The Journey Begins
Building something of my own after leaving 15 years of a 9 to 5.
Well, here we go. Welcome to my experiment. That’s what I am calling this thing because I once heard it’s impossible to be afraid and curious at the same time…but more on that later.
A Little Background Info
First, who the heck am I and what is this so called “experiment”? My name is Aaron and I am a 30 something follower of Christ, husband, engineer, and now business owner.
Up to this point, I have spent my working life employed by both large and small companies, developing innovative products for their customers. It has been challenging and rewarding work that has provided me with opportunities to be creative and see how value is brought to the marketplace.
I love to spend my free time working with my hands or seeing how fast I can take a corner on two wheels with way too much horsepower between my legs. And to do either of those with family and friends and a good instrumental metal band playing in the background is my definition of paradise.
Onto the Experiment
The experiment is my attempt at building a business to replace my old W2 job that I recently left.
I started a company focused on helping businesses develop new products and services by systematizing this process to reduce risk and shorten time to market. Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with the details of any of that here.
I plan to use this space to chronicle my endeavor and share some of my thoughts, motivations, and challenges along the way.
I will also talk about personal finance and how having some discipline in this area has helped provide enough margin to build something from scratch.
I hope that sharing this journey publicly gives me the chance to build a community of those passionate about entrepreneurship (and personal finance) and maybe even convince someone else they have what it takes to go out on their own.
While my career has been everything I could have ever asked for, I have come to realize it will never provide me with the lifestyle I want. This has nothing to do with money or opportunity but rather time and freedom.
I have no desire to stop working anytime soon but I want to design a life that has much more flexibility when it comes to choosing how I spend my time.
I’ve got some big plans for the future and spending 40-50 hours a week in an office is getting in the way.
Straying the Course
Ok, now back to the part about being afraid and curious.
What’s there to be afraid of, you might ask? Well to start off, I haven’t written anything to be read by someone else since college so I hope you will forgive me for the run-on sentences and grammatical mistakes.
Second, I am having to take a chance…bet on myself…give it the old college try…or whatever phrase I used to convinced myself to take the leap and chase a goal I have had for quite some time.
This is what I mean by Stray the Course.
This is a chance to move away from the established, well-worn path that has become so familiar to me over the last 15 years.
I have no doubt that this will be a difficult and trying time as I work though the challenges of building something of my own, but I know that my older self would look back with regret if I didn’t go for it.
Most of us have been raised to be employees. There is nothing wrong with this, but we should realize the role of “employee” brings a false sense of security and comfort.
The consistency of a paycheck is often enough to keep people from trying something on their own, even if the entrepreneurial itch is there.
Consistency is not security though.
An employee has the highest risk of losing all their income because it comes from a single source.
Entrepreneurs on the other hand have multiple sources of income through a diversified customer base, effectively reducing the risk of going to zero income as a result of a single event.
I am absolutely guilty of allowing a consistent paycheck to provide an excuse for my lack of action towards my goal.
I have been blessed with stable and advancing employment since I graduated college so the thought of leaving that all behind for something new and unknown is daunting but at the same time, I couldn’t be more excited!
So, are you ready to Stray the Course? I am!
Thanks for taking the time to be on this journey with me!
-Aaron