The Perfect Storm

Thinking of starting your own business? It takes courage to make that leap. This is my story and the personal circumstances that made it a difficult decision. I like to call it “the perfect storm”.

I left a great job to start out on my own in 1997. At the time, the urge to be an entrepreneur was so strong in me that I just had to start my own business. But I could not have picked a worse time:

1. I had a fantastic job. I was working at a multinational consulting organization which had given me many opportunities for growth over the past six years. I had a great boss. My co-workers were a fun, talented group of people. I was being groomed for a senior management position in the organization.
2. My wife was eight months pregnant. Our first child was only nine months old at the time (yes, my kids are ten months apart). My wife was not working and I was the sole bread winner in the family.
3.  I just purchased a house. We had to upgrade from a condo which was not big enough for a family of four. Suddenly, I was up to my eye balls in debt.
4. I just bought a new vehicle. Like the condo, my sporty car was not suitable for four people, even if two of those people were very small. We needed a baby-mobile big enough for two adults, two car seats, a double stroller, and a lot of diapers. Now I had even more debt.
5. I only had a 3-week contract. It was a verbal agreement for 15 days of work. I had no guaranteed income afterward.
6. It was the middle of summer. July and August are the worst months to find contract work because decision makers are on vacation.

My brain was telling me how ridiculous it was to start a business under these circumstances. But my heart was telling me that I had to do it. So in July 1997, I left a great job in the middle of summer for a 15-day contract, with a large mortgage, high car payments and a very pregnant wife as my motivation. I created a business plan, bought a laptop, and set up my office on the dining room table of my new home.

We all face difficult decisions in our lives. I decided to become an entrepreneur, despite what was going on in my life at the time. And it is one of the best things I have ever done.