As a 20 year old in 2021... Would you: A. Start your own business or B. Find a job
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- @Kenny Vaughan Thank you so much for the brilliant response, Kenny :)
- Awesome question and I love the responses below. I think I would look to find my feet with a job first just to understand the circulation of culture and identify what is missing inside of the bigger more forumlated companies, and then leverage that knowledge with an idea you feel confident enough to make room for. Especially starting out with your spare time fleshing it out.Most difficult thing is trying to compete 10% of your time with 100% of someone elses if you are going into competition with someone, so I'd say being unique removes that competition and lets you grow in your own space, so having to rush into business with its pitfalls doesn't need to come in straight away if you don't have the full understanding of the landscape. You don't want to rush to build a house on a floodplain!
- @Alice Kenny Thank you for sharing this Alice! I really appreciate your transparency and honesty. I will keep this in mind :)
- @kaylyn kemp In answer to your follow-up question: I've been a graphic designer for over 10 years and have only recently felt confident enough to start a freelance business. I think many creatives struggle to back themselves, and I was nervous about not having someone else to sense-check my work. I've been slowly building up my freelance clients while also working part-time and it's allowed me to figure out which bits I still need to learn on the business-side of things.
- @Vikki Ross Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for sharing these resources Vikki. I really appreciate it! I will look into both options for sure.
- @kaylyn kemp If you feel you're lacking in industry experience, you could always try finding it on the side while you build your business.Tom Pinchard offers business coaching:https://www.tompinchard.com/aboutAnd there are loads of creative mentors on this list who would be willing to connect, advise or send resources your way:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mOHAbda7xVxZLCWJTKhl6G8aiiD4KluCjrdGt9oAhU0/edit
- Hi Kaylyn!Really great question - and my advice would also be to try and do both, as much as possible. There's a lot of value in what you learn at workplaces that can immensely help with starting your own business. Freelancing in the background will certainly help with building the foundation of your own business, in particular with building a portfolio. No need to mention the financial stability that being employed will give you whilst you're building the base of your own business of course :)Good luck with your journey!
- @Scott Morrison Thank you Scott! It seems like you are speaking from real-life invaluable experience! I will carefully consider your advice and try my best to apply it. The building-a-business industry is definitely more of a rollercoaster than anyone makes it seem. Stepping into this carefully, in retrospect, only seems logical.
- @Vikki Ross Vikki I really appreciate this piece of advice. I can really sense your wisdom and understanding, which is truly the grace I needed today. I am awfully committed to whatever I put my mind to and it really helps to be reminded that nothing is permanent and that I am still allowed to change my plans.As I have mentioned in a few other comments, I have actually already started my own small business due to the unemployment circumstances in South Africa. But I have been having a lot of second thoughts with regards to missing out on industry experience. Because of this I have been considering looking for remote international job posts, but even these are tricky to land.Thank you for a truly soothing message.
- @Mandie Johnson Mandie thank you so much for the wise words! Time is definitely precious. Where I am located (Cape Town), most of the jobs available (which is very few) in my field pays shockingly low wages and expects long hours. I have also been trying to figure out whether this is worth my time, hence my question to all of you. Because of this I have actually already started a small business as I figured I could make about the same income as the start up jobs. But of course, starting my own thing has left me wondering if I am missing out on valuable in-industry experience and how much this is worth to me and my time.I feel really lucky to have found such a giving community on The Dots that are always willing to share some advice. Now I just need to figure out how relevant it all is in my situation.Thank you for the book recommendation! I actually have not read this one and am sure I will find a lot of value in it.
- @Elliott Starr (he/ him) What a great answer! Thank you so much for the advice Elliott. I have read many books that puts entrepreneurial thinkers on top of the food chain. I think the pull-push dilemma is has created for me, is that all of these entrepreneurs seemed to skip right over the 'getting valuable experience' part and simply dedicated their life to their own startup. This definitely encouraged me to take a leap and to start a small business, but it has grown to a point and now I am not sure that I have the skills to take it further.Thank you for the recommendations! I have indeed read The four hour work week, and also loved it! Personally the only thing that seemed missing to me in the book was the startup of his business. Nevertheless, its showed great insights and tips on how to run a business.
- Also check out these publications: https://abookapart.com/
- Try and get as much experience from people who know what they are doing, or who don't (reverse engineer your process out of that experience) ...AND freelance at the same time if you can.
- Hi KaylynThe great thing is you can do both.Choose roles that give you breadth of experience, access to learning and build your network.In your spare time, start building the foundations for the business you’d like to step into.One can feed the other and when you’re ready to shift across, the understanding and learnings you’ll have made from having a job will be invaluable.Stay Boom!S
- Hi Kaylyn,It depends. Everyone's different so do what works best for you.What worked best for me was to work for various brands, understanding who does what around each business and making strong connections along the way. Those connections have resulted in me always getting great work as a business owner by word of mouth. And that experience has resulted in me understanding where my clients are coming from and how I can help them with where they're going.There are lots of pressures associated with starting a business, especially when you're young and perhaps don't know as much or as many people as would make things easy for you.Having said all that, there are loads and loads of pros for starting your own business. You're the boss from day one and can set out how you work without compromise. There's also the benefit of a better work/life balance - you're always in control of your time and your wellbeing.What's important to know is whatever way you go, you can always change direction. At any point. If you try one way and it doesn't work out for whatever reason, just try another. There are no rules - or there are, but they're yours.Best of luck and best wishes,Vikki
- Hi Kaylyn,Lots of great advice here already and I completely agree that your best way forward is to pursue both options.You will learn and make vital contacts for your future business whilst being employed.Always remember that your time is precious and valuable so consider how much effort you put into searching for work both as an employee and as a freelancer/small business owner, it's important to find the right balance.I would reccomend this book for inspiration:Don't Get A Job... Make A Jobhttps://www.laurenceking.com/product/dont-get-a-job-make-a-job/Wishing you the best of luck,Mandie
- I would find a job in the specialism that you want to start your business and learn as much as you can at work and independently.Join some networks for potential start-ups or volunteer at the weekends to understand how start-up businesses work.Make connections and build a network of people who are at the next level and beyond.Research part-time programmes where you can learn new skills that would be beneficial to your business. All the above knowledge and connections will support you to plan and start your own business.
- I would get a job and continue to experiment while doing stuff on the side too. Eventually, I would full time with my own business. There's a lot you can learn from both ends and there's no wrong answer really.
- Hey Kaylyn, I see there are some great answers below. Sorry if I'm stating the obvious, but it's worth taking a beat to ask why you want to do each option. Perhaps running it through Toyota's '5 Whys' exercise.I say this as there needs to be a consideration of social narratives, and cultural pressure. It's hard to ignore the cult of the entrepreur rippling through the interwebs right now.It's an excting, valid option for a successful life. But, there is also nothing wrong with working for a company.If I was speaking to my 21-year old self, I'd encourage myself to start trying my own things early, but with the cushioning of a payroll job.If you're a conscientious, Type-A type, chances are your 80% effort in a job is probably many other people's 110%.So dial it back a bit, and put the protected time and energy into your side hustle. Then, build the side hustle.With enough love, blood, sweat, tears, learning, and applying... it may soon be earning you the same as your payroll. At which point you can make the switch, if that's what you want. This is what a lot of "risk-taking" entrepreneurs do. The reality is, smart people take extremely calculated risks, which are about as far from a "risk" as you can get.Some great resources for this might be:https://tim.blog/2018/06/07/one-person-businesses-that-make-1m-per-year/(The Four Hour Work Week is great, too)And:https://www.julian.com/guide/growth/introHope this helps.
- Both!! It costs money to start a business and the workplace teaches you a lot, but shoot for the moon and work hard on your own Business alongside, Lex
- B. Job as a precursor...- learn on someone else's dime- learn what you don't want out of work as much as you do want- grow your network before you start out on your own- make very necessary mistakes without having to teach yourselfThen go for it and reach for the stars, with your learning, self knowledge, network and on the ground experience :)
- Hi Kaylyn, this is the exact same position that I’m also in right now! I would say do both - Make sure to have a stable job in the industry you want to go into but also, learn and build your business on the side until your ready to be self sufficient
- C. Both!
- I would get a job in the kind of business I would like to start. Then observe, observe, observe.
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