Living the dream – A reality check

The patio of the Taj Malabar Hotel is quiet as I sit nursing a drink and working on an e-book for a client. I am in Kochi, a coastal city on the south-west coast of India, often referred to as the Queen of the Arabian Sea.

It’s a sultry afternoon. A cool breeze brings much needed respite from the blazing sun. The patio umbrella is tilted just right to shade my table from the direct sun. I don’t need the tan.

Waves steadily lap against the hotel’s retainer wall and jetty. A moored houseboat sways gently as it waits to take the next curious tourist on a cruise along the backwaters of Kerala. In the distance, I can see the port and its bevy of cranes unloading containers from a mid-sized cargo ship. As a fishing boat chugs along, I can see one of the fishermen checking his mobile phone. I wonder if he is selling his catch.

M-commerce!

I take another sip of my cocktail, a local concoction recommended by the barman at the Mattancherry Bar. it’s a tad sweeter than I like. I give my glass a twirl hoping the melting ice would do the trick.

It’s a bit early for a drink. I sure don’t want to make this a habit.

I am living the dream!

Travelling. Working. Mixing pleasure and business, in that order.

I have to admit, life could be worse.

But, let me level set here. I believe that people who jump in feet first and make a success of an endeavor are typically outliers.

If you have ever wondered about “pursuing your passion” or “living the dream,” I can tell you that there is often more to it than meets the eye. Most folks who ardently tout the virtues of “taking the plunge,” are a little light on the compromises that you need to make if you choose to give up a steady paycheck in favour of something that you really love to do.

So, here is some food for thought.

Balancing the fun and the financials

Playing tennis for a living or making a killing by day-trading cryptocurrencies would be great, but are not realistic options for most of us. The reality is that when you strike out on your own, you will likely make less money — at least, initially — than what you would working at a decent job. If money is your primary motivation, you are probably better off working for another employer who pays better. For me, it was a now-or-never option to give entrepreneurship a shot. Going in with my eyes wide open, I expected to get more satisfaction out of it than money. A financial buffer, that can tide you over during the initial days, would help you sleep better.

Putting a price on passion

It’s tough to put a number on passion. If your passion can translate to a viable product or service that fills a need, people will pay for it. The good news is that there is work to be had if you are willing to hustle for it. The bad news is that if you hustle too hard, you may get caught up in a — price — race to the bottom. Staying in touch with industry peers and agencies helped me drum up business within the familiar ICT industry.

Giving up a well-paying job, even one that you dislike, is not an easy decision. A side hustle in the area of your interest may help you get a feel for the opportunity at hand.

Sky is not the limit

Unless you have a product that makes you money while you sleep, your business will be constrained by the scalability of your services. While you can outsource portions of your work, a business centred around your knowledge and skill-set limits you from taking too much on. Delivering quality over quantity often justifies higher price points for your services which in turn allows you to keep your workload manageable.

You don’t want your dream turning into a nightmare.

When the stars align

Financial risks are more palatable when you don’t have kids to support and mortgages to pay down. The security of a steady paycheck is hard to forego when you have responsibilities and commitments. The support from a spouse can make a significant difference to your risk exposure. It should be no surprise that the age and spouse factors will influence your decision.

Let’s just say that I fare favourably on both these counts.

Compromises and adjustments

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Working on your own terms still involves compromises and adjustments that are beyond your control. What appears to be a smooth business relationship can change overnight due to unexpected events such as a change in ownership of your client’s business. Occasionally, you may not agree with a client’s proposed approach. Establishing that the client is not always right can make for some interesting and often frustrating discussions.

The insistent buzz from my phone brings me back to reality.

It’s Richard, my client, asking if I can fast-rack the completion of the e-book by a week. He apologizes. Richard knows that I am out of the country. Apparently, my piece is critical to the kick off of the marketing campaign, which has been moved up by a week.

I curse under my breath but maintain my cheerful disposition as I accept his new deadline and hang up.

As I sign for my drink, I remind myself again: things could be worse.

For now, I better get back to it. The e-book is not going to write itself.