The IT Skeptic - Comments for "In praise of self-employment"

I'm better negotiator

aroos — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 08:14:47 +0000

This the vacation schedule I have negotiated with myself:

- one week skiing holiday in March (this year we'll spend a week driving from Las Vegas to San Francisco after Pink 11 but we might do some skiing later)
- month of July
- one week in October
- one week at Christmas time

There is an ongoing discussion of taking Friday afternoons off too but that is not always practical ;)

Aale

going it alone

Sharon Taylor — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 20:15:12 +0000

I really enjoyed your reflection Skep.

I remember when i made the decision to leap from the corporate apron strings of quiet, comfy public sectordom, and start my own small company of 1. My father thought I had gone over the edge giving up a pension, security and all that. Now I'm not sure if he's read a paper lately (he's 75 and likely could care less now) but security is a thing of the past isn't it?

Since that first small company, i have bought and sold a few, invested the money, lost it in the both stock market crashes, ate filet mignon some months, and bologna others, but one thing has remained constant. Ok two things....1. fear of more bologna...2. the intense feeling of satisfaction that no one else creates my future but me.

Like you Skep, i am sunsetting and past the growing kids and big mortgages, and i see more of Dilbert sense in my life than ever before. I'm still loving this crazy give it all up to ITSM dedication and have those days where i wonder why i do it. I have travelled the world, made life-long friends in every country on the planet (and maybe a few enemies too) and i could never have done that at my comfy job.

When i think about my father telling me I was crazy to go it alone...I smile and know I am just going to be fine... bologna or steak.

thanks for sharing Skep. You really made me smile and remember why I am here some days.

Sharon

the dark side of self-employment

skeptic — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:20:33 +0000

of course the flip-side of working for yourself is that you are the toughest boss you ever had.

I've decided that since I have two active clients I'm not allowed to take time off over the summer period. Actually when i complained to me, i relented and let me have six days off.

Well, eight days off really - you have to count the weekend too because I always make me work them.

I'm working late tonight. I hope I notice.

Funnily enough, I'm now

AH — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 08:04:29 +0000

Funnily enough, I'm now getting round to reading the Dilbert Future - had it for years, just not had the time (while employed) to read.
I'm left thinking, apart from what foresight by Scott Adams, why didn't I read this years ago and ditch the job for self-employment back then?
Much more satisfying now.

The best decision of my life

aroos — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 07:37:33 +0000

was to become an entrepreneur (career life). I remember it was scary first with uncertain income, two kids and a big mortage but twenty years later it seems to have worked just fine. Of course the uncertainty remains. I have lost a lot of revenue as I have not been able to convince myself that training ITIL V3 is ok and don't know yet how to replace that revenue.

During these years I have had a few periods where my smalll company has been part of a larger corporation and it has always been a pleasure to leave. I suppose those episodes were useful as one can learn a lot in a bigger corporation but I agree that the Dilbert managers are not worth enduring. It is actually amazing how close Dilbert is to real corporate life.

Aale

The Dilbert Principle

skeptic — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 23:00:25 +0000

One thing I forgot to mention in the post. Some time after I left fulltime employment I was wallowing in poverty and - hence - self-doubt. Maybe I had made a mistake to leave the security of a salaried position.

Then I read The Dilbert Principle and re-affirmed my conviction that I was on the right path. it's not a collection of comics. It is a solid book demolishing corporate culture. I recommend it to anyone.

And if that's not enough, add a dose of The Triumph of the Airheads: And the Retreat from Commonsense, especially the bit about HR departments.

Absolutely with you on this

CaryKing — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 21:45:50 +0000

Yes, being a self-employed consultant is ideal.
With a few good compatriots to work with.

I am grateful for our customers. We just don't have to work with customers we don't like.
I'm grateful for customers that are working, at their pace of course, to make significant improvements to their effectiveness.

I'm grateful for the individuals I work with. I get to pick the individuals with which I associate. They are hard-working, highly-skilled individuals.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to brand myself - and work on things that I believe are of material use to our customers. I see so many of our friends, that have not had the opportunity to work independently, severely constrained by the need to spout corporate lines they KNOW are less than truthful - and see what it does to them.

I am grateful for the opportunity to share ideas with people around the world who are, like the IT Skeptic, critical thinkers about our shared passion - making IT work better.