Standing on my own two feet

19 days self-employed/unemployed at 32

February 06, 2023

February 6th, 2023: January '23 was a big month. Quit my job to start my own company. Turned 32. Our son started school. Just lots of big milestones that really fill up the tank.

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#1 Standing On My Own Two Feet

As I write this, I've officially been self-employed for 19 days. Or unemployed depending on the day. And, if I am honest, I'm having a blast.

I do not know when the other shoe will drop. When reality will smack in the face like one of those TikTok videos of slap fighting but having full control and ownership of what I work on, who I work with, and the daily exploration of what to do next has been truly a gift.

A few things happened when I quit and subsequently put out into the world that I'm open for business.

The first: just total and utter support from friends, family, colleagues (current and former), clients, and strangers. People genuinely want others to succeed and love rooting for someone.

The second: when you work for yourself people want to connect, chat, and see how you can do business together. Shrouded by a bigger company, my old clients didn't really want to engage. They already had a Big 4 in their offices, eating up their budgets. But they have space for a boutique AND they enjoyed working with me. I've had about dozen or so phone calls reconnecting with people in the business, 3 coffee meetings, and lots of LinkedIn DMs.

The third: I was pretty beat down. OneTrust was a difficult place to work; at times with very little praise and no real direction. At Grant Thornton, I had no true say in what we did or, more importantly, how we did things. The machine was too big and the Partners wanted input into not only what was done but how it was done too. That really weighs on a person. Ultimately, you work for the Partner, not yourself. I'd spend hours addressing feedback on proposals and deliverables rather than building relationships and driving value for customers. Hours on things I hated. I am not a details guy. I like to get stuff out the door and iterate. We literally put together 50 page decks. Never again!

The fourth: I tweeted about this but it's been funny to see how my view of work has shifted already in these last 17 days. The work I dreaded at GT because the self-doubt that was created in me, is now fun. What goes into this marketing material? How should I bid on this proposal? What does my SOW look like? What tools should I use for invoicing? It's all unknown but it's all mine and I really love it.

I tell people maybe this lasts for 3 months or 3 years or 30 years. I don't know what the future holds but I do that I've worked out consistently for the last 4 weeks, never miss the baby's bath time, and am enjoying the unknown.

#2 Turning 32

Last month I turned 32 for the first time.

I say the first time because when my grandpa turned 50 he started counting backwards. He wasn't 70, he was 30. A beautiful way to look at life by a beautiful guy.

We lost him 11 years ago last year and I recently read through the speech I wrote and presented with my cousins Ashley and Casey at his funeral.

Quick story you'll like, I promise:

Herman, my grandfather, ran an ice cream parlor with his cousin, also named Herman. It couldn't support two families.

So this guy flipped a coin to see who would keep the shop. And my grandfather lost! Had to move his family and find a job. Wild dude. Definitely miss him during these big life milestones.

Here's the full speech if you want to learn about Mr. Herman, as my friends called him: LINK

#3 I was late

My first full week working for myself landed on my 32nd birthday. My last day at Grant Thornton was Wednesday January 18 making January 23rd my first full week. January 23 is my birthday. What a birthday present!

I actually intended to make this leap earlier. In my mind, I needed to work for myself by 30 but life has other plans and I didn't really have a plan. Just an arbitrary age to show that I am smart enough and capable enough. But totally made up.

But I think I'm right on time. I'm actually the same age my parents were when they quit their jobs to start their business.

The universe is funny that way.

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The End

2023 is about building for me. I'd love to grab coffee/chai or jump on a quick call. Shoot me a text and we can schedule something. 404-731-7814. Go big! - Nik Fuller

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