Possibly getting laid off...thinking of going into business for myself. Any tips?

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Quote from mothernature : Daycare on one income makes no sense for several reasons: (1) you can interview and job hunt with her at home. Schedule phone interviews, search for jobs, etc during her naps. If you live near family, drop her off at a willing family members home during your in person interview.

Nearest family is over 1,000 miles away. And technically, it would still be on two incomes as I'd be on severance. We said we'd "reevaluate" if I'm still without a job when my severance dries up.

Quote from mothernature : (2) You can work on your start up with her home. You set a schedule with her and work within the schedule.

I must be a horrible parent. I find it very difficult to get much productive stuff done during her 90 minute nap. My wife always says "job hunting is a full time job". Not sure 90 minutes per day will suffice.

Quote from mothernature : (3) Your daughter is better at home than daycare. Social interaction yes but teaching no. That is not the job of daycare. That is school. My son stayed home until 2nd grade. He tested above average and his maturity is above his classmates. There are tons of studies that show kids who stay home fare better than those in daycare; it is the one on one with the parent (s). I see it with my sons friends who are forced into after school.

In some regards, it IS the job of the daycare...they have a curriculum that is tops in the country (yes, even as an infant/toddler). At 2 1/2, she's already counting to 20, reciting the entire alphabet, carries on conversations (not just babble or random words). Some of that might be genetics, some of it might be her upbringing at home, but...

Quote from mothernature : Have you stockpiled? Are you prepared to take care of your daughters needs for at least a year should you not secure employment? If not, I would take the money from daycare and move it towards preparing for long term unemployment. The last thing you want to find is both of you unemployed and kicking yourself for paying for that daycare. If you think it can't happen, think again. I've seen it over and over in this economy. You've been given a generous package and notice. Most were not given these gifts when they lost their jobs.

By the time my severance runs out, I'd have another six months of pay saved up...so yes, I should be good through the end of 2013...and that's assuming I find no part-time work or any other method of income between now and then.

Quote from Brian1 : As a long-time, dyed-in-the-wool entrepreneur I applaud your consideration of becoming one yourself. It takes courage to make that step and I admire you're considering making that step. First and foremost, have you written a business plan? A business plan will show you many things you didn't and couldn't know before you wrote the plan as well as help you gain much better advice from others. Second, go see a counselor at SCORE [score.org]. You can get free advice from fellow and former entrepreneurs who volunteer their time to help others who want to become entrepreneurs such as yourself. They can help you develop a business plan as well as review it and strengthen it once its written. You can gain some very valuable information from them. Third, now - in a down economy - is the very best time to start a business because everything you need to start it costs less. Becoming a successful entrepreneur requires a completely different mindset than that of an employee. There are many potential pitfalls, much more responsibility, much more risk . . . but, all of that is balanced with the potential for much more reward. Any questions in particular?

Brian,

Thanks for your reply -- I have a feeling you / your feedback will be a great resource.

First, I haven't written a business plan yet. My first question for you would have been: "What's the first step?". Now I know. Not sure what all goes into a "business plan" (if there is a strict format), but I guess that's step 1.

Second, I'll check out the website -- thanks for pointing me in that direction.

"There are many potential pitfalls, much more responsibility, much more risk..."

Therein lies a bit of hesitancy. I've never gone into business for myself before (naturally). I've worked for this company almost since I graduated from college, so I've had a great career infrastructure supporting me almost my entire professional life. It's hard to ponder how one can live (work successfully) without that.

Other questions would be best way to market/promote your business? How to grow it? How you make sure the investments you make won't just be money flushed down the drain?

I definitely need to start with "Step 1", though. I'll try to get started on that this weekend.

Theedge, my family lives 1,000 miles away. Sounds like you need to be honest to yourself and maybe this will make you rethink about that second child. No offense meant but I am pointing out what you are indirectly saying .

Quote from mothernature : Theedge, my family lives 1,000 miles away. Sounds like you need to be honest to yourself and maybe this will make you rethink about that second child. No offense meant but I am pointing out what you are indirectly saying .

That and the whole keeping your kid in childcare should be a no brainier. If you are unemployed you don't have an extra $1000/month t0 throw away like that! If unemployed you have to figure on it potentially being long term so you might really need the money at some point.

Quote from mothernature : Theedge, my family lives 1,000 miles away. Sounds like you need to be honest to yourself and maybe this will make you rethink about that second child. No offense meant but I am pointing out what you are indirectly saying .

Yeah, my wife and I both agree that until I find something, our daughter will be an only child.

We have pondered moving "back home" eventually as I know my parents and in-laws would love to be closer to their granddaughter...and I might have a career opportunity with the university I went to. It just needs to materialize. Even then, though, we'd have to find something for my wife.

just to clarify, your wife, despite being in the same company that is laying off employees such as yourself, is expected to keep her job in the future?

Quote from slapshot136 : just to clarify, your wife, despite being in the same company that is laying off employees such as yourself, is expected to keep her job in the future?

Correct. She's in a totally different division of the company.

My husband and I have been self-employed for 25 years, basically our whole working careers. There's nothing quite like that feeling when the economy goes in the crapper and suddenly the work isn't pouring in like it used to. We got used to living a certain way. At least you will have your wife's paycheck, and I'm assuming she will cover you under her health insurance. We are insurance poor, it never ends when your self-employed. I'm glad when times were high we saved, saved, saved and paid all our debt down. We're not digging through dumpsters yet. Good luck with your venture.

Only clicked this thread to see the "Probably getting laid..."

disappointed. Carry on.

Quote from dzap : Only clicked this thread to see the "Probably getting laid..." disappointed. Carry on.

me too

Quote from TheEdge : "There are many potential pitfalls, much more responsibility, much more risk..." Therein lies a bit of hesitancy. I've never gone into business for myself before (naturally). I've worked for this company almost since I graduated from college, so I've had a great career infrastructure supporting me almost my entire professional life. It's hard to ponder how one can live (work successfully) without that.

It's completely understandable that you are perplexed as to how some can thrive without the "structure" some get from being an employee. Don't let this worry or concern you. It's just like anything else: you'll learn, you'll adapt, and, before long, it will become natural to you. And, after years of being an entrepreneur, you'll think back to how you used to look at the world and realize that it's completely different than your old way of thinking - a huge paradigm shift. It'll be gradual, so you won't notice it as much along the way. But, down the road, you'll realize just how big of a paradigm shift you're having and will continue to have.

Quote from TheEdge : Other questions would be best way to market/promote your business? How to grow it? How you make sure the investments you make won't just be money flushed down the drain? I definitely need to start with "Step 1", though. I'll try to get started on that this weekend.

How's your business plan going? Two fantastic sources for step-by-step guidance on how to write a business plan are the guys over at SCORE and the book Writing Winning Business Plans: How to Prepare a Business Plan that Investors Will Want to Read and Invest In [amazon.com] by Garrett Sutton [amazon.com]. This book is a very easy-to-understand, simply written, but extremely thorough and effective guide on how to write a successful business plan. I'd get this book even if you do go visit with a counselor over at SCORE - it's that good.

As far as how to market and grow your business, I can't help you with specifics on that yet until you know exactly what your business will be. Again, as you said, your first step is to write your business plan. So much information will be garnered from that plan and so much will be learned from it as well. It will answer many of your questions you have now and will have in the future.

As far as how to make sure your (and potentially others') money is "flushed down the drain", you guessed it, your business plan will be the best thing you can do to help guard against this. Here's why: Many, many business-owners-to-be don't write a business plan. They come up with how much money they need to start their business in their head or maybe on a sheet of paper. They figure out how much they'll need in upstart capital to open the doors and, once they've got that amount of money, they think they're ready to go. All they've got to do is open the doors and customers will start coming and all will be well. Well, it almost never works like that. Just because the doors are open doesn't mean people will come. We have to do more than just open the doors and it takes more time than just a few days or weeks for our customer base to grow to the point that the income can support our expenses, much less make a profit. Right here is where many new business owners fail. They fail because they didn't figure out how much money they'd need to not only open the doors, but to keep the doors open even if no customers walk through the door for 6 months, or even if they don't turn a profit for 2 years. This is exactly why a business plan is so vitally important. Because it will show you just how much (reasonably speaking - it won't be to the penny, but you'll have a far better idea than if you didn't write the business plan at all) it will cost to not only open your doors, but to keep your doors open for 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 5 years, and beyond. It will show you all (again, reasonably speaking) of the expenses you might not have thought of otherwise that would have been painful surprises. It will force you run different what-if scenarios with regards to how much income your business takes in at different stages of its life. Ultimately, it will help you become prepared - and that is a huge key to being successful in business.

Please don't let all of this overwhelm you. It's not as challenging as it may seem. Just take it step-by-step. Yes, it involves more work (upfront, but hopefully this will decrease dramatically over time if you wish for it to - that's one of the blessings a business can offer you: as your money increases, your work load can decrease). Yes, it takes more courage. Yes, it involves more risk. But . . . it also can reward you with a level of time, money, options, and freedom you can never find from a job.

Quote from Brian1 : How's your business plan going?

To be brutally honest, I didn't have a chance to start this weekend. Did other job hunting, LinkedIn networking/updating. I applied for a job via LinkedIn that is a GM position that doesn't pay a ton, but seems like it'd be a strong career move -- and it was started by somebody who wanted to go into business for himself. It's got a solid groundwork and is profitable in New York and Atlanta. So it'd perhaps "ease the transition". No, I wouldn't be in business for myself, but it would be a business in its infancy that I would be part of the "building process" and could learn a lot along the way and gain a ton of valuable career experience.

Sunday I barely had a moment for myself. Worked on my "day off" from the moment I got home from church until I went to bed at about 1 AM Monday. One more week of "really busy", then I have a week off before one more week of "really busy" and then I'll have nearly a month with little to nothing to do for my job. A perfect time to network/job hunt/work up the business plan.

I might not post much over the next few days...but when I do have time, I'll start at square 1 using the site you recommended.

In the meantime, thanks for all of your feedback and support.

OP may want to change title.... if you click on "Forums" and this thread is the first one in the Finance forum, it says "Possibly getting laid...."