my resume out.) Mark asked what I was doing for work, and it felt so good telling him that I was "self-employed." Then he told me about a job opening for an online poker company (online poker, come on!)
Just as I was thinking, "never in a million years!" he told me the salary. Oh the salary. For a moment I was blinded by the Dollar (Euro) signs and nearly ran out the door wearing nothing but poker chips. I was suddenly Red from the Shawshank Redemption. I was out on parole, but I was longing for the protection and safety of the jail cell.
It's clear that I have two choices. Go back to the 9-5 (shackled to the desk with golden handcuffs) or commit myself entirely to following this plan and growing my business.
One option is easier and less scary, that's for sure. And one is far more rewarding.
After Mark told me the salary of this job, I momentarily forgot all the reasons why I want to make my own business a success. I asked myself what motivates me. My motivation is:
I've decided--and I'm more certain than ever. Red made it to Mexico with its sunny skies and crystal clear water, and I will too. I'M GOING TO DO THIS. Now that I have a clear vision of my other option, I'm going to work even harder.
With this in mind, I've written my goals:
- Triple my income in 2009 (Triple sounds like a lot, but I have a low starting point.)
- Never have to work for an online poker company (or at any other ridiculous job that I don't want)
- Be out of bed by 8am (standing up and climbing back in does not count!)
- Think less, do more!
- Follow this plan, share my victories and my struggles, and make a dedicated effort to help others succeed as well
Week 1 Recap: At the close of week 1 I've organized my contacts (all 40 of them!) into a basic spreadsheet and I've picked my market, (marketing consultants). This week I'm going to explore these groups: American Marketing Association, The Consultants Bureau, & Marketing Institute of Ireland. With organization in mind, I also did some extra credit. I organized my passwords into an excel spreadsheet because if I click on the "forgot my password" link one more time, I'm going to go nuts. The less time I spend looking for passwords and aggravating myself is more time to get work done.
Ok fellow Start Uppers! Tell me your goals, the market you've chosen, and what motivates you! We're on to week 2, let me hear you roar! ;)
Thanks, Deidre! Love your prioritization skills and ability to hone in on living (and working) your values. Inspiring.
My market: teaching new entrepreneurs who are self-starters how to self-finish!
My goals are:
double my gross income;
complete first draft self-finishing book
speak 5 times this year to 300+audiences about collaborating to get things done
secure 3 hi-vibration clients per month (full fees) starting new projects of interest to me
Motivations:
my 30 minute call with Ilise got me back on track when I stalled at "choosing my market"--I had been stalled for almost a year and caught between three different markets, making my mktg efforts buckshot, at the most euphemistic.
daily brain-drain walks (with post it/pen); and
DECIDING to choose one market and go for it. Liberating.
Thanks for the prompt!
Dyana
Posted by: Dyana Valentine | January 14, 2009 at 11:07 AM
Wow,
I went here to read another article but I can really relate to your situation. I too have had to go through the choice of
A). Knowing when/how much I will be getting paid for the whole year, and having no freedom, hating my job, etc. or
B). Keep working for myself, and go through the feast/famine cycle until I get out of my rut and start marketing as a regular DAILY part of my business.
I too enjoy being able to travel with my laptop and pretend I am in the office. I think about the times I have conference called with clients while sitting at a campsite, hotel room, coffee shop, or the times I have needed to drive from a remote area for 25 minutes to wirelessly upload files. I like the fact I can actually take part in events that take place during daylight hours without much ramification.
I think those are good reasons to step up my marketing game this year and create a more solid revenue stream vs. jumping through hoops for these stupid headhunters and recruiters who keep calling me for jobs that would have some more "security" but that I would rather not take.
Posted by: Adam Bies | January 14, 2009 at 11:39 AM
I'm going to read through your (thoughtful) post again.
Because I am surprised at your obvious disdain for one of the most lucrative & interesting businesses in the world right now.
You're obviously enthusiastic, well-organized and articulate. Passionate too. You could have done very well with the online poker company ... actually, I was stunned that you were so quick to walk away from that opportunity.
40 contacts. Well, good luck. And I absolutely hope you make it on your own terms. But there is a price to be paid EITHER WAY. The grass is by no means greener on the self-employment side. And there are plenty of corporations that give employees tons of freedom. I would suspect an online poker company would be one of those!
Posted by: TurtleBlueBird | January 14, 2009 at 02:18 PM
Thanks for the comments!
Dyana, wow, great job! I think your goals are fantastic, you must feel good having that many specifics written down. Your daily brain drain walks with pens and post-its? This sounds interesting- tell me more!
Adam, all the reasons you named are exactly why we need to dedicate ourselves to marketing. I hope you keep checking back during your journey. I think we'll be able to develop this habit just like anything else... if we do it long enough, it will become part of lives, and I know it's worth it.
TurtleBlueBird, I think it comes down to two things for me. 1. the job was very technical, and I so enjoy the creativity and variety of what I'm doing. 2. Even the best company in the world wouldn't give me 90 days to work from wherever I wanted. I actually loved my last full-time job when I lived in NJ, but the freedom just wasn't there. If I could have worked remotely it would have been perfect. I suppose I feel so strongly because if I give up on this goal now, I'll never be able to say I tried.
I'd love to hear more experiences about in-house vs. self-employment. Do others feel the struggle as well?
Posted by: Deidre | January 14, 2009 at 04:27 PM
Deidre -- stealing a line from Byron Katie ... "Even the best company in the world wouldn't give me 90 days to work from wherever I wanted." Can you absolutely know that that's true?
Again - I wish you the greatest success in what you're doing know. Both paths have their strong pluses AND strong minuses.
(Three months a year to work from wherever you wanted ... hmmmm, at some point, work is work, wherever you are. And, as someone who has worked with a virtual assistant, one of the things I objected to was how much time she took off! European vacations every quarter and many, many long weekends in the mountains. I mention it both because I was envious, and to encourage you to be careful about making a big thing of where you're working from. Believe me, clients really don't much want to know.)
Posted by: TurtleBlueBird | January 14, 2009 at 05:02 PM
I'm down with TurtleBlueBird on the YES factor around your 90 day vision. GO FOR IT. That's your product--now, define the problem it's solving and the market and VOILA!, the life you've always wanted.
On BrainDrain: check out my youtube of the same name on http://www.youtube.com/dyanavalentine. Those walks are lifesavers. And idea mills, for sure.
Good luck to all!
Dyana
Posted by: Dyana Valentine | January 16, 2009 at 10:35 AM
Dyana, these are great- thank you for sharing!
Posted by: Deidre | January 16, 2009 at 11:29 AM