Another one of my frequent blog readers and commenters, J. Timothy King, informed his friends, family and cyberspace in general that he gave notice at his job and will be formally self-employed by Thanksgiving. After talking about parallels with recent episodes of Roswell that he was watching, he said:
"Wednesday morning, as my wife was faxing a contract I had signed as a consultant, I asked my manager to chat in the conference room. I told him that I had wanted for some time to start my own business. He knew this, though he may have forgotten or may not have realized how serious I was. I said, “I’m going into consulting, so as of November 22, I resign.”
We left the way open for me to do further work for him, under contract. But for now, I’m really on my way out. The paperwork has officially been set in motion. I am officially now self-employed. Or at least I will be giving thanks for that, come Thanksgiving, whether I want to or not. The consulting job will have me working with an old friend, a developer I met many years ago, while we were still in college. Aside from working with some good developers— I know they’re good: I’ve seen their code. This project will also allow me some flexibility to build my business, to refine the idea and prove the technology. Most importantly, it will force me to treat the job like a business. It will force me to be truly and solely self-employed.
And that’s the scary part. Fear is what actually held back Liz and Max in Roswell. That’s the only thing that could hold me back. What if I can’t find enough consulting clients to provide for my family? What if I don’t have the energy to do consulting and build my business? What if my business idea falls flat?"
The kind of fears that Tim faces as he takes his first steps on his own are unavoidable. But with planning, connecting with others, optimism, tenacity and a bit of blind faith thrown in, I know Tim will make it through. I love his parting quote, also borrowed from the diary of one of the characters from the Roswell episode:
"The episode then ends with this passage from Liz’s diary:
‘The tough thing about following your heart is what people forget to mention, that sometimes your heart takes you to places you shouldn’t be, places that are as scary as they are exciting and as dangerous as they are alluring, and sometimes your heart takes you to places that can never lead to a happy ending… And that’s not even the difficult part. The difficult part is when you follow your heart, you leave normal, you go into the unknown… And once you do, you can never go back.’
Something deep inside my gut tells me I will never work in a cube farm again.
-TimK"
I am very proud of you for making the leap Tim … as I am sure are many others who frequent this blog. We can’t wait to hear what comes of your new business!
I recently resigned from a 7 year career in the electronics industry here in London, UK. I’ve been wanting to leave for a long time now and I took the plunge. I didn’t know where I was going or what I’d like to do but escape was th eonly option. You can follow my escape that started at the beginning of June ’07 here at my blog
http://www.kevinmonk.com/blog/blogger.html
Just throwing this out there, but another way to get out there on you own for some of you guys maybe franchising. You’re in business for yourself but not by yourself.
Congrads Tim on your newly found freedom. I love to hear stories of newly found entrepreneurship being an entrepreneur myself.
Maybe Mrs. Stewart you could write a post about franchising, feel free to contact me if it’s something you’re interested in:)
Amazing that television has made is way around to being what literature was hundreds of years ago…a reflection on life rather than mere entertainment! Way to go Tim!!!!
Thanks everyone for the kind words and encouragement. Yesterday was my last day as an employee. I’m now officially self-employed. I made it through my last day as a wage slave. And it turned out my last day wasn’t as dramatic as I had thought. I feel the same as I did yesterday. Only today, I have options. I definitely plan to write more about my feelings and experiences. Thanks for the encouragement.
-TimK
Congratulations Tim and many thanks to yourself and Pamela for yet more excellent inspiration.
When I look back it was fear (of failure, my abilities and uncertainty) that held me back. The support and wise words of my wife Lindsay have finally turned the tide. I’ve not yet escaped, but my tunnel to freedom is nearing completion and my path in the open air is now clearly marked. I look forward to telling the story of my own transition in the near future.
Good luck.
This entry about Tim is really inspiring. I remember when I left my comfort of Vice President of Biotechnology company over a year ago. I was confident, but scared. My prayer was authenticity and confirmation-not success. I figured I would humbly ask God for the first and I would be responsible for the success part. Above all-I wanted the feeling that I had courage to make my passion a full-time thriving career.
I decided to trust that still-voice in my heart as I earnestly searched and confirmed the “What” in my life. I figured this powerful confirmation would guide me, I just had to take those scary steps forward and I would attract abundance.
Tim-my thoughts and prayers are with you as you walk in alignment with your life’s work.
This is awesome, inspiring, and brings back memories. My departure wasn’t as calculated (more like what Bryon is saying) but the decision to not go to another job was quite calculated. Good luck J – hope to see a follow-up post here!
I know that feeling well. My leap was not voluntary, but was prompted by others’ inability to run a business effectively, and I was downsized this past summer.
My wife and I started a fishing lure business a few years back as a side venture, and it has grown steadily over time. I am now doing it full time, as my wife finishes her degree. It is a scary and exciting thing…as all of my friends are at work today, anticipating a 4 day weekend, and I am in my workshop…at HOME!
Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Bryon
http://www.daimonlures.com
In terms of the “what if…” doubts, the fear of failure. I’m trying really hard to remember a couple things in planning the upcoming year.
You will have failures. You just need to have more successes (or more substantial successes) than failures.
Better to have tried and failed than to never have tried.
Better still though to try and succeed. Good luck to Tim and please keep us posted!