Advice on lifestyle/career/work changes. How do you make them?

eliquid

eliquid

Serpwoo.com
May 10, 2007
7,207
205
63
A/B Testing
Sooo.. I got a big ass choice to make that effects my goals and my career.


Short background summary:

Im doing lead gen for an a company that services EDUs. Money is alright, benefits are pretty great. I have doubts about the leadership, but we are flux with cash from VC deal so job is secure ( in a job sense ). However, the leadership sucks and I am growing tired of the company somewhat. I am considered an Director level employee here.

I get offered % of a new company a proven business owner who is a SEM client of mine. Company is not founded yet, but essentially the owners of the company will be a huge web dev company in my area ( who has multiple huge fortune 100 clients ), the succeess biz owner, another biz owner, me and maybe 1-2 more people. Its a great idea/concept and backed by already successful people. I will be doing all the marketing ( its all online ) but my salary and benefits will almost be cut in half, but I will own a % of this new company.

The cut in salary and benefits will likely directly hurt my family and lifestyle somewhat and the stress level will be 10x more, but it offers options I dont have with my current gig.

How do you make big lifestyle changes like this to know your making the right choice?

Any advice on this subject would be awesome.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BluAffiliate


Sometimes in life in order to become comfortable we have to get uncomfortable. Bottom line is don't be afraid to sacrifice a little money now for freedom down the road. Go wherever the potential for the greatest freedom exists
 
^^ I have thought about this as well. My options open up with the new company. I dont see very many new or upward type options staying where I am at.

Sometimes these choice get "scary" if thats the right word to use. Especially when you have a family and are the only income earner.
 
As partial owner in the company, you will be more interested in working harder/longer to build the company and your wealth at the same time. That too might have an effect on your family.

Without knowing specifics, that's tough to say towards the new company. Personally, I like stability, plus having a family in the mix is even more reason to want stability. Hell, the ONLY reason I went full time IM is because I volunteered for layoffs for a company that eventually went under about 8 months after I left.

I'm leaning more towards staying in your current position.
 
So I've been down this road before. In the end it worked out for me, but that is not always the case.

I personally believe that you should be motivated to get up in the morning to go to work and if you are not, your in the wrong line of work or at the wrong company.

I agree with what dmnEPC said about making sacrifices or really taking risks to get ahead. Without risk there is not reward (in most case, let be honest some people just get lucky).

If you are being offered a piece of the pie and don't have to invest money in it just time then I'd say your in a pretty nice place as long as there is a very good chance that they will do well and turn that % into a profitable choice for you.

The only thing I can tell you is do your homework, check into this, see whats up with these guys. What are they planning? Meaning will that % ever actually come to something? Don't listen to the fluff they put out there. Only look at the concrete facts, the resources they have and what they can actually do. Lots of guys are great at selling the KoolAid so don't buy into it unless it's worth buying into.

Is your % based off NET or GROSS or what? Is all this put into a contract? If so make sure you see the operating agreement for the company to make sure the person signing it is actually the owner / operator of the company.

If it's only based on the future sale of the company. What are their plans for selling to company? Exit strategy? Important to know since in that case, this is when that % will mean something. What happens if the company acquires debt? Does that debt get paid off first before your %? Meaning what impact will the decision that those make on top have on your profitability in this company down the road.

Best thing is to do your own gig, but that will also have it's ups n downs.

Just my 2 cents...
 
A good quote I live by is:

"The amount of success you have in life is proportional to the number of uncomfortable situations you put yourself in"

Before making this decision you need to take a look at your cash flow. Are you currently saving money every month? If you take a reduction in salary will you still be able to meet you monthly expenses?

If you can take the salary hit and still be able to make your expenses then I say you go for it no questions asked. You are only temporarily sacrificing the ability to save money in the hopes of future rewards.

If you will need to downsize, sell a car, etc. then you really need to think hard about this. If this was a hot new tech startup then the potential for massive growth is there (and the risk is worth it), but a regular web development company? You are not exactly going to see triple digit growth month after month. I wouldn't do it.

You say you are doing EDU lead gen for your current employer, are you also selling your own EDU leads on the side? Or is your main source of IM revenue come from selling SEO packages?

On another note, it honestly surprises me how many reputable members on here actually work regular jobs 9-5. Not saying it's a bad thing, just surprising.

EDIT: I just re-read your post. Is the owner of the new company a web dev company? Or are you starting a web dev company? If not, what is the nature of the new business? That has ALOT to do with the decision and the advice you are going to get here.
 
make up for the 'lost money' in the AM. then u wont feel the change i ncash but u will be starting new business that may make u more i nthe long run
 
I like what nickcr wrote. You have to do a lot of homework.

Idk all the info, but I don't think I would do it.
 
From what I've seen on here it sounds like you know how to get leads no problem. So the new venture sounds pretty damn stable as long as the other members aren't incompetent.

I would see if you could get a percentage of sales as commission (leverage your skills. it sounds like they need you) or a raise in pay as the company grows.
 
Is there an exit strategy or are you going to rely on the company's revenue to make that % worth something?

Is the business model already something that exists? Is there proof of concept? Will it still be profitable in 5-10 years? Will it rely on Google search for traffic?

There are a lot more questions that could be asked, but I'd be focusing in on what technologies will be used, the lifespan of the product, business model, etc.
 
I did this several times before.

Most of those times, I was moving up (easy to do when you are young).

The last time, I took a 1/3rd pay cut, simply because I could not STAND the place I was working at.

I could never have been happier.

From what I gather, you are making money on your own as well, so you can scale that up to take the sting out of the pay cut.

::emp::
 
This new company sounds very serious is it a blogspot or if it's a tripod site I would say get the ownership position I know it will be lucrative was in a similar position a while back and kicking myself for taking the quick exit what can I say he offered 10 piece chicken dippers
 
Did the same with my 9 to 5 jobs two years ago, but without having a family and the responsibilites. Hated the job, the place and the lowlife fucktards I had to deal with every fucking day. Came home after working 8 hours and went to straight to bed because the job completely fucked with me, physically and mental. After 2 years I had problems getting up in the morning, shaving myself and all that stuff - when that happened I knew I had to change something.

Said goodbye, started my own thing (back then with a partner as well, had a few tough months) and now I'm making more than my monthly paycheck in one day, have great people who work for me and I can work naked while listening to Rick Astley because I'm the fucking boss.

Tl;dr: more fun, more money, life quality level increased by over 9000, reward is greater than the risk imo.

But yeah, Paper_Chase summed it up pretty well. Just make sure you can go through a few financially tough months when shit is constantly hitting the fan (happend to me as well). And make sure your gf / wife supports you... a bitching girl at home who doesn't believe in the shit you're doing can kill you.
 
Second what nickCR said.

Every time i'm offered to partner up in a biz i'll first take a look at how much control i'll have in the company, what kind of revenue/profit will the company create in the future and who's the partner. Decide what you want for yourself.

Get bulletproof contracts and exit strategy right before signing anything or you'll get fucked.
 
eliquid said:
^^ I have thought about this as well. My options open up with the new company. I dont see very many new or upward type options staying where I am at.

Sometimes these choice get "scary" if thats the right word to use. Especially when you have a family and are the only income earner.
Click to expand...

You have to consider everything. Have you straightened your family situation out? Not knowing what the outcome was with the family crisis you wrote about a couple months ago. If you are back with them and working on things, keep your current job. Your family is far to important. A new business will simply dredge up all those old wounds and you will be writing a new thread on WF in 6 months.

Now if you are still out on your own w/ the big D looming over head you need to get that straightened out before you go and jepordize a new business venture.

Its a scary thought. And you have a lot to process. At the end of the day ask yourself if you really truly can stomach being a business owner. Its ok if you cant not everybody has the stomach for it. Its not pleasant when you have to tell your wife that you can only give her $763 for the month. And that she needs to figure out how feed the family & pay all the bills with it. All because a client decided to bounce the check you were planning on living off off for the month. Shit happens all the time. Cash flow is the number one problem any business has to deal with. When shit hits the fan you have to pay your employees and vendors before you get to take a nickle. Can you live with that?

And last but not least. You really need to "vet" these guys your getting in bed with. Go and dig up past business partners. Talk to them in person. Find out how bad they got fucked. Find out everything about these guys as humanly possible. Are they cheating on their wives? How is their personal credit? What kind of leaks do they have?

Paper is just paper. The only thing needed to get a business up and off the ground is some paper with a good line of bullshit written on it. And remember projections are bullshit that the guy dreamed up.

I could go on and on but you get the drift. I wish you the best of luck either way. Feel free to hit me up if you have any other questions or need a ear to bend
 
eliquid said:
Sooo.. I got a big ass choice to make that effects my goals and my career.


Short background summary:

Im doing lead gen for an a company that services EDUs. Money is alright, benefits are pretty great. I have doubts about the leadership, but we are flux with cash from VC deal so job is secure ( in a job sense ). However, the leadership sucks and I am growing tired of the company somewhat. I am considered an Director level employee here.

I get offered % of a new company a proven business owner who is a SEM client of mine. Company is not founded yet, but essentially the owners of the company will be a huge web dev company in my area ( who has multiple huge fortune 100 clients ), the succeess biz owner, another biz owner, me and maybe 1-2 more people. Its a great idea/concept and backed by already successful people. I will be doing all the marketing ( its all online ) but my salary and benefits will almost be cut in half, but I will own a % of this new company.

The cut in salary and benefits will likely directly hurt my family and lifestyle somewhat and the stress level will be 10x more, but it offers options I dont have with my current gig.

How do you make big lifestyle changes like this to know your making the right choice?

Any advice on this subject would be awesome.
Click to expand...

One of my favorite quotes from a book CCarter suggest is "Character is not made out of sunshine and roses. Like steel, it is forged in fire, between the hammer and the anvil."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom