Category Archives: post-corporate

Keeping a balance between work and life

Memories of my working life were comfortably blank until this Dilbert strip brought it back in vivid detail. Continue reading

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Rule #1 in starting your own business – revised and updated

I have written so many articles about starting a business and striking off in new directions that I can't believe I failed to mention one of the most basic rules of them all when it comes to starting your own … Continue reading

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Transferable skills – a big asset in post-corporate life

As a corporate employee, you tend to gain experience in relatively specialized areas. In fact, after a few years you may become unable to carry on a conversation about work with anyone outside your own industry. The skills you accumulate … Continue reading

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21st Century Sweatshop

21stcenturyofficeweb

In the 21st century, you can easily put in a grueling 10 hour work day without ever leaving your home. Sometimes the biggest problem is pacing yourself. You can get involved in solving a knotty design problem and work non-stop for hours on end. Interruptions are few and they come mostly from four-footed members of the family who are checking if its time to be fed again.

The availability of fresh air and sunshine does wonders for my peace of mind and my morale. Under these conditions I am able to produce more work for my clients now than I ever could in a cubicle farm or even in my own private corporate office.

At the same time, I can find time to have coffee with friends or clients on a moments notice, if I want to.

I make sure that I spend at least 20% of my time marketing my services or thinking up new services to exchange for income. The absence of forced commuting gives me two to three hours of extra time every day for work, study or relaxation.

As a self-employed entrepreneur, I have no corporate safety net, no corporate insurance, but I don’t have layers of inert or timid management to placate either.

When I was employed, even though I considered myself a top performer in
my particular area, I worried constantly about corporate changes that
would result in loss of income. The biggest discovery on leaving the
corporate world was realizing how illusory the corporate safety
actually was.

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