Here is the complete transcript of the podcast
Welcome, or welcome back to Success with Srini. Happy Friday morning to you. Today on the podcast, I’m answering a question that has come in from a longtime listener of my radio shows, and now the podcast. But then somebody who’s very active, listening to my recent shows.
“Srini, I have been listening to your radio shows for a long time. And lately, I had been thinking of starting a business. Not that I want to make money, but it’s just that I’m very unhappy in my job situation. And I heard you say that it’s better to start a business while having a job. I was not sure because I want to leave my job. I’m kind of conflicted. I wanted your suggestion, I thought of consulting with you. But on the recent radio show, you said you don’t want or you cannot do consultations, you are asking people to text you. So I’m texting you here.”
This is an incredible question. So thank you for this question. Because this is something very close to my heart, I have personally gone through this thinking of expanding my career, focusing on my career, getting all the qualifications, all the experience, and kind of staying and rising through the corporate ladder, or leaving that path and start my own business. So this, and for a long time, I did both. So I’ll tell you, you know, the answer to this question is from my heart. Okay. The first and foremost, I’m a big supporter of entrepreneurship. And I want everybody to have autonomy, that freedom. That is what is going on on this podcast, I repeat myself across many episodes. Over the months, I’ve been telling this. So you can hear me say that. And I have been in that in that position myself where I suffered through jobs, I got fired multiple times, even today, I can get a job if I go to the market, but I think I’ll get fired. Not that because I’m bad. I’m really good at what I do just that the mind shift that has happened over the years into entrepreneurship. So I encourage everybody to start and run a business. But at the same time, I do encourage people to also focus on their careers. And it comes down to two questions, fundamentally your identity, how you see yourself, and then your capability. So what are you, that’s the identity. And what can you do, that’s your capability.
So if you have the capability to learn to do more, or to do less, then either of the tracks works. So today, if you choose to just focus on your job and want to climb up the ladder, it involves that you learn more, do more, or do less, right, whatever you’re doing, you have to do less because you could do more. So you could arrive there by investing time and effort if you choose to do a business. And the question was to start a business, so you can start a business. And here’s the problem starting a business means and I’m assuming this, I’m not sure, you probably have not done a business before and you’re trying to leave your job because you’re unhappy there, which you already mentioned. And you are going to start a business because hoping that the business acts as a rebound. See, the business has a life of its own. It’s a baby, it takes time to grow. It takes time to really bring your values and your beliefs and your engagements and your time, your effort. It’s just like a baby. So you have to put in 18 years’ worth of effort before you can call a business. An adult grown-up. So it takes effort. That’s the point.
Not that you have to do it for 18 years. So there is an element of mind expansion or a mind shift that involves starting a business. It’s fun to start a business it’s difficult to operate and grow if you do not get success and gratification immediately. So this is where people quit. So the barrier to entry is minimal. Practically with $100 you can start a business, any business. But because you put $100 to start a business, you are going to quit that business in the first point of resistance. So if you’re thinking of creating a business that you know, will act as an adult and needs 18 years’ worth of effort, dual effort mom and dad how case. So that’s the kind of a failure to put in 80 hours a week into a business, you are willing to sweat it out, tear it out to tears, and blood it out with blood. Because a business will construct you in a whole different way. But before it does, that, it’s going to distract you. You have values, your beliefs, your understandings, your relationships, everything will be challenged, everything is going to go for a toss, you’re going to break apart, and then you’ll be constructed in a way reconstructed, such that you can run into a real business. Now, here’s what I’ve seen people who start one business, end up running multiple businesses, I’ve seen that. And there are many revenue streams, the Discover, people who started a subway ended up buying other businesses, there are other businesses. If you are an owner of subway and or listen to this podcast, you understand what I’m saying. And you started a business.
So what you did is you probably got into a system when people buy a franchisee the bias system. And they operate as an employee in that system, thinking that they own a business, they are not entrepreneurs, that is there is not a unique sandwich you’re introducing into the marketplace, you’re not bringing in new marketing ideas, new branding, none, you are leveraging what is already there. So you’re essentially working as a sales and service individual as the parent franchisee by putting your own money in. Right, that’s all there is to this. But then at some point, they start to realize, listen, I was in a job, I had a manager with whom I was unhappy. And I had a structure about me, I was unhappy with 100 employees, I had peers, I was unhappy. Now I’m in a situation where I don’t have a boss about me, that is still corporate, but no direct boss, and then I can choose to hire people to work under me. And I control my time I control a few variables. But if you’re an entrepreneur, you start to realize that that’s not the autonomy that you’re seeking. And hence, you want to have a better situation like you want to bring in your own product, you want to bring in your own branding, your own messaging, your own positioning, and all that. And that really opens you up to many possibilities. And that’s a true expression of yourself.
Hence, many software owners or many franchises you not, I’m not calling out software, specifically here. And just as an example, they end up owning multiple businesses. So that’s the change, but then there is a price you have to pay for it. And also same is true in your job you will have you will end up paying a price if you want to grow up in the ladder. So either way, you have to learn, you have to do more, or you have to do less and all that, okay? Now, there are two other ways to other frames that I want to share with you. One is if you’re unhappy with your situation, and that is why you want to start a business, I think it’s like going from one bad relationship into another relationship thinking that that relationship is going to work out. If that is true, then we don’t have the highest second marriage divorces in the country today and across the world. So, people who are getting married for the second time think that you know, they will have a better situation, or get divorced at a higher rate at a faster rate, than the first time around as compared to the first time divorces. So it’s interesting how this is playing out.
So I don’t want you to quit something because you’re unhappy and go somewhere else thinking that’s going to have a happy equation happy situation which is not true. Grass Is Greener, wherever you are watering. Truth. So sometimes people tell me, you know, it’s the same cubicle, same office, same job, same manager, same software, same people I don’t like I want to change. Hence I want to start a business is not true. Everything is seen because you have made yourself predictable. And wherever you will go. You will make yourself predictable. It’s just a matter of time before your craving for that variety will go away.
So you go to a new job. One week, two weeks, three weeks, the craving is gone like that. Click of the finger gone. So I wouldn’t leave something just because I’m unhappy. I will leave if there is something within you that says that I want to explore more that is within me. I want to exceed my own expectations. I want to stretch myself I want to experience a different realm of my thinking, or of my desires, something like that. So it’s very difficult to express this in words. But hopefully, you see it. So that’s one, one frame. So the second thing is, you shouldn’t start a business because there’s a market for it. You should, but you shouldn’t. For example, I don’t suggest people leave their jobs and go and start and become realtors. I said that 10 years ago, and I’m telling that today. Now, if you are a realtor who quit your job, and you’re successful, all the power to you, that’s an exception, but many don’t. So leaving a job and becoming, you know, something, because the market is there, the market is ripe, it’s happening. So why not get in and take a share? I wouldn’t, I would do it if you are self-driven. So there are two kinds of people market-driven and self-driven. You are market-driven, you are temporary, you will be gone, the market is gone, you’re gone. If you’re self-driven, then you are there, no matter what happens. So, growth occurs in both areas, by the way, you will succeed in both areas. So if you are market-driven, that means you’ll have vertical growth, the market growth, then you will grow. And you will have expansion and all that. So all that is good, but if the market collapses, you are going to be the first individual to leave the market, and will take you along with it. We have seen that happening right now with many realtors, and I get the calls. I know, that if you’re self-driven, you will always find a reason to stay. And you’ll go all in, you’re not holding any boundaries. So between a job and a business, if I have to choose, I told you, I will choose a business. And I will choose a business with an intent to go all in, I will not think of I’ll have a job. I will also have a business I can manage. But you cannot listen, you can’t manage kids at home, you cannot manage businesses, you cannot manage to responsibilities, you cannot do it. People have done the thing that is successful all the best. You know, I don’t know what their definition of success is all the best. Okay, in my book in my dictionary, it’s mediocrity that’s mediocre thinking that I can juggle a job, I can juggle a business people say, I’m gonna make a million dollars from a business, then I’ll quit my job. They never do because they fundamentally have an employee mindset. And they will continue to milk the system as employees and they will try to make the system they tried to make the system on the business front. They’re always scared. They’re always fearful. It doesn’t work. That’s not freedom. That’s like buying yourself and not the job.
Okay, it’s too it’s gone too far. Hopefully, this is helpful. Pardon me, this is a rant, but you see the paint that I have within me. I told you this is going to come from within. Okay, hopefully, it did. So you take care of yourself. Have a wonderful Friday. I don’t want to extend this and enlarge this conversation and leave you in a bad taste. But hopefully, this is valuable to you. That’s all for now. And you have a wonderful weekend, as I said and I will be back with you as early as tomorrow morning. Stay tuned. Bye now.