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Tuesday, January 29th On this date last year... "To be or not to be..." In recent days, I guess because a lot of folks are out of work at the moment, a few people have come up to me and told me how much they admire me for having so much passion for ORIENTED and for wanting to start my own company. They wonder if starting their own businesses is the only thing that can guarantee job security at this day and age. I'm here to say, I don't think so at all! Business owners are just as susceptible to INJURY as corporate executives. It's just a different kind of injury, with different kinds of symptoms, and different kinds of remedies. If the small business succeeds and grows into a BIG business, then perhaps early retirement is in order. But the failure rate for new businesses is pretty high, and there are never any guarantees. If anything, business owners have a lot more people to answer to -- not fewer -- and they are much more vulnerable to market trends and the political environment than employees of established businesses. From what I've seen, the only reason people start their own companies (and stick it out) is because they are entrepreneurs at heart. Not only can they stomach the extreme highs AND lows of doing their own thing, they actually live for it. The only difference between the two types of career paths is simply the process, not the end result. The rest is up to things we cannot control, in my humble opinion, although hard work, dedication, and integrity in the things we do will take us very far. As long as you know which side you feel most comfortable with, and enjoy the type of work you do, you're good to go! Okay so I'm pontificating here. I'm lucky in that I am really passionate about ORIENTED. I try not to take that for granted. But what makes things so much more MEANINGFUL is that the people wanting to help me make this happen are so sincere in their support.
That is the best feeling in the whole wide world. =)
I got a *LOT* accomplished today!
Lesson #1: There is money to be found. I have heard the whole spectrum from "Good luck Christine! Finding money for a dotcom is really tough these days!" to "Eh, getting money is EASY!" To both, I say, whatever. If I really want it, I'll figure out a way to get it. Lesson #2: I should NOT take money just because someone wants to give it to me. I've been learning the hard way that actually, I need to be very careful about whom I ask to invest in ORIENTED. At first I was all over the place, asking anyone and everyone who showed interest in the project if they wanted to invest. That is no bueno. Everyone has their own motivations, but ultimately, I'm learning that the people I turn to have to a) believe in the inherent value of the services being offered to the community at large, b) have first-hand experience in the day-to-day challenges that non-locals face in Asia, and c) want to be part of something greater than simply a money-making business endeavor. Lesson #3: I am able to find those people. I didn't think I could. Lesson #4: Working together with friends whom I trust, and who trust me, makes all the difference in the world. When I was younger, I never thought that I might actually WORK with my friends in the future. We just hung out and partied together. Today, I find myself turning to those friends for financial advice, for legal advice, for technical advice, and for introductions -- not to mention all the BIG LOVE and moral support I've gotten over the years. Best part is, I will most likely establish formal client relationships with many of them, once the financing is secured. As long as the trust is there, it makes the work so much more FUN, because if I had to go out and seek service providers whom I don't know on a personal basis and whom I'd have to build trust with from scratch, it would be an entirely different story. That is more like "work". What we have here is an awful lot of play, LOL! Even if the project were to stop today, I can look back at all of this and say that it was well worth my time... with the appropriate documentation! Thus, tonight, I am treating myself to --> A KFC ZINGER BURGER! YAY! LAST ENTRY | NEXT ENTRY HOME | ARCHIVES |  |
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