Read Online Never Get a ”Real„ Job by Scott Gerber - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Scott Gerber
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internship, but my start-up idea seemed to be dead in the water. I felt like I had lost out because I did what someone else expected of me instead of following my own instincts and exploring my own interests.
It was at that moment that I decided to never again allow myself to fall into the trap of becoming distracted from my entrepreneurial ambitions.
Now is the time for you to do the same and get rid of that miserable bastard known as the “real” job. No longer should you slog it out for the benefit of others, or let shareholders, idiot bosses, and dismal job markets decide how you make your living. It’s time for you to delete or set fire to your resumes or tell your employers where they can shove that imaginary gold watch and stick that useless employee of the month certificate.
However—before you can open the doors to your new dream job and overcome your paycheck dependency syndrome, your business idea must first survive a series of tests designed to make sure that it has what it takes to make it in the real world.
GET REAL WITH YOUR FINANCES
Fact: Without you, there isn’t a business. You and your start-up are one in the same. You share the same wallet, breathe the same air, and thrive (or nose dive) based on the same experiences, but you aren’t in sync quite yet, or even on the same page. Before you can put pen to paper to flesh out your big idea, you must fully understand, deconstruct, and modify your financial life—so that you’ll be prepared to make smart fiscal decisions based on fact.
How much is your life worth? Mind you, I’m not asking you to pull a nonsensical, hypothetical figure out of thin air in an attempt to make you feel better about yourself. Instead, you need to calculate a tangible number that corresponds to liquid capital—or assets that could be liquidated—that you currently possess.
Unless you’ve suddenly inherited property or forgot about your flourishing stock portfolio, the cash in your checking and savings accounts—and possibly a few inheritances from good old granny—will make up the majority of your assets. Amassing your bankroll will help you to determine your available start-up funds as well as the length of time in which you can sustain yourself without making a single penny. Obviously, if you don’t have a dime to your name, this exercise should be relatively simple.
Prince or pauper? Many consultants and so-called experts spout oversimplified sound bites about cutting all your expenses in half. This is utterly useless advice. Only a small part of the equation is cutting down on expenses. You need to do something far more dramatic: Reprogram the way you think about money.
A real wake-up call can be developing a clear picture of your financial situation. Every dollar counts, and the little expenses you tend to overlook often add up to jaw-dropping totals. The first time that I sat down and analyzed my annual expenditures, I found that I had spent nearly $500 on ATM fees and $1,500 on NYC taxis—unreal! Regularly reviewing your finances can help you locate money you didn’t know you had and decide judiciously what expenses can stay, what needs to be reduced, and what should be eliminated altogether.
What’s your life burn rate? There’s no denying it: You need a certain amount of monthly income to survive and sustain yourself. I call this your life burn rate. Definitively knowing—and subsequently editing and revising—your life burn rate is essential to determining the types of companies you’ll be able to start.
Examine your expenditures from the previous year. How much money did you spend each month, and on what? Break down your expenses into three categories:
1. Essentials: Things you need to survive such as food, clothing, and shelter.
2. Liabilities: Recurring expenses you have no choice but to pay, such as student loans.
3. Expendables: One-time luxuries such as entertainment or taxi
It was at that moment that I decided to never again allow myself to fall into the trap of becoming distracted from my entrepreneurial ambitions.
Now is the time for you to do the same and get rid of that miserable bastard known as the “real” job. No longer should you slog it out for the benefit of others, or let shareholders, idiot bosses, and dismal job markets decide how you make your living. It’s time for you to delete or set fire to your resumes or tell your employers where they can shove that imaginary gold watch and stick that useless employee of the month certificate.
However—before you can open the doors to your new dream job and overcome your paycheck dependency syndrome, your business idea must first survive a series of tests designed to make sure that it has what it takes to make it in the real world.
GET REAL WITH YOUR FINANCES
Fact: Without you, there isn’t a business. You and your start-up are one in the same. You share the same wallet, breathe the same air, and thrive (or nose dive) based on the same experiences, but you aren’t in sync quite yet, or even on the same page. Before you can put pen to paper to flesh out your big idea, you must fully understand, deconstruct, and modify your financial life—so that you’ll be prepared to make smart fiscal decisions based on fact.
How much is your life worth? Mind you, I’m not asking you to pull a nonsensical, hypothetical figure out of thin air in an attempt to make you feel better about yourself. Instead, you need to calculate a tangible number that corresponds to liquid capital—or assets that could be liquidated—that you currently possess.
Unless you’ve suddenly inherited property or forgot about your flourishing stock portfolio, the cash in your checking and savings accounts—and possibly a few inheritances from good old granny—will make up the majority of your assets. Amassing your bankroll will help you to determine your available start-up funds as well as the length of time in which you can sustain yourself without making a single penny. Obviously, if you don’t have a dime to your name, this exercise should be relatively simple.
Prince or pauper? Many consultants and so-called experts spout oversimplified sound bites about cutting all your expenses in half. This is utterly useless advice. Only a small part of the equation is cutting down on expenses. You need to do something far more dramatic: Reprogram the way you think about money.
A real wake-up call can be developing a clear picture of your financial situation. Every dollar counts, and the little expenses you tend to overlook often add up to jaw-dropping totals. The first time that I sat down and analyzed my annual expenditures, I found that I had spent nearly $500 on ATM fees and $1,500 on NYC taxis—unreal! Regularly reviewing your finances can help you locate money you didn’t know you had and decide judiciously what expenses can stay, what needs to be reduced, and what should be eliminated altogether.
What’s your life burn rate? There’s no denying it: You need a certain amount of monthly income to survive and sustain yourself. I call this your life burn rate. Definitively knowing—and subsequently editing and revising—your life burn rate is essential to determining the types of companies you’ll be able to start.
Examine your expenditures from the previous year. How much money did you spend each month, and on what? Break down your expenses into three categories:
1. Essentials: Things you need to survive such as food, clothing, and shelter.
2. Liabilities: Recurring expenses you have no choice but to pay, such as student loans.
3. Expendables: One-time luxuries such as entertainment or taxi
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