Please Critique My Current Entrepreneurial Plan!

[kyedoescyber]

Good evening everyone!

I'd first like to thank you for your time and feedback ahead of time. Please skip to the TLDR if this is a bit long. This is my first post and I am writing this before I go to sleep so I'm hoping I have some good responses when I wake up. I've completed Unscripted and I'm working on The Great Rat Race Escape currently (yes, I'm reading them out of order, planning to read The Millionaire Fastlane afterwards). I'm currently a Junior in college with a major in Business Administration. I have a couple of entry-level cybersecurity certifications currently, and I am working on a much more prestigious one that will take a good amount of time to achieve, it's called the OSCP. I have experience running a couple of small businesses in the past, and I've since stopped doing one of them in order to free up time to think of things that are more scalable. I had that realization while looking at the charts and graphs provided in The Great Rat Race Escape which I'm currently reading and am very grateful for. I'm trying to figure out the process, mindset, and acquire the knowledge I need in order to become a successful entrepreneur so I'm glad for being able to read a lot of posts so far, and I plan on continuing to do that.

TLDR: Anyways, enough backstory about me, here's the questions I currently have:

Is the ROI on getting a good paying job (say 6 figures) after investing years potentially in studying for the OSCP worth it in order to fund future entrepreneurial endeavors? Is it smart to pursue a career or is my time better spent focusing on developing a business and/or looking for opportunities?

Please give me a shove in the right direction! I know I should be trying things now. I have a few ideas, and I know I don't necessarily need much capital to get started, but I do need a job to sustain myself especially out of college. Please feel free to rip into any bad mindsets I may currently have that I can't see. I'm not sure if I sound like a money chaser, but as I was typing everything I realized I probably am currently but I'm extremely willing to work on changing that. I found these books earlier this year so it's been a big mindset shift for me and I'm still working on figuring everything out!

Thank you in advance once again.
- Kye

 

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[ji1029]

Good evening everyone!

I'd first like to thank you for your time and feedback ahead of time. Please skip to the TLDR if this is a bit long. This is my first post and I am writing this before I go to sleep so I'm hoping I have some good responses when I wake up. I've completed Unscripted and I'm working on The Great Rat Race Escape currently (yes, I'm reading them out of order, planning to read The Millionaire Fastlane afterwards). I'm currently a Junior in college with a major in Business Administration. I have a couple of entry-level cybersecurity certifications currently, and I am working on a much more prestigious one that will take a good amount of time to achieve, it's called the OSCP. I have experience running a couple of small businesses in the past, and I've since stopped doing one of them in order to free up time to think of things that are more scalable. I had that realization while looking at the charts and graphs provided in The Great Rat Race Escape which I'm currently reading and am very grateful for. I'm trying to figure out the process, mindset, and acquire the knowledge I need in order to become a successful entrepreneur so I'm glad for being able to read a lot of posts so far, and I plan on continuing to do that.

TLDR: Anyways, enough backstory about me, here's the questions I currently have:

Is the ROI on getting a good paying job (say 6 figures) after investing years potentially in studying for the OSCP worth it in order to fund future entrepreneurial endeavors? Is it smart to pursue a career or is my time better spent focusing on developing a business and/or looking for opportunities?

Please give me a shove in the right direction! I know I should be trying things now. I have a few ideas, and I know I don't necessarily need much capital to get started, but I do need a job to sustain myself especially out of college. Please feel free to rip into any bad mindsets I may currently have that I can't see. I'm not sure if I sound like a money chaser, but as I was typing everything I realized I probably am currently but I'm extremely willing to work on changing that. I found these books earlier this year so it's been a big mindset shift for me and I'm still working on figuring everything out!

Thank you in advance once again.
- Kye

Hey Kye. I think most people here would agree that having an income while working on a side hustle is ok. After all we all need to eat and have a roof over our heads while we pursue the bigger life goals. I'd say, do some solid introspection. Take one of these days, to shut the world out, and reflect. Really reflect on your path and if what you're doing everyday is getting you even an inch closer to your goals. I don't want it to sound too cheesy, but for me one day at a time, one foot in front of the other mentally has helped tremendously. Reflect, be honest with yourself and listen to the compass inside...it never lies.

 

[kyedoescyber]

Hey Kye. I think most people here would agree that having an income while working on a side hustle is ok. After all we all need to eat and have a roof over our heads while we pursue the bigger life goals. I'd say, do some solid introspection. Take one of these days, to shut the world out, and reflect. Really reflect on your path and if what you're doing everyday is getting you even an inch closer to your goals. I don't want it to sound too cheesy, but for me one day at a time, one foot in front of the other mentally has helped tremendously. Reflect, be honest with yourself and listen to the compass inside...it never lies.

I'm going to do this sometime this week for sure. This is some solid advice honestly I think I'm trying to force something to happen this instant when this journey is a one day at a time kind of thing. I appreciate the response!

 

[RicardoGrande]

I'm more of the Net Eng side of security/networking but my two cents:

OSCP is an involved cert, there's a good chance that whatever cybersec job you do get, you'll find yourself on call, working overtime, or remediating issues more often than not. If you're pining for that 6-figure job, you'll definitely be working as an operations center/call center jockey for a good few years before they let you into positions of higher responsibility and pay. Even with that pay increase, you'll probably be working much more than you think.
I transferred into a technically "easy" job with my qualifications and still get kidnapped at a moments notice to put out random fires that I never caused or asked to work with, any job you go for can do the same to you.

Any job that can help you save (I've been saving like a silent genner lol) is good, but a job that runs you into the dirt day after day shift after shift is NOT. With my first NetEng job out of school, the shifts and stress caused me to start to lose hair, and I was only 22/23 at the time with a clean diet and good sleep habits.
Choose carefully, keep the end in mind, and protect your TIME and ENERGY.

You mentioned you've already run a few small businesses already, is there anything stopping you from dropping out and running one to pay the bills that you can scale, and studying all this yourself on a platform like pluralsight or cybrary.it?

 

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[jdm667]

Good evening everyone!

I'd first like to thank you for your time and feedback ahead of time. Please skip to the TLDR if this is a bit long. This is my first post and I am writing this before I go to sleep so I'm hoping I have some good responses when I wake up. I've completed Unscripted and I'm working on The Great Rat Race Escape currently (yes, I'm reading them out of order, planning to read The Millionaire Fastlane afterwards). I'm currently a Junior in college with a major in Business Administration. I have a couple of entry-level cybersecurity certifications currently, and I am working on a much more prestigious one that will take a good amount of time to achieve, it's called the OSCP. I have experience running a couple of small businesses in the past, and I've since stopped doing one of them in order to free up time to think of things that are more scalable. I had that realization while looking at the charts and graphs provided in The Great Rat Race Escape which I'm currently reading and am very grateful for. I'm trying to figure out the process, mindset, and acquire the knowledge I need in order to become a successful entrepreneur so I'm glad for being able to read a lot of posts so far, and I plan on continuing to do that.

TLDR: Anyways, enough backstory about me, here's the questions I currently have:

Is the ROI on getting a good paying job (say 6 figures) after investing years potentially in studying for the OSCP worth it in order to fund future entrepreneurial endeavors? Is it smart to pursue a career or is my time better spent focusing on developing a business and/or looking for opportunities?

Please give me a shove in the right direction! I know I should be trying things now. I have a few ideas, and I know I don't necessarily need much capital to get started, but I do need a job to sustain myself especially out of college. Please feel free to rip into any bad mindsets I may currently have that I can't see. I'm not sure if I sound like a money chaser, but as I was typing everything I realized I probably am currently but I'm extremely willing to work on changing that. I found these books earlier this year so it's been a big mindset shift for me and I'm still working on figuring everything out!

Thank you in advance once again.
- Kye

Do you know what business you want to start? Getting a job in an industry you are interested in can help you to spot needs for a business idea (regardless of how much the job pays).

Also, how much capital do you need to start your business? $1k, $10k, $100k? If you keep expenses low, you can save up a small amount quickly. If you need lots of capital, a high paying job might be a good idea.

If your business needs lots of your time but little capital, a less demanding job would work best.

 

[kyedoescyber]

I'm more of the Net Eng side of security/networking but my two cents:

OSCP is an involved cert, there's a good chance that whatever cybersec job you do get, you'll find yourself on call, working overtime, or remediating issues more often than not. If you're pining for that 6-figure job, you'll definitely be working as an operations center/call center jockey for a good few years before they let you into positions of higher responsibility and pay. Even with that pay increase, you'll probably be working much more than you think.
I transferred into a technically "easy" job with my qualifications and still get kidnapped at a moments notice to put out random fires that I never caused or asked to work with, any job you go for can do the same to you.

Any job that can help you save (I've been saving like a silent genner lol) is good, but a job that runs you into the dirt day after day shift after shift is NOT. With my first NetEng job out of school, the shifts and stress caused me to start to lose hair, and I was only 22/23 at the time with a clean diet and good sleep habits.
Choose carefully, keep the end in mind, and protect your TIME and ENERGY.

You mentioned you've already run a few small businesses already, is there anything stopping you from dropping out and running one to pay the bills that you can scale, and studying all this yourself on a platform like pluralsight or cybrary.it?

I appreciate the response! This is definitely something I considered, which is why although I want to pursue cybersecurity, I'm not sure if it's my actual purpose or not, because it would ideally be tied to an entrepreneurial endeavor that doesn't necessarily relate to information security. I'm not studying cybersecurity in college, I'm doing that on my own time after classes (so many free resources I'm utilizing, and books). I also do have a job currently which is remote and extremely flexible, and I am left with a lot of freetime I don't want to waste, much of which is going towards this forum and OSCP studying currently.

For further insight, my college is paid for and I've signed a lease already for senior year so it wouldn't make sense to not finish college with around a year left. The businesses I had were selling items on Ebay (I've since sold out all of them, they were limited edition items I had bought in bulk years before), selling candy in highschool (I don't plan on selling candy again, but I did get experience with supplying demand and solving problems), and I was cutting hair but I realized that it was sort of futile and my efforts would be better spent learning more valuable skills. I also realized I'm not much of a barber and although it would've been scalable now that I think of it, I think I'd rather do something scalable in IT or security if possible. I'm going to look into that more, actually. The more I type and read this forum the more ideas I get!

But the problem now is that, as you mentioned, it would sort of be an uphill battle with finally obtaining the cert which I would love to do, but to be sorta forced in a position where a majority of my time is spent grinding up the ranks and working for a company. I wouldn't mind the grind of working on something on the side along with that, but it was sort of raising the question on if most (or my) potential entrepreneurial journey is better spent getting that high paying job first for stability and to have capital to do things or not. Are most entrepreneurs able to be successful growing their business on a minimum wage job or is the effort for a better one worth those years, if not only to mitigate the risks of potential failures?

 

[kyedoescyber]

Do you know what business you want to start? Getting a job in an industry you are interested in can help you to spot needs for a business idea (regardless of how much the job pays).

Also, how much capital do you need to start your business? $1k, $10k, $100k? If you keep expenses low, you can save up a small amount quickly. If you need lots of capital, a high paying job might be a good idea.

If your business needs lots of your time but little capital, a less demanding job would work best.

I really appreciate the response. This got me to realize I don't even really have a concrete plan yet which is probably more of a concern than anything else. I'm still sort of brainstorming. There are a few ideas I have but I'm going to get a whiteboard this week and write everything out nice and neatly and start thinking more and actually do the math, calculate the time it would take to do everything, value I could create, following MJ's commandments, the risks involved and etc.

Thanks for the insight, it's actually really useful because I don't know how I missed something so obvious hahaha. Thank you jdm667!!

 

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[RicardoGrande]

But the problem now is that, as you mentioned, it would sort of be an uphill battle with finally obtaining the cert which I would love to do, but to be sorta forced in a position where a majority of my time is spent grinding up the ranks and working for a company. I wouldn't mind the grind of working on something on the side along with that, but it was sort of raising the question on if most (or my) potential entrepreneurial journey is better spent getting that high paying job first for stability and to have capital to do things or not. Are most entrepreneurs able to be successful growing their business on a minimum wage job or is the effort for a better one worth those years, if not only to mitigate the risks of potential failures?

Others here will really focus in on the budget or you not having an idea yet, I just want you to focus on the beginning sentence, the "grind" and "working for a company". I worked my @ss off to get my certs, got the job, and was basically sent straight into hell, I literally had my first FTE 40 minutes into my first 12 hour shift at my first big-boy job because I listened to the script and expected to just "work and figure it out".

People say "enjoy the grind" but depending on your commute and the stresses of your job, you may dry up sooner than you expect. I hit the ground running when I started, waking up 5 hours before work to try and learn python to code an app, but after just a week or two all of my energy was drained out of me like blood from a slaughtered pig and I turned over into survival mode. I basically stayed there until I tried to create a dropshipping business, it didn't entirely work so I just quit that job and looked for another. I clearly remember going for night classes in the dead of winter and feeling the darkest, most depressed thoughts of my life. I realized that on a workday, I only had about 20 minutes when I got home from work to myself, and the rest went to the job, commuting, business, and night school.

By playing it smart and seeking a well-paying job, even if it isn't cybersecurity (I see jokes of people get into 70k/yr starting project management jobs who don't do anything, check em out), you can save yourself a lot of heartache.
If you TRULY love cybersecurity, dive in, but don't expect it to be roses, with the way most operations work, expect a torrential flood of taco-bell diarrhea being poured down all of your face-holes for up to 12 or more hours a day.

Again, with whatever idea you go with or savings amount you set, best of luck, don't let the vampires suck you dry.

 

[kyedoescyber]

Others here will really focus in on the budget or you not having an idea yet, I just want you to focus on the beginning sentence, the "grind" and "working for a company". I worked my @ss off to get my certs, got the job, and was basically sent straight into hell, I literally had my first FTE 40 minutes into my first 12 hour shift at my first big-boy job because I listened to the script and expected to just "work and figure it out".

People say "enjoy the grind" but depending on your commute and the stresses of your job, you may dry up sooner than you expect. I hit the ground running when I started, waking up 5 hours before work to try and learn python to code an app, but after just a week or two all of my energy was drained out of me like blood from a slaughtered pig and I turned over into survival mode. I basically stayed there until I tried to create a dropshipping business, it didn't entirely work so I just quit that job and looked for another. I clearly remember going for night classes in the dead of winter and feeling the darkest, most depressed thoughts of my life. I realized that on a workday, I only had about 20 minutes when I got home from work to myself, and the rest went to the job, commuting, business, and night school.

By playing it smart and seeking a well-paying job, even if it isn't cybersecurity (I see jokes of people get into 70k/yr starting project management jobs who don't do anything, check em out), you can save yourself a lot of heartache.
If you TRULY love cybersecurity, dive in, but don't expect it to be roses, with the way most operations work, expect a torrential flood of taco-bell diarrhea being poured down all of your face-holes for up to 12 or more hours a day.

Again, with whatever idea you go with or savings amount you set, best of luck, don't let the vampires suck you dry.

Okay this was essentially exactly the post I was looking for honestly. Do you mind telling me the certs and position you were holding? Also can I buy you a coffee or compensate you for your answer in some way, this was very useful.

I'm definitely going to take some time off making another post and spend the next few weeks or months coming up with a tangible plan of action and re-evaluating my current goals. I'm not going to stop studying for OSCP but I'll definitely be looking at other potential options, and having an actual plan and maybe even move into testing and executing those plans after I come up with them and seeing the results I get.

Thanks RicardoGrande I definitely needed this one.

 

[Ed Schimmel]

Maybe something that might help you over time. I always try to do something that helps me in at least two areas.

I am a software engineer by profession and have been working on a side project for a few years. Even if this project fails, in the sense that it won't give me income, I have learned from it. I recently switched jobs and my experience building the application helped a lot with that.

I also make digital art, but I don't really find the time. So I decided to look into NFT's and make a collection with one image for every day of the year. This keeps me busy making art and increase my portfolio. If the NFTs sell, perfect. If not, I can make a booklet out of it, or sell them differently.

In short, I always try to have a backup plan for the time that I spend on a task.

 

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[Lyinx]

some advice that I got from the random internet years ago, "Where do you want to be in 40 years?"

Think about it deeply... do you want a million dollars? Why? to go to Europe and backpack? or so that you can buy the house of your dreams?

Once you figure out your goal (to backpack europe) then you can ask yourself, do I really need a million dollars to do that? is there a way to bootstrap it? Work my way from place to place? Etc..

Most often, we build our own cages and think other folks built it around us.

 

[kyedoescyber]

Maybe something that might help you over time. I always try to do something that helps me in at least two areas.

I am a software engineer by profession and have been working on a side project for a few years. Even if this project fails, in the sense that it won't give me income, I have learned from it. I recently switched jobs and my experience building the application helped a lot with that.

I also make digital art, but I don't really find the time. So I decided to look into NFT's and make a collection with one image for every day of the year. This keeps me busy making art and increase my portfolio. If the NFTs sell, perfect. If not, I can make a booklet out of it, or sell them differently.

In short, I always try to have a backup plan for the time that I spend on a task.

This is a really great strategy and an excellent point. Thank you Ed Schimmel!

 

[kyedoescyber]

some advice that I got from the random internet years ago, "Where do you want to be in 40 years?"

Think about it deeply... do you want a million dollars? Why? to go to Europe and backpack? or so that you can buy the house of your dreams?

Once you figure out your goal (to backpack europe) then you can ask yourself, do I really need a million dollars to do that? is there a way to bootstrap it? Work my way from place to place? Etc..

Most often, we build our own cages and think other folks built it around us.

I'm noticing a pattern with people's responses and some of the chapters in MJ's book. I swear I'm going to get a whiteboard and write all this down either tomorrow or Saturday and my next post will be much more concrete and tangible. I will make more explicit goals in what not. Thank you Lyinx!

 

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[marcuslim]

Good evening everyone!

I'd first like to thank you for your time and feedback ahead of time. Please skip to the TLDR if this is a bit long. This is my first post and I am writing this before I go to sleep so I'm hoping I have some good responses when I wake up. I've completed Unscripted and I'm working on The Great Rat Race Escape currently (yes, I'm reading them out of order, planning to read The Millionaire Fastlane afterwards). I'm currently a Junior in college with a major in Business Administration. I have a couple of entry-level cybersecurity certifications currently, and I am working on a much more prestigious one that will take a good amount of time to achieve, it's called the OSCP. I have experience running a couple of small businesses in the past, and I've since stopped doing one of them in order to free up time to think of things that are more scalable. I had that realization while looking at the charts and graphs provided in The Great Rat Race Escape which I'm currently reading and am very grateful for. I'm trying to figure out the process, mindset, and acquire the knowledge I need in order to become a successful entrepreneur so I'm glad for being able to read a lot of posts so far, and I plan on continuing to do that.

TLDR: Anyways, enough backstory about me, here's the questions I currently have:

Is the ROI on getting a good paying job (say 6 figures) after investing years potentially in studying for the OSCP worth it in order to fund future entrepreneurial endeavors? Is it smart to pursue a career or is my time better spent focusing on developing a business and/or looking for opportunities?

Please give me a shove in the right direction! I know I should be trying things now. I have a few ideas, and I know I don't necessarily need much capital to get started, but I do need a job to sustain myself especially out of college. Please feel free to rip into any bad mindsets I may currently have that I can't see. I'm not sure if I sound like a money chaser, but as I was typing everything I realized I probably am currently but I'm extremely willing to work on changing that. I found these books earlier this year so it's been a big mindset shift for me and I'm still working on figuring everything out!

Thank you in advance once again.
- Kye

It is always a good idea to have income coming in while you are building on your exit plan. So ideally you can get a job that does not demand too much of your time, so frees you up to pursue these side hustles that can eventually replace your day job. The good thing is that you are still young so time is on your side, so don't waste it!

 

[kyedoescyber]

It is always a good idea to have income coming in while you are building on your exit plan. So ideally you can get a job that does not demand too much of your time, so frees you up to pursue these side hustles that can eventually replace your day job. The good thing is that you are still young so time is on your side, so don't waste it!

Thank you my man. Yes I am 21 and ready to get to work. I appreciate your wisdom.