Why Don't You Just Go Out and Get a "Real Job"?

As I continue down the path of entrepreneurship, I always have the sneaking suspicion that many of my friends and some of my family have this question in the back of their minds.  I suppose this article is an attempt to tackle that question ahead of time and might be good food for thought for others as well.

1. A "Real Job" Provides No Leverage

This is a biggie and had to be mentioned first.  A so-called real job allows you ZERO leverage.  Leverage?  What's that?  Quite simply, it means that with a real job, you're being paid for your time.  You only get paid when you work and YOU have to be one doing the work.  No matter what your profession is, whether you're a doctor or a ditch digger, with a typical job, you only get paid for the time between when you "clock in" and when you "clock out".  The alternative is to put your time and energy into building up something that will continue to pay you over time without needing your continued, personal involvement.  Yikes!  You mean a business?  But I don't know how to do that…

Well that might be true, but most of us didn't know how to do ANYTHING if you go back far enough.  I think we hold ourselves back from doing things because of not knowing all the answers.  But in this information age where you can find out how to do just about anything thanks to Google, that's a pretty darned weak excuse if you ask me.

2. A "Real Job" Automatically Puts a Ceiling on Your Income

Speaking of time, because there's only so much time in the day and you're paid based on your time in a "real job", that automatically puts a cap on the amount of money you can make.  Whatever you make per hour multiplied by 8,760 hours is the absolute max you can make in a year, assuming you didn't sleep, eat or do anything else but work.  In addition, most employers would agree that a particular job only has a finite amount of value.  So the prospect of getting a raise might only be worth holding onto up to a certain point. 

And on the issue of retirement, especially for those that still get pensions (a dwindling bunch), I say do the math.  I was in the Air Force for about 8 years.  As I contemplated getting out, it struck me that if I stayed in and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel, I would have put in twenty years of my life and would only be getting retirement pay of about 50% of my base pay.  Sure, it's paid forever (we assume) but I don't want to live off of 50% of what I'm used to!  You gotta' be kiddin' me!  I would have only been 43 years old so my retirement pay plus the best performance from the Thrift Savings Plan or whatever would STILL mean I'd have to go slog off to work everyday after I was "retired".  Ummmm…no.  I'll do the hard yards now, not in my golden years.

3. A "Real Job" Allows You Limited Control Over Your Time (If Any)

Since we've already mentioned the "time" issue twice, let's go for a hat trick.  The other issue with a "real job" is that you have limited control over your time, if any control at all.  And when it's all said and done, time is the only thing that truly cannot be replaced.  Time with family, with the kids, friends, seeing the world, learning and living life…that's all way more important than being able to buy the latest doohickey from the electronics store, having the biggest house on the block, the fanciest car.  That's not to say that you can't have both but with a "real job" your chances of doing so are pretty slim, at least for most of us.

4. A "Real Job" Rarely Requires the Same Level of Personal Growth

This is one I wouldn't have thought of, however it's something I came across in my own experience.  The personal growth and development that I've had over the last few years has been phenomenal.  I don't think that would have happened had I not chosen the path I did and decided to venture out on my own.  Sure, most jobs offer professional development courses of one degree or another.  But often times, it becomes a square to check off versus something that's taken seriously…perhaps just another thing to do to make yourself look better on paper when it comes time for promotions.  But as a business owner or self-employed individual, it's virtually a necessity that you continue to grow, that you continue to face your fears, develop leadership skills, sales and marketing skills and other business acumen.

 

Popularity: 8% [?]