I received a message from a DKos member here asking me to help her understand how to help herself with her situation.
I decided that the answer and my story might serve to help more than just this particular person... so I have decided to create a series and, hopefully, I can get some community involvement with it.
There are two things that I ask of DKos members... first, please send me a message with any question on this subject so that we can build on this series in a question and answer format. That way, we can hopefully address that question for a number of people at once. Please feel free to share your personal situation... I am more than happy to listen and I won't share anything personal that you might want to share with me.
Secondly, I would invite other entrepreneurs to contribute to the conversation. Please add your 2 cents.
I want you to know a little more about me. I am 42 years old and live in Huntersville, NC. I am happily married to my sweet wife, Sharon, and we have 3 children ages 22, 19 and 5.
The Question
Can you tell me more about how you have used entrepreneurial techniques to lift yourself out of poverty? I read your diary with great interest because I have been trying to put something like this together.
I guess the understanding of the need for economic empowerment rarely comes to those who are in no need. ;) So I'm struggling and I would love to talk to someone who has made it through and seen some success.
The first thing you should know is that it took me time. This is important to note as no one should get the impression that financial independence is easy. Some avenues are easier than others but the key is to make a goal and commit to it just like you do feeding yourself or your kids.
Without knowing more about your talents, skill set or location I will have to speak in general terms. Since you say you are struggling, I will assume that you are currently employed.
As I indicated in the diary, it can be a real uphill climb to get from poverty and employment to complete independence.
When I was in prison, for a short time they let me participate in a work release program where I worked at Big Boy in Petoskey, MI as a cook for about 6 months before they shipped me to a different prison due to the fact they were closing the minimum security prison I was housed at... so I had some experience as a cook.
The first job that I took when I was released from prison was a dishwasher job in Grayling, MI at the Iron Gate Restaurant. This restaurant was one of those very small town "fine dining" restaurants where the menu was really not much different from Big Boy. Well, one day, the cook didn't show up for work and I told them I could do it until they got someone to come in later that night. As it turned out, no one showed up and I ended up cooking (and washing the dishes) for the rest of the night.
The next day, the owner of the restaurant called me and said that he had received a lot of comments from his friends and customers who had eaten at the restaurant the night before about how much better the food was and whether he had gotten a new cook. That day, he offered me the cooks job with like a buck an hour raise... so I was making $6.50/hour I think.
I worked as a cook there for about 3 more weeks until one day a customer asked to talk to me and, when I spoke to him, he told me he owned 3 restaurants in a town about 35 miles away - Houghton Lake, MI. He asked me if I would be interested in coming to work for him as a kitchen manager for $350/week salary + benefits. The only catch was that I would have to work 6 days a week... but one day would be a half day. I accepted the job.
I worked at those restaurants for the next 2 years and, about 6 months in, I was made manager at 2 of the restaurants where I handled all of the inventory, ordering, deposits, etc. The only catch is that I didn't get a raise... just more responsibility. I ended up working 80-90 hours a week with no overtime paid... so if you do the math... I was working for less than minimum wage... but I was stuck. I had moved to Houghton Lake (a town of roughly 1800) and there just weren't any better paying jobs available to me. On top of that, the owners wife really started getting on me about every little thing... it was a literal nightmare. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.
One day, one of the waitresses was talking about her new computer (in fall 1995) and she started talking about AOL. She went on and on about it for weeks and I started to realize that this might be an opportunity for me.
I didn't know a single thing about computers but I bought one and for the next year I spent every night until 3-4am learning everything I could about it. I taught myself how to build websites and how to do some basic programming.
The whole time that I was doing this with the computer, my friends and family kept accusing me of "playing on the computer" and wasting my time. "You will never be able to get a computer job without a college degree. All you are doing is wasting your time.", they would say.
In the meantime, a friend of mine that lived in Grand Rapids, MI was telling me that he was making $800-1000/week working as a telemarketer at this siding company and he told me that he could get me a job there. So on my next day off I went and applied and got an interview on the spot and was hired. I called the restaurant that day and quit.
Once I moved down to Grand Rapids and started my new job I kept looking in the paper for any kind of computer job that I could find and I applied for all of them. Even ones I wasn't qualified for. Eventually, I ended up being hired as a Software Quality Specialist for $30k to start.
I won't continue boring you with the rest of my career... what was important about this story is that it demonstrates 6 important components that have formed the basis of all of my success to this point.
- Desire to improve my situation
- Keeping an eye out for opportunity
- Leveraging my natural talent for learning quickly
- Committing to my goal and working over a period of time to accomplish it
- Taking action to attain my goal without creating a hurdle for myself (applying for jobs even though I wasn't qualified)
- Most importantly, I ignored any negative influence - This is the number one reason people don't accomplish things in life - self doubt and peer pressure
Now, the story above didn't show you how I ended up being independent... however, it shows you the beginning. I have decided to end the first of this diary series here because I really want to emphasize how important attitude is to winning at independence.
There are 2 books that I highly recommend that you read.
Unlimited Power : The New Science Of Personal Achievement - Anthony Robbins
Awaken the Giant Within : How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny! - Anthony Robbins
Above, I indicated that attitude is important. Commitment is part of that winning attitude. You have to commit to changing your life for the better because winning independence is a process that requires that you gain control of yourself and your understanding of others. The books above will show you exactly how to do that.
You can buy those books used for the price of a soda each. Unlimited Power will show you how to understand yourself in ways you didn't think were possible and communicate with others much more effectively.
Awaken the Giant Within builds on the things you learn in Unlimited Power and gives you the tools to overcome obstacles and make profound changes in your life that you never thought possible.
I can't overstate the positive influence that these two books have had on my life. It wasn't hard to accomplish and the benefit of committing to it has changed the course of my life and lifted me from poverty.
Committing to my goal and working over a period of time to accomplish it
This is your first step.