It's Almost 2 Years; I'm Making Another Very Tough Decision

Next week, it will be exactly 2 years since I quit my job to start my own company. It was a tough decision. I was going to lose the comfort of a steady monthly income and a high potential career path. But I did it anyway because I tried looking into the future and it looked obvious that I can make a very comfortable life from being a Data Analysis consultant. There was (and still is) little competition. Most people in the field are mixing it with too many things: they are doing Excel, PMP, PowerPoint, Six Sigma and many other things at once. With my focused approach I was going to have both a technical competence advantage and a marketing advantage over them. Also I had written top Excel consultants across the world and they shared their encouraging stories with me. So as tough a decision it looked, I was also very sure it was my best option and would be a very rewarding choice.

image: deniseleeyohn.com

Now I am again in a similar circumstance. I now make between x2 and x12 of my previous monthly income but as revenue (so I have to take care of business expenses which reduces my take home considerably). My worries of where the next income will come from are gone and replaced by worries that I am working too much. I get too many projects. So like two years ago I now have a steady income though much bigger. And again, like two years ago, I have looked into the future and it is in web applications. 

Increasingly, clients ask me for versions of my programs that they can access from anywhere in the world and on any device they have (iPad, smartphone, laptop, PC). The limitations of a computer/desktop based application that can only be accessed from the computer it is installed on or copied to are now a big deal. I can keep telling them I don't build web applications or I either position myself for that future that has come.

It is a lot like how Trent Dyrsmid explained in his YouTube video on how to start a business with no money. You've got a big business idea, then against all financial and resource odds, you start. After some time you notice the idea isn't as big as you thought but you notice a need your clients keep asking for, something that wasn't on your radar before and it holds a lot more potential than your current business model/offering. He called it the red dot and green dot phenomenon. You start out with a red dot idea you believe will do well; it doesn't but you notice people want green dots you never knew existed. You change your business model/offering to provide green dots and business starts growing impressively. 

I've notice the green dot and though my red dot idea is going good, I have to move on to great. Go from good to great. So I am cutting back a lot on my Excel jobs and have begun intensive web app learning and practice. And like I did 2 years ago, I have put in place a safety net to provide my next 5 months living expense as I expect a downturn in my Excel business due to the neglect it will suffer at this transition point. I'll be starting my business all over. I have done it before and somehow feel very happy and eager to do it again. I want to be where the ball is going to be. 

Programming is a lot harder than most people think. I mean programming on a professional level. The learning curve is very steep. You have to learn a lot of things that won't make sense until you start practicing them and you will have to catch up with an industry that is hooked to a rocket. And for me, I have to do all of these with little local help. I have to keep motivating myself and learning all on my own, and when I'm done will also have to create my own clients.