Re-entry after the sabbatical

I've now been back to work for 2 months now after my 3 month sabbatical. As you can probably see, one of the things that's happened is I've been able to post less. I still have tons of ideas for blog posts, but making the connection between idea and execution has been a lot harder with 10 hours a day, 5 days a week spoken for.

I enjoy the camaraderie with my co-workers back at work. I also like having all of the resources available to me that a large company has. As I'm working my project, 10-20 other people are working other aspects of it that I don't need to worry about. And the fat paycheck does wonders to replenish the hole in the savings account (before you think I'm really high in this company, I want to tell you that "fat" means fat for a single guy in a city with a very low cost of living).

But the frustration of being in the corporate world still gnaws at me. We still have functional silos that I hate dealing with. The organization chart for the function that represents the consumer and the function that represents production doesn't cross until the general manager (4 levels above me). Which means any decision that requires a trade-off between the functions must be made by someone who thinks about my project for maybe 1 hour a week. Which means we need to have endless meetings and create endless documents and presentations to frame the issue for the general manager, who then makes a call based off a high level view of the project and the company's strategies.

Enough of the complaining. One of the things I'm grappling with is how to find time to work on the outside of work stuff. Another development that has affected my free time is I'm in a relationship that has really progressed in the past few months. (She doesn't quite get the allure of blogging. When I come across people like that, I blog about them. That either causes them to read the blog, or if they don't, I can talk about them without fear of repercussion). The only goal that ranks above being financially independent is being in a great relationship and family. However, she completely buys into the vision of being financially independent, so the prospects are good for finding a win-win at some point! Meanwhile, I'm still working the balance.

Being back at work has given me the challenge of trying to find time for my own projects. The techniques I've learned about have really helped me keep things rolling, but I'd love for things to progress faster. Being on sabbatical had different challenges... it was more getting myself motivated and developing self-discipline.

Re-entry after the sabbatical

What is Corporatepreneurship

This blog has been going for about three months now... Figured it be a good time to reflect a bit on "Corporatepreneurship" and why we started this blog. We got the term "Corporatepreneur" by adding "corporate" and "entrepreneur." We all work at a very large, Fortune 50 company as our "day job" and are or aspire to be entrepreneurs at all other times.

So why are we both? Speaking for myself, there's a few reasons... From the corporation side, I don't know enough about entrepreneurship to make enough money to do it full time. I get a nice steady paycheck from my current job. I enjoy the camaraderie with my co-workers. I'm scared to leave my job to be an entrepreneur. All the role models, education, and messages I ever got was for the corporate world.

The fun part is from the entrepreneur side. Why? I'll never live up to my potential in the corporate world. I can make a much bigger difference as an entrepreneur. There are so many ideas I want to try that the corporate world will never try. I believe my strengths fit an entrepreneur very well. I can make a lot more money and reach my dreams as an entrepreneur.

There's a lot of unique pros and cons to this double life. Pros: You don't hafta worry about putting food on the table and paying the bills. You can learn a lot in the corporate world that you can reapply to the entrepreneur world. You can fund your own ventures.

Cons: By the time you get home from your 9-5, you're tired and all you feel like doing is sitting down and watching TV. Sometimes you hafta work longer hours and run out of time at night. You can't do any ventures that require you to be available during the day. You can't sink all of your passion into your venture because you've got a day job to worry about that's first priority. Your employer may get paranoid about you doing something on the side.

We've come up with a bunch of ways to live this double life. SEEFADs make you take time out to work on your stuff and allow you to feel the life of being a entrepreneur. We try to find business models that don't require constant involvement. I'm looking to take a personal leave of abscence, which kinda gives me the best of both worlds.

Hopefully this blog will touch people out there in the corporate world who've always had the itch, and show them that it is possible. We've also gotten great contributions from people who've done it and can share experiences. And maybe I'll be in the position where I'll hafta think up a new name for this blog someday...

What is Corporatepreneurship

Other's responses to my SEEF3M

So I've had a chance to tell a few co-workers and friends about my upcoming leave of absence. Of course they ask "What are you planning to do with it?" And I test the waters out by saying:

"Make enough money so I don't hafta come back."

I usually use this one as a gauge on what conversation to have with the person. There are two responses:

1. Ha ha. Better go buy a lottery ticket!
2. Awesome... what ideas do you have?

People who answer #1, I say "Yup, I plan on buying a lottery ticket my first day off!" And then I have the "I'm gonna go on a roadtrip, enjoy life, and it's something to do when I'm still single" conversation.

People who answer #2, I tell them about notthebookstore.com, and my thinking that you hafta fail 10 times before you hit something, so I want to get 2-3 failures out of the way during the 3 months.

It's been really interesting talking to people type #2. There are more people than I imagine who Corporateprenuer... i.e. have some sort of business on the side, or have the desire to. One guy told me all about the stuff that his entrepreneur wife does, owning franchises and stuff. He also made a point to tell me that it was great that I was doing this.

One really interesting response was from my dad. I brought up the idea to him a month ago (I haven't even told him I've already discussed this with my boss). In a "why are you doing this to me" tone of voice, he said "Why would you want to do that in this economy? I don't think it's a good move." He was almost hurting for me, which is pretty frustrating because when I'm hurting, the only person that needs to be hurting is me. And I'm not even hurting. Guess that's parents for you. Well, I haven't brought up the subject since... I probably won't until everything's official.

So, in a nutshell, everyone has been supportive except for one person... and he'll live, I'm sure my sister and I have done worse things to him in the past. The most meaningful support and encouragement I've gotten (other than my co-horts in this blog) has been from Jason Cohen of A Smart Bear blog and Adam McFarland (his blog here), because the vision is to be in their shoes someday... and it's nice to know there are people out there who get it.

Other's responses to my SEEF3M

Entrepreneurs don't need to retire?

Here's another great article from the Gallup poll that I believe is still relevant. Many Americans working in the corporate world are counting the days until they can retire. But what if you were your won boss and doing something you love? Then you basically don't need to retire...

Source: http://www.gallup.com/poll/20626/Many-SmallBusiness-Owners-Will-Work-Until-They-Drop.aspx

Among the advantages of being a small-business owner is the ability to decide for yourself how you'll handle your retirement. While many younger Americans may look forward to retirement as a time to stop working, as people grow older they often begin to see retirement simply as a change in lifestyle -- not a time to sit on the beach and cease being productive.

A recent Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index survey* shows that fewer than one in five small-business owners plan to stop working and retire over the long term. While nearly two in three expect their businesses to keep going after they stop working, only two in five of these people think a family member will take over and run their businesses in the future. For many small-business owners, then, the sale of their business is clearly a significant potential source of retirement assets.

Most Owners Plan to Stay Involved

In the long run, 42% of small-business owners say they plan to cut back on work but maintain involvement in their businesses. Thirty-eight percent say they will never retire until forced to do so for health reasons. Just 19% say they expect to retire and stop working.

Most Owners Expect Their Businesses to Keep Going

Sixty-three percent of small-business owners say they expect their businesses to keep going after they are no longer working, while 34% say their businesses will come to a stop.

Most Owners Say Their Businesses Will Be Sold

Of those small-business owners who expect their businesses to continue after they stop working, only 41% think someone in their families will keep it going. Twenty-one percent of small-business owners expect to sell the business to someone or a group of people currently working for it. One in three expect to sell it to someone or a group of people outside the business.

Why Should Small-Business Owners "Retire"?

Ninety-six percent of small-business owners say they are successful, 91% say they are satisfied being small-business owners, and 84% say if they had to do it all over again, they would still become small-business owners. In sum, many small-business owners love what they do and have been successful at turning something they enjoy doing into a good living.

So is it really surprising that they don't want to stop working and retire? As they get older, it makes sense that these owners will slow down and work fewer hours but stay involved in the business they enjoy. It also makes sense that they'll stop working altogether only when forced to do so for health reasons.

In this regard, it's interesting to note that many other Americans who do not own their own businesses dream of "retirement" as a time when they can start their own small business by converting their hobby or something else they love to do into something that will allow them to maintain their desired lifestyle in retirement. Obviously, many of today's small-business owners are a step ahead in achieving this kind of "retirement" goal.

*Results for the total dataset are based on telephone interviews with 600 small-business owners, conducted Sept. 26-Oct. 6, 2005. For results based on the sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.

Entrepreneurs don't need to retire?

To stay or not to stay?

Couple of thoughts on Tom's earlier blog about the paradox of replacement income...

I believe staying in the corporate world after matching your salary is part of a priority call you and your family made. It's very analogous to someone who decides to take a job that requires longer hours in exchange for higher pay (except in Tom's case, he's decided to keep a job that requires 40 hours a week in exchange for higher pay). If your priority is to leave your corporate job, it requires some planning and a lot of choices to be made. Much like if the decision is made for a woman (or a man) to quit working to take care of the kids instead of having a dual income.

For most people, when income goes up (no matter how you get it), they fall into the "gas" law. A gas expands to fill the space it's contained in. Expenses expand to fill the amount of money you make. The money you make can be from a raise in your corporate job or in your own business.

Tom's entry gave me great insights in my quest for significant income outside of the corporate world... that I need to consciously plan on what my financial priorities are and make the right choices along the way. If my priority is to leave my job, then I need to plan for that. If it isn't, I can make different choices.

Now this point is all moot if you can make your time more valuable... if you can make more money per incremental hour doing your own thing than at work, then you would actually lose money by staying in your job.

To stay or not to stay?

It's risky NOT to be an entrepreneur

Everyone talks about how risky entrepreneurship is - and if you just take a blind leap it can be. But as you have seen from our postings here at the Corporatepreneur we don't think entrepreneurship has to be risky. In fact with a solid plan it can significantly decrease the risks and stresses in your life.

i believe starting a business on the side while still working a full-time job is a safe way to go. Please be conscious of any COI's (conflicts of interest) or other issues with you current job, but as long as you aren't competing with your employer either for your time or customers - you should be fine. And then you can keep that steady paycheck while growing something on the side.

Here are the risks of NOT trying to start your own business with some articles from some of my other favorite entrepreneur blogs.

1) You could become "that guy" or "that gal"
2) Your corporate job isn't secure anyway
3) You risk not living up to your TRUE potential!

I think the Corporatepreneur approach offers the not only the safest way to start a business - but the safest way to live your life. You keep doing what you are doing with the upside of finding your own entrepreneurial niche!

It's risky NOT to be an entrepreneur

Tips for starting a business while working full time: Elance Blog

Came across this blog entry on Elance entitled "Tips for Incubating your Small Business Idea While Still Working Full-Time." Tip #5 smells like SEEFAD!

Tips for starting a business while working full time: Elance Blog

Long hours for Small Business Owners

Here is another oldie but a goodie from the Gallup poll about Entrepreneurs. I think the message is "Hard work pays off"...

Source: http://www.gallup.com/poll/18088/Work-Labor-Love-SmallBusiness-Owners.aspx

What does it take to start your own business? Entrepreneurial spirit is an obvious requirement, but it takes much more than that, according to a new Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index survey*. Most small-business owners have a passion for their work, which leads them to work long hours most days of the week. As a result, small-business owners tend to see passion for their work as a natural part of their work-life balance.

Small-Business Owners Work Long Hours

Fifty-seven percent of small-business owners say they work six or more days each week. In sharp contrast, only 7% say they work fewer than five days each week.

Sixty-two percent of small-business owners say they work 50 or more hours each week. On average, small-business owners put in 52 hours each week.

Do Small-Business Owners Ever Relax?

On average, small-business owners say they take about two weeks of vacation each year. Six in 10 say they just enjoyed their last vacation, and didn't do anything work-related. Of the 39% of small-business owners who did work while on their last vacation, 8 in 10 (81%) say they made or returned business calls, and half (52%) initiated or returned e-mail.

Two in three small-business owners (67%) are satisfied with their ability to achieve a positive work-life balance. And a similar percentage (65%) feel they are able to make the time available outside work to do the things that are most important to them.

Being a Successful Small-Business Owner

Ninety-four percent of small-business owners say they are at least somewhat successful, 87% say they are at least somewhat satisfied with being small-business owners, and 84% say they would still become small-business owners if they had to do it all over again. However, becoming a successful small-business owner asks a lot of the individual and his or her family.

Given the long hours, being a small-business owner is not a 9-to-5 job. In order for small-business owners to achieve a positive work-life balance, their families must be willing to find ways to make work a part of their family life -- hence the fact that many small businesses are also "family businesses."

*Results for the total dataset are based on telephone interviews with 607 small-business owners, conducted June 10-24, 2005. For results based on the total dataset, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.

Long hours for Small Business Owners

Less is more & Doing what you love

You may have heard it, but I am on a less is more kick. Less working, more living. Anyways here's a collection of motivational materials related to improving your life and doing more of what you love!

Quick Story:
Thanks to: "Living the 80/20 Way"

     Thinking about lunch, the vacationing businessman stared at the calm, blue sea. A small boat, laden with large yellow-fin tuna, docked near the pretty Mexican village. A lone fisherman jumped ashore.
     "That's a great catch," said the tourist. "How long did it take you?"
     "Not so long," replied the Mexican.
     "Why didn't you stay out there longer and catch more fish? It's only noon!"
     "That's enough fish to keep the family provided for," replied the fisherman.
     "What do you do with the rest of your time?"
     "Sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, have lunch, take a siesta with my wife, Maria. Stroll into the village each evening, sip wine, play guitar and cards with my amigos - a full and rich life, señor."
     "I think I could help you," the visitor said, wrinkling his nose. "I'm a Harvard MBA and this is the advice you'd get in business school. Spend more time fishing each day, buy a bigger boat, make more money, then buy several boats until you have a fleet. Don't sell your catch to the middleman, sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You'd control the product, production and distribution. You could then leave this small town behind, move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles, perhaps eventually New York City to run your expanding firm."
     "But señor, how long would this take?"
     "Fifteen, twenty years."
     "But what then, señor?"
     "That's the best part," the businessman laughed. "When the time is right, you could float on the stock market and make millions of dollars."
     "Hmmm, millions you say. What then, señor?"
     "Then you could retire. Move to a pretty village by the sea, sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, Maria, stroll to the village in the evenings, sip wine, and play guitar and cards with your friends!"


Two of my Favorite Speeches:

1) Steve Tomlinson:
Here's that great speech by Steve Tomlinson about not discarding any of your passions in life. If you have 3 very separate career interests, keep them all going because you might not yet see how they will all come together.

I tried to link to this before, but here it is! Enjoy the video (although it's just audio!).



Listen up until he takes questions from the audience.

2) Steve Jobs:


I've listened to both a bunch of times now!

Less is more & Doing what you love

Stop and hear the music

Have you heard the cliche "stop and smell the roses?" I was never one to smell many flowers, having allergies and all. But I have stumbled upon a great story that will coin the phrase "stop and hear the music!"

Are we all too busy and self-involved? What are we running around for, aren't we busily passing the wonders of the world around us? I think these were the questions the Washington Post was trying to answer.

What happens when you take:
1) A world famous violinist who makes $1,000 per minute when performing
2) Put him in a busy subway dressed as a street performer
3) Have him play 43 minutes of the word's most amazing classical music on his $3.5 million dollar violin.

When 1,070 people will pass this performance what do you think will happen? Will crowds gather? Will they delay their commutes for a once in a life time treat? How much money will the musician make?

The sad answers are $32.17 and very few people seemed to care (only 7 people stopped for more than 1 minute).

The whole experiment was video taped and there is an excerpt in the article. While the article is long I recommend it, it's a great read especially to hear how the world famous musician Joshua Bell felt when a song would end and no one applauded. I guess people had something more important to do that hour with their lives (sarcasm). You could of course make an arguemnt about people not recognizing the "opportunity" presented to them but really isn't that the point, we are moving too fast to recognize all the potential around us. I know one fellow blogger who might have been on her blackberry the whole time :)

Stop and hear the music!

It's painful to watch.

Here is the full article
Pearls Before Breakfast: Can one of the nation's great musicians cut through the fog of a D.C. rush hour?

Also here is a link to the entire performance in the subway (audio only)
At the 14th minute there is a great version of Ave Maria

Stop and hear the music