Current Events > Sometimes I just want to quit and start my own business

(+) Yeah! (+)

I have built enough rapport with several key people at various places. I know if I turned into a consultant, I would have clients immediately. But Im still scared to pull the trigger. I have a cushy salary, benefits and great 401k with my employer. But Im tired of working for companies and dealing with all the headache involved. I have a friend who is willing to go in with me and bring her own client base as well. Its getting very tempting.

Any one else go freelance and not regret it?

Would it not be more work and headache owning your own business and everything that it involves? That's the main reason I don't go solo.

Youve got a baby. Youre shackled to safe choices for the rest of your life now.

Do it

I have been tempted to go that route and do tax/accounting work on my own, but Im honestly in a good place at the company where Im at and am just going to ride that until either management changes and I hate everyone, or they lay me off.

Im hoping for the layoff route since the severance package would be great, but time will tell.

Edit: Severance pancake, lol. Sounds like something that would be in the Severance show, tbh

i started freelance and it was no good. then later i tried going freelance again and regretted it.

unless you're really the type to want to start new things, probably better to stick with stability.

Dont be one of those guys that complains about the rat race, see a way to win, and then sit with a thumb up your ass and your gums flapping

I'm in a very different field than yours but have friends that have gone into their practice - made obscene amounts of money (for our field at least) but I know it requires a lot more self discipline and mental organization than I have. But from the way you cook/maintain your house with a baby, you could probably pull it off. I'd imagine benefits would be the big consideration for you?

Real talk what % of salary would you reasonably expect to get for each hire? Ive seen 25% as pretty standard in my history with invoices paid by companies Ive been with.

Seeing that your specialty are well paid IT folks, it would seem to me that if you were able to keep all that money (or split it with one other, as you mentioned), things would be pretty lucrative and it wouldnt even take a ton of hires to match or even exceed the salary you have with your current company. I could be wrong, but thats just my assumption.

If youre driven and self-sufficient enough, I wouldnt see a reason to give it a shot. Even if you did it and hated it, you could always go back to a corporate job later on if you really needed to.

CE_gonna_CE posted...

Real talk what % of salary would you reasonably expect to get for each hire? Ive seen 25% as pretty standard in my history with invoices paid by companies Ive been with.

Seeing that your specialty are well paid IT folks, it would seem to me that if you were able to keep all that money (or split it with one other, as you mentioned), things would be pretty lucrative and it wouldnt even take a ton of hires to match or even exceed the salary you have with your current company. I could be wrong, but thats just my assumption.

If youre driven and self-sufficient enough, I wouldnt see a reason to give it a shot. Even if you did it and hated it, you could always go back to a corporate job later on if you really needed to.

Industry standard is 20% but 25% is possible with some for tough to fill roles. Ive seen companies sign up to 30% if theyre really desperate.

We used $150k base as the average and that would be $30k per hire. I honestly could do it on my own but she also has a ton of connections. Wed need to figure the split because I will do more of the leg work finding candidates but she will do more of the business development side and bringing them in the door. She has even more connections than I do. But even at 50/50 per hire, 2 hires a month would get us about $360k a year minus costs (LinkedIn recruiter is like $1000 a month, plus other tools). At my company Im making like 4-5 hires a month but its also a brand name company and I wouldnt have that behind me.

The potential is there. But its much tougher to do solo without all the tools and marketing behind the brand. And it will take a bit of time to ramp up at first. I expect a few months without making any money because of the time it will take to find candidates, get them through interview processes, invoice times, etc.

You also run into potential legal issues if a company just doesnt pay you. It can be very difficult and costly to try and take legal action.

Jiek_Fafn posted...

Youve got a baby. Youre shackled to safe choices for the rest of your life now.

This is whats holding me back. I make 60% of the household income and my husband cant cover all the bills on his own (unless we ate ramen every day). My benefits are amazing too and cover the whole family. I worry about losing stability. I could just come back to a regular job after if it failed but I also worry I will be really stressed out making sure it takes off.

If it was just me it would be a no brainer.

3PiesAndAFork posted...

Would it not be more work and headache owning your own business and everything that it involves? That's the main reason I don't go solo.

Forgot to respond to this. Yes its more work. But also more money. And compared to other businesses it would be relatively easy to take off and low overhead. I could easily line up a few clients that have worked with me before and would sign a contract with me. But it will be harder to find candidates as a nobody recruiter. They get bombarded from everywhere and most ignore us. And the money wont be consistent as it is now, some months I might make $0 and others a crap ton. Hiring tends to be cyclical.

But here I am writing up an offer for $240k base that an agency recruiter submitted and Im like shit gimme some of that. That would be $48k in my pocket. Sigh

Problem is even if you have the connections, are they want to go with you just because you're you?

In other words, are the connections going to trust you/your friend or do they just trust the brand?

Cleo_II posted...

$150k base as the average

damn can I work for you? I'll make you a batch of macarons every fiscal quarter

RealityDose posted...

Problem is even if you have the connections, are they want to go with you just because you're you?

In other words, are the connections going to trust you/your friend or do they just trust the brand?

Yes theyve worked with me/us personally. Many have told me Im the best recruiter theyve ever worked with. Several are now director level at big tech companies. Others are recruiting managers that already use agencies and they would very likely work with me as well because they know me personally. And one of my contacts has told me he would personally help me get clients if I ever wanted to go solo. He knows a lot of folks and weve built a friendship over the years. Hes been encouraging me to take the plunge.

TeaMilk posted...

damn can I work for you? I'll make you a batch of macarons every fiscal quarter

Take all my money!

Starting your own business means you're working 24/7 no longer just a 9-5

Talked it out more with my husband. Im going to work out a 6 month plan to get started. Maybe its a big risk and maybe it wont work, but it will be our only ticket to early retirement and I need to try.

Sounds like a plan, and if hes supportive of it then strike while the iron is hot.

Itll be hard work, but you dont want to never do it then regret not trying it down the road.

HR is boring though

CE_gonna_CE posted...

Sounds like a plan, and if hes supportive of it then strike while the iron is hot.

Itll be hard work, but you dont want to never do it then regret not trying it down the road.

Meh I spoke too soon. Now hes going back and being negative about it all.

Turtlebread posted...

HR is boring though

I dont do HR though. Not in the sense youre thinking. Plus who cares if I make good money.

I'm actually thinking of doing this, saved up enough money to start a small business which I was originally going to use for school and a down payment on a house but I'd love to work for myself.

I decided ima save up some more this year and go for it, from everything I've read and studied about it the conclusion I came to was it's better to take the chance rather than regret it later on as long as you try with a 100% effort. Just as long as your financially able to so I wouldn't gamble everything and risk going bankrupt if things go south.

Cleo_II posted...

Meh I spoke too soon. Now hes going back and being negative about it all.

Sorry to hear, hopefully he comes around again eventually. It certainly is a risk and can be nerve racking, it at least you have a decent plan, u sweat and the risks, and dont need to make a huge capital investment to take off in your particular case.

CE_gonna_CE posted...

Sorry to hear, hopefully he comes around again eventually. It certainly is a risk and can be nerve racking, it at least you have a decent plan, u sweat and the risks, and dont need to make a huge capital investment to take off in your particular case.

He doubted me when I first wanted to be a recruiter too. Now hes saying it would be too much pressure on him as the one with the steady job. Which to me feels like he doesnt believe I could do it. And he pretty much kept going on about Im on my phone too much and it would be worse and I would stress out too much. Pretty much spent a good hour tearing it all down right after he initially agreed with it. Oh well. I will do it anyway and dont need his support. Its what I did when I changed fields and he doubted me then too.

Hell yeah. TC is going full Kamina, like a damn man