Struggling

[dreamcatcher15]

I'm 25, I'm still in debt from school even though I dropped out of university, and I was recently fired from my job. It was a terrible job and I hated everything about it, but still not the best thing that could've happened.

I was finally saving a little bit of money and had been sitting on a few ideas (real estate, online re-selling), but now that I'm unemployed I'm seriously re-evaluating things. I've had other start-up ideas but always felt like I was barely breaking even financially and didn't have the funds to get anything off the ground. I know I'm still technically "young" but I just feel exhausted at this point. But I know I don't want to go back to school, and I know I would prefer to be my own boss.. so it's probably time to figure it out.

I haven't read the book but will probably check it out.

 

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[amp0193]

I'm 25, I'm still in debt from school even though I dropped out of university, and I was recently fired from my job. It was a terrible job and I hated everything about it, but still not the best thing that could've happened.

I was finally saving a little bit of money and had been sitting on a few ideas (real estate, online re-selling), but now that I'm unemployed I'm seriously re-evaluating things. I've had other start-up ideas but always felt like I was barely breaking even financially and didn't have the funds to get anything off the ground. I know I'm still technically "young" but I just feel exhausted at this point. But I know I don't want to go back to school, and I know I would prefer to be my own boss.. so it's probably time to figure it out.

I haven't read the book but will probably check it out.

My advice: Get a job to pay the bills. Start your business on the side. If your experience is like most, it's going to take some uncertainty and failure initially before you achieve some success. I say this especially because it doesn't sound like you have a clear plan of what your next move is.

 

[jpanarra]

My advice: Get a job to pay the bills. Start your business on the side. If your experience is like most, it's going to take some uncertainty and failure initially before you achieve some success. I say this especially because it doesn't sound like you have a clear plan of what your next move is.

I second this, applying to places is like a job, so treat it like a job. Work 8 hours a day trying to find a job and get some income to keep afloat. If you can't wait to start your own thing, after you finish 8 hours of applying. Go ahead and start your own ventures, whatever it may be, web development, making products, selling on eBay, you can find all different types of stuff here on this forum. That way you'll already have a schedule to build your own business/skills that you can stick to when you get your job.

 

[dreamcatcher15]

My advice: Get a job to pay the bills. Start your business on the side. If your experience is like most, it's going to take some uncertainty and failure initially before you achieve some success. I say this especially because it doesn't sound like you have a clear plan of what your next move is.

Yeah I'll be getting a job, but I'm moving soon (for reasons not related to my job situation) and I have more than enough saved to pay the bills in the meantime so I have some down time before I have to jump back into that.

 

[amp0193]

so I have some down time before I have to jump back into that.

So you have a limited amount of time before you have to get back to work. This is very valuable time. How are you going to use it? What action are you going to take today?

 

[dreamcatcher15]

So you have a limited amount of time before you have to get back to work. This is very valuable time. How are you going to use it? What action are you going to take today?

That's what I'm hoping to figure out. I actually have a lot of ideas but feel pulled in too many directions..

 

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[jpanarra]

a lot of ideas

Here's your first problem... pick one and move

 

[dreamcatcher15]

Here's your first problem... pick one and move

I guess I'm feeling sorry for myself because I had a glimpse for the first time of what's possible to invest in when you're actually making decent money.. But now that I'm not working for a bit I have the time but don't want to spend the money. So I'll either have to get creative or spend the next few weeks doing nothing basically.

 

[DesignerOne.]

@jpanarra is right. Having too many ideas is good! Write them down, document them. However pick a idea to execute, learn, make mistakes. If it succeeds, great! If not, you've learned a lot more than most will, and you can apply that to your next move.

 

[miked_d]

Free time? Read the first 3 chapters of the book for FREE!

http://www.themillionairefastlane.com/download.php

You can invest in yourself by reading.

 

[dreamcatcher15]

DesignerOne, good advice, thank you!

miked d, thanks I downloaded it for free on audible

 

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[Nathan Monroe]

Free time? Read the first 3 chapters of the book for FREE!

http://www.themillionairefastlane.com/download.php

You can invest in yourself by reading.

Seriously, it is a great read and you will not regret it. Get the book in anyway you can. I think in it MJ even jokes about stealing books if you have to. Maybe an idea.

 

[jfny]

I'm 25, I'm still in debt from school even though I dropped out of university, and I was recently fired from my job. It was a terrible job and I hated everything about it, but still not the best thing that could've happened.

I was finally saving a little bit of money and had been sitting on a few ideas (real estate, online re-selling), but now that I'm unemployed I'm seriously re-evaluating things. I've had other start-up ideas but always felt like I was barely breaking even financially and didn't have the funds to get anything off the ground. I know I'm still technically "young" but I just feel exhausted at this point. But I know I don't want to go back to school, and I know I would prefer to be my own boss.. so it's probably time to figure it out.

I haven't read the book but will probably check it out.

Depending on how plausible it is and how many more credits you still need, why not finish up school? You already have the debt from it, why not get the degree to make it all worth it. Why put yourself in say, 30k of debt with no degree and a shitty job, when for only 10k more you can get your degree, and get a good job that will pay more than that 10k in difference compared to the shitty job. Now that you have a decent stream of steady income you have spare money to use for other ventures. Personally, I avoided college like the plague and self-educated after high school in entrepreneurship while taking online classes and learning to code, more importantly, while managing to spare myself from student loan debt. However, I know if I did go to college, I wouldn't put myself in all that debt to not even get a degree out of it.

 

[dreamcatcher15]

Depending on how plausible it is and how many more credits you still need, why not finish up school? You already have the debt from it, why not get the degree to make it all worth it. Why put yourself in say, 30k of debt with no degree and a shitty job, when for only 10k more you can get your degree, and get a good job that will pay more than that 10k in difference compared to the shitty job. Now that you have a decent stream of steady income you have spare money to use for other ventures. Personally, I avoided college like the plague and self-educated myself after high school in entrepreneurship while taking online classes and learning to code,more importantly, while managing to spare myself from student loan debt, but I know if I did go to college, I wouldn't put myself in all that debt to not even get a degree out of it.

I'm a server, I actually make (or was making, will make again) more than the average salary of an office job for someone with an undergrad liberal arts degree. Yeah it's shitty, and I hate being treated like shit on a daily basis, but honestly after working in that environment and seeing there are other ways of making ends meet.. I really don't see the point in going back to school for a degree I don't even care about or won't even use. If I could do it all over again trust me I would, but no point dwelling on the past I'm just trying to find the best way forward at this point

 

[jpanarra]

spend the next few weeks doing nothing basically.

You say this like it's an option... purge it out of your head.

 

[domefs]

I can relate to this, because I'm going through shitty times at my job.

Problem is that high pressure isn't good all the time.

I would agree to the statement of getting a job to pay your bills first.

Feed your Fastlane Ventures with Slowlane Money and grow from there.

I will quit my job until february 2017, because I have something that requires less time and I get paid more.

It's maybe good for you to take some time (a few days) and reflect the things you did in the past and figure out what you really WANT.

 

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[Waspy]

Why put yourself in say, 30k of debt with no degree and a shitty job, when for only 10k more you can get your degree, and get a good job that will pay more than that 10k in difference compared to the shitty job. .

10k buys a lot of startup opportunities, and therefore a LOT of experience.

The university of business is cheap. Start, fail, repeat until success (learning with each failure of course!)

 

[jfny]

10k buys a lot of startup opportunities, and therefore a LOT of experience.

The university of business is cheap. Start, fail, repeat until success (learning with each failure of course!)

Yeah but if someone has 10k, and their business fails, now what? I'd rather have a good job to fall back on. I would rather have a job that pays 10k more, then if all fails, my salary will provide me another 10k to try again next year. Either way, you could save 10k again with option one, but it would take a lot longer, and it's just poor risk management.

 

[Waspy]

Yeah but if someone has 10k, and their business fails, now what?

Now they have way more experience and knowledge than any school could ever provide. Thats what.

Either way, you could save 10k again with option one, but it would take a lot longer, and it's just poor risk management.

On TheFastlaneForum telling me the slowlane is low risk.

Show me the control in that job you are falling back on. What if you get made redundant? Now what? You spent 10k, YEARS of your limited life, and oh look, you have no job. Sounds risky.

 

[jfny]

Now they have way more experience and knowledge than any school could ever provide. Thats what.

On TheFastlaneForum telling me the slowlane is low risk.

Show me the control in that job you are falling back on. What if you get made redundant? Now what? You spent 10k, YEARS of your limited life, and oh look, you have no job. Sounds risky.

Have you actually lost 10k on a fastlane attempt before and learned all the lessons that come along with it?

Because I have.

And I wish I had a better job to fall back on at the time because it would have substantially reduced the amount of time it took for me to recover from it.

But it's not the end of the world. I learned from it, and I'm way better now than I ever was then.

A better job for support wouldn't hurt before pursuing these types of ventures is all I'm saying.

 

[Waspy]

But it's not the end of the world. I learned from it, and I'm way better now than I ever was then.

Would you be better if you had spent your 10k on school and never attempted your fastlane?

And no, I have never spent 10k on a venture that didn't work. As I said in the first post, 10k buys multiple opportunities. Give the Lean Startup a read

 

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[jpanarra]

Have you actually lost 10k on a fastlane attempt before and learned all the lessons that come along with it?

Because I have.

And I wish I had a better job to fall back on at the time because it would have substantially reduced the amount of time it took for me to recover from it.

But it's not the end of the world. I learned from it, and I'm way better now than I ever was then.

Exactly the reason why I didn't quit my job to start something. I still work 9-5 for a manufacturing operation in Indianapolis while building a website development business. Make sure that you don't work with your clients while using company computers/time. I take lunch breaks and go outside of the plant to do my work, like a nearby starbucks and pound out as much as i can. I keep communications on my phone etc. I have this job cushion allowing me to grow my skills and value, My goal is to be at least 3x as much as my annual revenue and the majority of my debts paid off before i even consider leaving.

 

[Niptuck MD]

welcome to the forum; you get what you put in on this forum. Stay active and offer any help; read some good books and listen to the wisemen and legendary contributors on here.

 

[jfny]

Would you be better if you had spent your 10k on school and never attempted your fastlane?

And no, I have never spent 10k on a venture that didn't work. As I said in the first post, 10k buys multiple opportunities. Give the Lean Startup a read

No, but I would probably be better if I spent the 10k on school BEFORE attempting my fastlane. Either way you look at it, it all works out in the end so it doesn't matter too much.

Believe it or not, the first post I ever made on this forum (which was a stupid post and the answer is obvious now) someone recommended that book to me and I started reading it the next day. Best believe I'm implementing it into my latest ventures. It's a great book.

 

[dreamcatcher15]

Well this argument is irrelevant in my case, I shit you not I make more as a server than I would with the "security" of a 40K a year office job that I could get with my degree. And that's after the additional 10K.. for what really?

I was naive and oblivious while I was living in the ivory tower/intellectual bubble of university, taking out student loans without a care. Now the consequences have caught up to me and I won't be so careless with money again whether it's a useless gamble on education or anything else.

I have ideas and they will succeed.. eventually. I just need to be smart about it and am not in a great position right now. But I do appreciate any and all of the input/reply's.

 

[Andy Black]

I had a chat with forum member @nzott a little while back.

He "left" his job a few months ago and has been hustling ever since.

He's a non techie yet, straight after he created his very first Wordpress blog, he put up ads on Craigslist where he went round to help other people create their Wordpress websites.

Listen to him tell his story and what he's learnt in the past few months about "figuring it out" and "trusting the process".

Listen to what he says about engaging the market to find out what they need, versus asking people what they need.


Here's the recording of that call:

• www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/andytalks-with-nzott-about-quitting-his-job-figuring-it-out.71598

If you want to hear my story of how I got started in my current business, then here's that recording:

• www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/the-biggest-reason-websites-suck.68179

A common theme in both our stories is we set out to help people, and we just started.

Don't do nothing. Either go help someone today, or order the book, listen to those recordings, and *then* go help someone.

 

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[jfny]

Well this argument is irrelevant in my case, I shit you not I make more as a server than I would with the "security" of a 40K a year office job that I could get with my degree. And that's after the additional 10K.. for what really?

I was naive and oblivious while I was living in the ivory tower/intellectual bubble of university, taking out student loans without a care. Now the consequences have caught up to me and I won't be so careless with money again whether it's a useless gamble on education or anything else.

I have ideas and they will succeed.. eventually. I just need to be smart about it and am not in a great position right now. But I do appreciate any and all of the input/reply's.

Well, the liberal arts degree is where you really went wrong lol. Maybe see how many of your credits would be accepted towards a higher paying degree. But if you're really not feeling school at all, then maybe you really are just better off jumping right into the fastlane game. Whatever idea of yours you decide to pursue is obviously up to you, but I wish you the best of luck either way.

 

[dreamcatcher15]

Andy Black, thank you for the links, listening to the first call now

jfny, yeah let me just hand them my transcript and hope they'll transfer all my ridiculously specific credits to a completely different degree program.. I went wrong with liberal arts but honestly where I really went wrong was listening to people tell me what I "should" be doing. So no I'm not feeling school at this point but thanks for the advice