“How Are You Going to Survive?”
My Favorite Response
“How are you going to get out of bed tomorrow?”
For many people, whether they are friends or family, with intentions good or bad, it’s difficult to understand why someone would forego the comfortable life afforded by a consistent paycheck.
Stability, social validation, and a paycheck for showing up on time? How can you beat that?
After a few years of doing this dance, I was able to learn how to cut through any reservations I had about making my business my sole focus.
Here’s What Worked For Me:
I embraced it.
I recently had the thought that leaving a six-figure salary to bet on myself was extremely risky.
I thought, “Maybe I should stay in this job just in case anything goes wrong; until the business has a solid foundation to stand on.”
Then it hit me – whether the business starts tomorrow or in three years, there will be risk. Risk in the economy, risk in our decisions, and risk to my financial health.
This frame helped me realize that the bigger risk came from staying unhappy in my current occupation: pushing condom ads to dudes with ED.
You’re only 25 and responsible for absolutely nothing once. Might as well embrace it. Besides, what’s the worst that can happen? It doesn’t work and you get to start over in a year? Sign me up.
Know That There’s Money Everywhere
It takes money to start a business, and if you’re anything like me, you’re probably in your 20’s, thousands of dollars in student loan debt, and making just enough money to live comfortably.
So where does the money come from?
With an average credit score and an hour of free time, anyone can find at least $30K of low interest credit or personal loans. $30K is more than enough to start any business and can easily be paid off by the business or a 9-5 job over the course of a few years.
If you’re about to take the leap and lacking the money to buy materials, open a storefront, or do some advertising, good debt is everywhere.
My best advice: If you’re going to do this thing, you might as well do it right. Bring on the debt!
Tell Everyone, People Want to Help
In the famous words of Stepbrothers’ Dale Dobak, “It’s all about who ya know.”
The guy was right. When you risk it all, people respect it. More importantly, they’ll do whatever they can to help.
If I’ve learned anything over the past few years, it’s that the world has a weird way of bringing the right people into your life at just the right time.
Leap and The Net Will Appear
Whatever your dream – opening a coffee shop, doing makeup tutorials on YouTube, creating an OnlyFans for lonely old ladies – don’t let it become just a dream. The world was built by people that figured out “how to survive.”
Leave a Reply