People love to talk about the “risk” of starting your own business. But I have always believed the real danger lies in depending entirely on a day job. Let me tell you a story that illustrates this perfectly.
The Morning Commute Disaster
Years ago, when I was still working full-time as an engineer in Dallas, I had a morning routine. I would leave the house before daylight and use my 20-to-45-minute commute to work on my side business. Most mornings I listened to audiobooks or business podcasts. Other mornings I used a voice recorder to dictate draft content for my blog.
There are two lessons buried in that routine, by the way. First, outsource tasks like transcription so you can focus on creation. Second, use your idle time productively. There is no reason to fill your commute with morning radio chatter or negative news when you could be building something.
On this particular morning, I was on fire. I recorded three complete blog posts during my drive. I was feeling great, thinking about how productive my transcriptionist was going to be when three new files hit her inbox.
Then someone cut me off in traffic. I slammed the brakes. My voice recorder slid off the center console and landed directly in my cup of coffee. In my frantic attempt to rescue the recorder and its precious content, I dumped the entire cup of hot coffee onto my khaki pants. Fourteen ounces of coffee, soaked through to my underwear.
So there I was: scalded, stained, with a ruined recorder and lost work.
The Choice That Changed My Morning
I started to get angry. Then I stopped myself. I turned the car around, drove through a restaurant, picked up breakfast, and surprised my family. I even got in a quick video game session with my son before heading back out for my 9 AM meeting.
What could have been a terrible morning became one of the best mornings of that week. But here is the deeper point: that entire disaster happened because I had to commute to a job. The coffee, the traffic, the ruined equipment, the lost work, all of it was a direct consequence of having to physically go somewhere to trade hours for a paycheck.
The Real Risk Calculation
When people tell me that starting an online business is risky, I think about mornings like that one. I think about the millions of people who spend two hours a day commuting, who are one layoff away from financial crisis, who have no control over their schedule, their income, or their future.
Having a single source of income controlled by someone else is the real risk. Building a side business is how you mitigate that risk.
I am not suggesting you quit your job tomorrow. I built Late Night Internet Marketing for years while working full-time. But I am suggesting you take your side hustle seriously, because the security of a “real job” is often less real than it appears.
Start building something of your own. Use your commute time, your lunch breaks, your evenings. Even an hour a day adds up to over 350 hours a year. That is enough time to build something meaningful, something that reduces your dependence on any single employer and gives you options you do not currently have.
Your day job might be paying the bills right now, but your side hustle is what gives you freedom in the long run.
“Self, this is an opportunity to have breakfast with the wife and kids,”
What a fantastic attitude! I love this!
Thanks. I had fun. Well, the hot coffee part was not fun. Breakfast was fun.
Sounds like the kind of fun and chaotic morning that happens around here at least once a week. Maybe your recorder will still work after it dries out. What’s good is you made something positive out of it instead of contributing to the road rage epidemic 😉
Hi Mark!
Thanks for an entertaining and thoughtful blog post! I’m sorry that you had a rough start this morning, but thankful that no permanent damage was done and all ended well.
I do have to take issue with your comment about idiot drivers coming from up north. I once lived in Florida and survived my fair share of idiot drivers there. May have something to do with the fact that you can get your driver’s license renewed at the local drug store. :0 I now live in PA, and we just don’t drive like that up here. I see far less idiot drivers here than I did down south. Truly I think something happens to the brain cells of northerners when they cross the Mason-Dixon line. Definitely a drop in IQ points going on.
Although – I have driven in New York and Boston – something I’ll never do again. Those people are CRAZY!! =)
Enjoy your day!
Your exception is noted — I have lots of friends up from up north, and I was just poking at them. Thanks for the great comment.
Totally awesome save on what could have been the catalyst for a completely, uberly rotten day! What a terrific turn around and a great example implanted in my brain of not letting your day take control of you!
And let me just say, I can agree wholeheartedly on the drivers in Texas. Remove me for a little while to to small, sleepy town in the Appalachian foothills….and whoa! Major difference! Are there idiots here? Sure. But there’s also a whole heap of people, a great majority, driving around all friendly-like, waving at other drivers, people on their porches, smiling as you pass. The kids constantly tell me, “Mom, that person can’t hear you!” because I’m always saying hello to people. LOL!!
I have had mornings like this. The days when I forget my cell phone and have to turn the car around 45 minutes after I started driving. What can you do but shake it off. No use getting all bent out of shape about it. Best thing is, I have more time to listen to great podcasts and learn more stuff.
My wife often wonders why in heaven her husband is still sitting in the car 5 minutes after I have pulled into the drive way. I can hardly pull myself away from what I’m listening to.
Good post!
Best
Marty
Haha great story Mason, this is stuff that should be on a blog, eh? Having a real job is definitely a big headwind when you try to run online business as well. I have generally found that you have enough adrenaline in the first month when you start to get you by… but as it starts to fade pumping out 3 articles on the way to work like you did is a challenge and a half. Keep up the good work, and get a lid on that coffee next time 😉
Mark — What a delightful post out of a not so great situation. Glad to hear you made the opportunity to turn it into some good! You had me laughing at the description of your mishap, although I’m sure at the time it wasn’t funny. Appreciate you sharing with us!
Hey — It was not the end of the world either. I was able to get the data off, and I did not really like the Sony voice recorder anyway (it does not play well with my iMac).
Don’t feel too bad Mark. I live in Las Vegas, and the drivers here are idiots too. I am convinced this has something to do with the number of people that have moved here from Texas.
Maybe you can sue McDonalds, claim the coffee was too hot…
I think I am too late on the hot coffee thing — the cup is covered in disclaimers from the last guy that tried that.
What a fun post. Although I hate to think about what searchers it will bring. :o)
Anyway, there are idiots everywhere. I live in a small town, have a 5-minute commute in the early morning hours and still run into idiots. There was one that thought about beating a train, changed their mind, but the gate had dropped behind their car. Thankfully they were in a small car.
Love the the note about turning around and starting over. Sometimes a fresh start is what you need. I have recently been re-energized by a contest. So looking forward to some good growth.
Thanks. That turned out to be a really great day — and my new voice recorder is much better than my old one.