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Where am I?

Below is an excerpt from an email that I had recently sent someone. Funny thing is that I feel like it fits well here for others to see and perhaps express how they feel. Obviously, some things have been modified and this doesn’t include everything.

I’m having those feelings of restlessness again. I know what I want to be doing, like we had discussed 3 years ago. I want to either be doing IT consulting on my own or in a small team, or build a SaaS product, or a combination of the two. I’m not sure if I don’t have the discipline to make the transition or what. I know over the past few years, I got complacent because I enjoyed working with a lot of the people I was working with and I got raises and a bonus each year, so it was easy to get complacent. I still worked on things on the side, but never really pushed it. I see no reason I couldn’t be successful or build something successful. Right now, I’ve got an idea that I’m working on the preselling stage for (creating mockups and making contacts).
Maybe I need to be surrounded with like-minded people who want to build something awesome and are ready to be done with the 8-5.
Maybe I need a plan of attack so that I know if I follow the process it will get me to success.
I don’t know what I need, but I desperately want to succeed at this so I can have some freedom and flexibility. I’ve started writing some blog posts on early retirement, because I’m intrigued by the prospects of being able to do what I want. It’s not that I would stop working, it’s just that I would start doing the things that interest me and probably be 10 times more successful.
Wow, that was a lot to lay out there at once, sorry for unloading it all at once.
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A World of Entrepreneurs

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if the world was filled with free thinking, independent entrepreneurs.

When you think about it, many people work for someone else. What if they all went out and started their own thing? Would it be a world of chaos or a world of great innovation?

Many of the items you use every day are put together in a factory – by people. If they weren’t there, would you be able to get the products you use every day?

It’s quite possible that the clothes you wear would be sewn together by someone you know. Most of the items you buy would likely be local. The car you drive probably wouldn’t have a nameplate that you could find on another car 1000 miles away.

So, if everyone was a independent entrepreneur would the world crawl to a complete stop? Probably not because entrepreneurs have a way of innovating to find solutions to the world’s problems.

I know that being an independent entrepreneur isn’t for everyone. Some people want the illusion of security that a job provides. (I say illusion because whether you have a job and create an income is up to the people you work for.)

However, the world would certainly be a different place if more people adopted an entrepreneurial mindset. Creative solutions to complex problems would abound. On top of that, people could use the resources of their employer to pursue these solutions.

I know for me, I’m thankful for my opportunity as an employee. It’s given me experience that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to gain if I had jumped right into being an entrepreneur. It’s also given me ideas for things I can create to improve other people’s lives.

Someday, when I’m ready to transition to full time, independent entrepreneurship, I’ll still be grateful for those who are working hard in any position that brings me the conveniences I’ve come to enjoy everyday.

 

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Business Idea: Mobile Car Wash

When you’ve been struck with the entrepreneur bug, you start seeing business opportunities all over the place. We were down in Florida about a month ago and due to some unfortunate circumstances, our Prius needed to have the hybrid battery replaced before we could come home.

While we were down there, I saw a couple guys washing the cars in the lots. I started wondering why they would be doing that when the weather is near perfect down there, especially this time of year. Anyhow, that got me thinking. What about buying a pressure washer and getting contracts with car dealerships to keep their cars looking spotless on the outside?

The dealership would provide the electricity and the water, you provide the manpower and pressure washer. It could be a deal where you simply visit once a week to keep them clean, or more frequently if that’s what they want. If you were to do it more often, it would be easier to keep them clean and the dealer would be happy.

This could even be expanded so you could travel to people’s place of employment and wash their cars while their at work. It’s just an idea until the right person comes along to take it and run with it.