Programming Coffee

I spent last Christmas unemployed, and happy that I had the opportunity to work for a different company. I spent my days at Starbucks, working on small programming projects that have long been forgotten. My original hopes were to go into business with another friend of mine, and start rolling in the fat cash. The glamour of owning my own company, working for myself, and making large wads of money seemed to cloud my judgement. Because my father-in-law has been a small business owner for many years, I sought him out for some advice. He asked me a couple questions he asked me:

1. Why do you trust your future business partner?
2. Are you splitting the risks equally?
3. Will each of you be compensated according to the work you perform?

These were very tough questions for a guy who had just ended his first post-college job. I thought that going into business was a lot easier, and that every party involved would be as dedicated as I was. I was wrong. Going out on your own (even with a business partner) is tough. Instead of having to worry about the livelihood of you and your family, you have to worry about your partners as well.

Inevitably, I decided that there was really no good reason I should trust my future business partner, and I’m glad I made that decision. My business partner didn’t need or want the work like I did, and it almost cost me a good client. I also learned that the risks were not being split equally. My business partner was still employed (and I was not), and my working on a project meant less time looking for a full-time job, whereas his working on a project meant less free time. And lastly, the compensation would not have reflected the amount of work put into the project. I pretty much put websites together… once I have a design. I generally get stuck with all client interaction, all the maintenance, all the marketing, and if we were to be equal business partners, then I would have been putting in 2-3x the work for the same amount of money. Even if I were able to live with that, it still would have caused a bottleneck in the company (me), and we would not have been able to maximize our efficiency.

If I had pursued my dream then and there, I would have probably failed shortly thereafter. Why? Things just weren’t right. There was no real trust, the risks weren’t equal, and the compensation would not have been worth it. Instead, I was able to find a good job, and learn a whole lot more about web development, standards, direct-response, and I have a good time doing it. I have no doubt that one day I will be able to start my own business, but when I do I will be able to answer those 3 questions, and feel good about it.