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Be Your Own Boss

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Recently I was asked by a friend of mine to discuss with a client of his, the moment I knew that I wanted to start my own company and not work for someone else. As hard as that question may seem to answer, for me it was rather easy. I didn't start my own business because I wanted to be rich, nope not even close. I started doing my own thing because I wanted to do things that I thought were interesting. I've done the startup thing and it was fun, and I've done the big company things, and it too had it's advantages. However, neither has been as rewarding as owning my own small agency.

With that said, that isn't the object of this post. As I sat down with my "new friend", I discovered that I had been through a lot of trials and tribulations while going out on my own, and that I owed it to those that actually ready my posts to share with them the highs and lows of such an adventure. Setting sail on your own adventure in web development can be an exciting and scary all at the same time, but what I hope to share with you over the next few posts is how I did it and how my experiences may help you. As with anything here, your mileage may vary, and I welcome hearing your comments on whether you've had the same experiences.

How Did it Start?

As I think back on how it all started, I should have been more worried about going out on my own that I was at the time. It was simple really, I was doing work that I deemed .... BORING! Yes I had a 9 to 5 type of job with plenty of benefits, worked with great people, had all kinds of flexibility, but I was bored out of my mind. It wasn't that I didn't have work to do, I had plenty of that, I just didn't have the motivation to get up in the morning and run to work. Nor did I have the energy to put in that little extra bit of work at the end of the day to make my boss sit up and sing my praises. Which that in itself was a problem. I had a boss, and I didn't really want a boss. It wasn't that the guy I worked for was bad, actually the opposite, he tried really hard to find new and engaging projects for me to work on, but ultimately the political environment of the office took hold and I was back doing the same old work that I had been doing the day before. But to be fair life really wasn't that bad. With the economy the way it is, I was pretty happy to be getting paid for what I was doing, and I really wasn't in danger of loosing my job.

So there I was, going to work every day, not really enjoying what I was doing and wishing I was doing something else and setting my own schedule. Then one day after work on my way home I was listening to talk radio and this guy came on the radio talking about his business and how it all started from a blog. I don't know why, but all of a sudden it occurred to me that I had never given blogging a real shot. As I crawled home on the freeway, I started to think about the things that I was really interested in and if I was to write about something, what would it be.

After some real thinking and putting some ideas down on paper, I created this website, however I decided to put a different twist on it than the normal blog. Which as you can probably tell from the domain name, is exactly what I did.

Be Different

One thing that I was sure I wanted to do was set myself apart for the normal blogger. Most of the blogs that I followed, were built using some standard web template, maybe modified a bit to meet their own personal style, and usually contained the same elements as all the other websites. I wanted to be different, but saying your different doesn't do much unless you can prove that you are different. So that is exactly what I am going to do. I'm going to prove that my site is different and each and every piece of content and functionality will be built by me.

My Goal

In college there are two things that you learn more than anything else. First you'll memorize your social security number and second you'll understand that you must set goals. My goal at the beginning of this journey was to build an audience that would follow me on a regular basis and hope that if there was a web project that they might remember me and ask me to bid on it. So that's what I did, and to make sure readers had confidence that I could do what I said I could do, I would prove it post after post on this very website. So that's what I did, I started building this website from scratch, using Django, and making sure those who had questions or comments saw that I addressed them here.

My First Client

After some writing and commenting on other blogs, I got an email from someone asking for assistance on whether or not to choose a custom solution, such as the one I was building, or purchase something out of the box. After some email exchanges and some friendly IM sessions, I was asked to bid on a project. You can imagine my joy as I thought that I had finally gotten my big break and was ready for the big time. I didn't know whether to write my proposal first or my resignation letter first. I'm glad I chose the proposal! After getting some help on writing a proposal (I'm sure a future post), I submitted it and about two weeks later was contacted by a project manager with a budget. Once we had all the paperwork in place and I received my deposit, I finally wrote that resignation letter. And let me tell you, it was the most liberating and tense moment of my life. No longer did I have the ability to depend on a paycheck, I would be the sole reason my family either ate or went hungry, and going hungry wasn't an option.

So that's kinda the 10,000 foot view of my story. I know it's not glamorous or anything like that, but it's the truth. I think anyone can do it, as long as you play your cards right. I wasn't in a position to throw in the towel and start working on my passion from day one. I had to work my regular job and then create my other business on the side. However I was determined to find high quality clients and make being my own boss a success. I'll be the first to tell you that I've made mistakes, and I'm sure I will continue to do so, but I won't make the same mistake twice. I've found that you can be successful being truthful and down to earth. I don't drive a big expensive car, nor do I own a huge home in the hills, but I do enjoy waking up everyday and starting up my laptop and working on a project that I find interesting. If you want to do it, be smart about it but don't just wish for it, try it and see what happens.

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