Job Security Doesn’t Exist

“You’re just a number. Corporations have no loyalty to workers; they’ll kick you to the curb and feel no remorse.”

That was me talking to someone about an exodus of employees at a local workplace.

When contrasting entrepreneurship with a full time job, the assumption is that it’s less stable, more risky. It lacks benefits and a steady paycheck. While those things are certainly true, I would argue that it’s actually less risky to bet on yourself vs. a fickle boss or corporate bureaucracy.

The job market has changed.

You know that perfect job you can work your entire life before retiring with a pension? Yeah, me neither. That never existed for my generation. Corporate America wants people with that kind of dedication, without providing those kind of benefits.

Yes, collecting a steady paycheck is nice. But it’s only nice if it is, in fact, steady, and there is absolutely no guarantee it will be. If you’re one of the 61.7 million Americans who work for a small business, your job is dependent on how well the owner manages cash flow, and you have no idea how well that is until it’s too late. If it’s your business? You know exactly what those bank accounts look like and that you better learn about cash flow stat.

Mindset matters.

When you choose to bet on yourself by starting a side hustle or launching a full time business, your mindset has to shift. We call this taking ownership. The work matters more to you (I hope) because your name is on it. No one is going to solve problems for you, so you have to solve them yourself. Unfortunately, leads do not appear out of thin air, so you have to learn sales.

This shift to an internal locus of control is incredibly important, and you can cultivate it without becoming an entrepreneur. I think it’s more common in entrepreneurial spaces because without it, well… those people don’t last long. The Darwin Award for Founders, if you will.

The need to learn all those things I just mentioned (and more) is also incredibly fulfilling. We talk about the money aspect of jobs because we need money to live. But humans also need to feel like they’re doing work that makes a difference, and entrepreneurship gives you the opportunity to genuinely enjoy the work, learn new skills, AND pay your bills.

You aren’t disposable to yourself.

Well over a decade ago, I was working full time to pay the mortgage and put my husband through school, while also doing a decent volume of side work through my business.

I was hired as the second person in a department, because the current person couldn’t handle the workload. I came in and immediately took over all that work. And I say took over because this employee just sat on Facebook all day. This information was shared with the owner. He moved her to a different department and I proceeded to run things entirely by myself.

But when sales slowed and he chose to lay off 3 people, guess who lost their job: the slacker, or the person who did the jobs of two people? You know the answer. I bet you can also guess why.

These people do not care about you. It does not matter if you work hard, if you take their calls at all hours, if you’re more competent than everyone else (the worst of bosses find competence threatening). Yes, there are exceptions, but it’s one I never experienced.

That layoff is when I chose to go full time with my business. I already had a foundation, and I was tired of working for terrible people. If I was the boss, I could say no to the abusive clients. If I was the boss, there would be no incompetent employees allowed to ruin everyone else’s work. If I was the boss, I would have to find the work and figure out how to pay myself a salary.¹

At the end of the day, entrepreneurship is about weighing the freedom of ownership with the weight of finding enough work to support it.

We’re at a point where it is easier than ever to start working for yourself. If you’re in tech, professional services, any high skill field where you can get yourself a laptop, an email address and a stack of business cards, you can go sell what you do. You might not even need the business cards; it’s a global market.

That does not mean it is easy. It’s actually much, much harder, because everything hangs on you.

The positives?

You have control over you. You can work harder and smarter. You can adapt to change and take your own advice. You can choose what you will and will not do. And you can create a routine and working style that works for your personality and energy flow.

Not everyone can make this choice; I know I’m speaking from a place of privilege. My husband works in the medical field, so he can’t just pop million dollar imaging equipment in a spare room and work from home. If you’re in the trades there might be more hoops to jump through, or specialized tools or certifications. You’ll need to learn a lot of new skills, and if don’t have serious grit… you might not be a good fit.

But if you do, it can be deeply rewarding, and there’s a whole club of us crazy people who love to support new founders. The key to sanity is community.

How do you think about your J.O.B. or career?

Are you planning ahead? Can you use the place you’re at and the time you have to up-skill? If allowed, have you considered working on the side? Are you actively working to build your network to find future opportunities?

The importance of a solid network can’t be overstated here. Both actual jobs and project jobs come from who you know. Never stop networking, meeting people and following up.

Footnotes:
¹ The salary might be difficult, but I actually pocket (most of) the money from my labor. I remember one customer at that full time job who kept making edits on a design project, which they charged around $72 an hour for. This guy made some comment to the effect of “boy you’re going to get paid well after all this!” and I remember thinking: Seriously? You think they pay me $72 an hour? That’s not how business works…