At this turning point of my life, being only 26 years of age, I find myself thinking “Great. Now what?” I had left a great company I had worked with for a year, not because I wasn’t doing well, but because I craved more. I even went on more interviews, learning about other great companies and sizing them up to see if i would be a great fit for them… or the other way around rather… (I’m very picky about where I settle down). I believe that parking at a full time job is like settling down into a marriage. You have to really enjoy the company and love being with them despite any flaws or imperfections. And if you don’t, well you’ll probably be extremely unhappy, and would try to find a way out, one way or another.
So what did I do then you ask? I did a little twiddling of my thumbs and some hard core deep thinking about what my options were and what would really make me happy. Here’s what I found out.
1) What would probably make me happy is most definitely the hardest path to take.
2) It may be close to being impossible to succeed in.
3) I would be the happiest of all people if it were to sustain itself.
What it was was simple. Work for myself and be my own boss. But how can I? Do I have enough experience? Do I know enough about the industry, multi-faceted industry, to become successful? All of these thoughts did cross my mind, and all I did for about 3 weeks during the Hurricane Ike incident here in Houston, was think and type. I created my business plan, so far about 30 detailed pages of the ins and outs, the goals, the market research, and any other things I had been thinking about in order to take a better look at the company I wanted to begin.
Also, I spoke with a number of people who have started their own business and got some first hand responses about what to do, what to watch out for, what’s the best way to sustain it, and so forth. So, that gave me more motivation to really just dig in and begin.
So far, it’s been challenging, but I find myself really liking it. I’m still very nervous about it and I still have those lingering “What ifs” in my head at times, but what keeps me going are my hopes and dreams about the success of this venture. And it also helps to know that I am not alone. There are many that I can turn to for advice and assistance. Also, I’ve found that there are so many people out there who are young entrepreneurs going through these same situations as me! I’ve even read an article from Sitepoint.com that covers an interview with a young entrepreneur who was only 14 years old! (And I thought I was young! HA!)
So all you young entrepreneurs out there, Kudos to you and best wishes to us all! We can make it, I know it! Soon, we’ll look back in retrospect, sigh, and just smile.