Home > Startups > Quit your job today?

Quit your job today?

April 27, 2009

Steve Sammartino from the Startup Blog suggests you should quit your job today if you are working for a salary and have no equity. Why? He suggests, ‘You are living someone else’s dream!’ More interesting was his explanation,

“I had jobs I didn’t like - high paying ones, to buy things I didn’t need, to impress people I didn’t care for. It’s a pointless treadmill which the government encourages to maximise consumption, generate higher tax rates and PAY deductions and enforce control through a passive education process which says consumption equals success. We must remove this idea of the power structure from our minds and remind ourselves that real wealth is defined by the cool stuff we are doing, rather than the stuff we buy.”

Written by Alexander Muse · Filed Under Startups ·

Comments »

It took me a few go arounds before I realized this same basic concept. I was killing myself to make someone else a success. Now I'm killing myself for me and couldn't be happier… but maybe a little poorer.

Comment by Scott Cover — April 27, 2009 @ 8:58 pm

1. This only works on a small amount of individuals. If everyone quit their job to work for themselves instead of working for "the man", then we'd have no little soldiers on the field getting things done. In essence, what he's saying here is "I'm too good to work for a salary and no equity… but not everyone else. I need them to work for me."

2. If the government needs wage slaves to continue this system, do you really think they'll let too many people break the mold? No, they'll find new inspiring ways to tax the entrepreneurs, to remove the entrepreneurial spirit, if too much of it means the loss of control. The government needs this system of conspicuous consumption to keep the economy going and keep the taxes flowing.

3. Not everyone wants the struggle of running their own business. We can't have all leaders or all followers - we need a healthy mix of the two.

Question: What is the difference if I'm still doing cool stuff? If wealth is defined by "the cool stuff we [do], rather than the stuff we buy", why have the hassle of running the business unless you think running the business is "doing cool stuff"? I'm sure his language fits for a group of startup-based entrepreneurs, but it doesn't fit America or humanity as a whole.

Comment by AxiomThree — April 27, 2009 @ 9:37 pm

Not everyone has the benefit of working for themselves and not everyone's priorities are the same. That being said, most "knowledge workers" in the developed world could probably work for themselves if they really wanted to.

On top of what AxiomThree said, I also think it's ok to work for others when:

1. You're learning. The concept of serving an apprenticeship is an age old one that's worked well for many fields. Sure, it's one thing to jump straight in and make all your own mistakes, but I think it's perfectly ok to learn as much as you can from those better than you and do it while getting paid. Even today, you'll see startup founders proudly displaying their apprenticeship as "ex-Googlers" or "ex-Pivots" (Pivotal Labs) to send a signal of quality.

2. You're building up capital. Most startup ventures fail, which usually translates to the founders not earning much. After a few failed startups, where do you go to refuel your capital? This doesn't mean you're working on your own projects on someone else's dime. It means pimping out your skills for a while so you can live to fight another day on your own startup.

Comment by Chris Lee — April 27, 2009 @ 10:39 pm

I couldn't agree more. But, it's not for everyone. Some are wired to be the 'worker bees'. Some are wired where they can't possibly do the corporate gig no matter how much it pays.

The comments all have elements of truth: timing is everything, being prepared, and worker bees are needed for ventures to succeed.

> why have the hassle of running the business unless you think running the business is "doing cool stuff"?
The idea is you do the cool stuff. Some grunt work comes w/ it, but don't run a business you can't fuel on internal passion. There are many days that's all that's keeping it moving fwd.

Comment by BenGillis — April 28, 2009 @ 9:00 am

sometimes is not about being a "worker bee" or be a mass media consumer, sometimes you just have to stick to your job because you are the only income in your family and you have debts and you live from payroll to payroll, I did quite before my jobs following my dreams and believe me it is a roller coaster, with a great prize but if you have small kids and not enough income to build an emergency fund, is not as easier as it sounds

Comment by william — April 29, 2009 @ 2:44 pm

Hi William, 'worker bee' is not meant to be in any way to be a put-down. I actually erased a line in my original reply (to shorten it) how 'worker bees' are critical to success and rarely treated fairly. Family is definitely more important and there are many in the workforce who make sacrifices wrt career for that noble cause. Enjoy the 'small kids' years, they do not last and the workforce has nothing to offer as rewarding as children. ;-) Also, timing is everything. Opportunity will present itself, so debt mgmnt, staying in shape (of all kinds, personal health to family and more) is the thing to do while enjoying these years.

Comment by BenGillis — April 29, 2009 @ 4:17 pm

I always saw this as being less about literally quitting your job and more about taking full control of your time, money and career.

That means being fully aware and owning the following:
*Your strengths - what you do well and how you're an asset to your company or department
*Your weaknesses - what you do not do well. where you need to grow, where you are a liability to your company or department
*Your trajectory - what you want to do? Do you want to grow in your position? How much time do you anticipate being in your role?

It's no surprise that most of these questions frequently show up in job interviews. If you can answer them well it is clear that you're not just in your job for the paycheck.

Comment by Shannon Barrett — April 30, 2009 @ 7:23 pm

well said.
And, it's not only the individual, but how all of the above synergize in a group.

I left Microsoft Sep '08 to reopen the doors to my shop. My former partners are not able to rejoin for various financial/health/family reasons. Therefore, I'm reassessing these w/ myself again.

Why again? Because, w/ my partners we blended differently than I will with a future team. All of the above w/ each of us complimented/aligned based on the total team's strengths/weaknesses/traj. For example, we were all 'multi-hat' roles, I did sales and lead hands-on tech work. So, today I'm at a crossroads (after pushing the IP ball as far as a soloist can)…go biz d'ment or stay hands-on technical? The above is where it starts (contrary to some using "skills"/"competencies", "will invest", "has connections", etc.)

Comment by BenGillis — April 30, 2009 @ 7:47 pm

This does not seem to be a very responsible post. In fact it seems to be the post of a person who has more slogan than thought. Many, if not most, of us have jobs that we don't like but must maintain the self discipline to go to work every day because we also have responsibilities.
We go to work everyday, at the office, digging ditches, whatever, giving good value to our employer for his dollar because it is the right thing to do. Then we come home, do our due dilligence with the familiy, then work late into the evening on our business. We give over our weekends to building the business. We ask our families to "understand". And you suggest that what we are doing is "pointless"?! Kiss my grits.
The men and women who keep faith with their responsibilities and also work toward the future are true heroes and do not deserve to be marginalized.

Comment by AustinSteamer — May 2, 2009 @ 4:36 am

> And you suggest that what we are doing is "pointless"?
I didn't read it that way. I read it as it's pointless to continue w/ something your heart's not in if you have the options/opportunity to do otherwise. What you're doing is honorable.

Comment by BenGillis — May 2, 2009 @ 6:20 am

I hope that you are right. . This blog was created for "newbies" and it is helpful to remember, that for new people who may not be super sophisticated in suissing out meanings, to plainly say what you mean and mean what you say.__On the other hand, we have all had the experience of knowing what we meant to say, what we said, and what the other person understood us to say. Some days are better than others.

Comment by AustinSteamer — May 2, 2009 @ 7:22 pm

I don't mind working for someone else because I can do less work that way.

Comment by Anon — June 23, 2009 @ 5:22 pm

People quit their jobs for a variety of reasons which include a lack of advancement opportunities, too little money, or simply because they are unhappy. But the main reason I believe is at the heart of it all is the lack of meaning in their lives. Fantastic blog keep it up. You can also check out http://hubpages.com/hub/Quit-Your-Job-Start-Your-... for more insight on what to do after you've made the plunge.

Texas Startup Blog written by Alexander Muse

Quit your job today?

SpringStage Startup Blogs

Sponsors

Startup Jobs

Network Blogs

Archives

Navigation

Categories

Archives

Links

Subscribe