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Abstract

ship captain announces that a collision has happened and the ship is sinking. Avoid that. You are more likely to be caught in a fist bump with the person beside you scrambling for that elusive life vest.</p><p id="a009">Have it with you beforehand.</p><p id="dc73">Preparation is king.</p><h1 id="57ce">I Think of My 1-Person Business as Insurance</h1><p id="7329">In truth, I am not focusing on profits now.</p><p id="151f">I know it takes time.</p><p id="2851">All businesses, regardless of model, take time to mature into profitability.</p><p id="506f">My goal is to learn the ropes of the game while I still have,</p><ul><li>Employment income,</li><li>A job that is not threatened by a weak global economy,</li><li>Sufficient cash buffer to care for my family when they require support.</li></ul><p id="e662">It is a comfortable spot to be in.</p><p id="16ac">My reason is simple.</p><p id="2fcd">Pressure backfires.</p><p id="073e">And I do mean excessive pressure to perform. Financially. Think about it this way. Suppose I must start my 1-person business today because I am…</p><ul><li>Running out of cash in the bank,</li><li>About to be retrenched by my company,</li><li>Bleeding big money from trading the markets,</li></ul><p id="e7e5">… I will make all the wrong decisions hastily because there is a rush to become immediately profitable.</p><p id="f9b4">Of course. When you are confronted with mouths to feed and bills to pay… you will lose your mind.</p><p id="ef22">And when that happens?</p><p id="4461">You and I will be experiencing hell on earth.</p><h1 id="d0af">When Life Chewed on James</h1><p id="5957">James, a long-time friend, was in this (exact) predicament 6 months ago. He was retrenched, He had no savings. He was saddled with a ton of debt.</p><p id="7dfa">James did what I mentioned above.</p><p id="4edd">He started his 1-person consulting practice.</p><p id="1807">I have no doubts he will kill it in time to come. Zero doubts. The problem? He did not have time. The bank was waiting for him to pay his car loan. And his condominium mortgage.</p><p id="0abf">His wife is waiting for him to transfer money to her account to pay for the high-end preschool for their twins.</p><p id="ecee">James could not think straight.</p><p id="2efb">He would pitch to his ex-clients from sunrise to sunset, asking them to bring him on board as a management consultant.</p><p id

Options

="7750">James told me this.</p><p id="83f8"><i>“I thought they would because they loved me during my previous employment. I thought so. It turns out that they did, but I fell out of favor the moment I left the company. WTF.”</i></p><p id="08d2">I said nothing.</p><p id="ec45">I know his ego is bruised.</p><p id="089e">And this is the moment to be there for my friend in a quietly supportive fashion.</p><p id="6754">In short, you don’t want to be there.</p><p id="846c">It is too pressurizing.</p><p id="7b31">You will be disappointed, too.</p><p id="9197">You will because you need immediate success to keep your daily life going. It chews on you when you must put food on your table.</p><p id="7a67">It is the worst time to start a 1-person business.</p><p id="cdae">So, if you are thinking about one, this is my advice.</p><p id="5257"><i>Do you need money today?</i></p><p id="d664">If so, better not.</p><p id="c911"><i>Enjoy my writing?</i> <i>Consider subscribing <a href="https://aldric-chen.medium.com/subscribe"><b>here</b></a>.</i></p><div id="86ce" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/the-3-superheroes-you-must-have-around-you-when-expanding-your-1-person-business-e00d0cee5751"> <div> <div> <h2>The 3 Superheroes You Must Have Around You When Expanding Your 1-Person Business</h2> <div><h3>I refer to ‘Everyday Superheroes’</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*CfGRQk9aHNFtRpvTIvT3wQ.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="b1ea" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/the-downsides-of-working-on-after-hours-hustle-s-i-hear-no-one-speak-of-969bb837c118"> <div> <div> <h2>The Downsides of Working on After-Hours Hustle(s) I Hear No One Speak of</h2> <div><h3>Well. Let me be honest, okay?</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*waAgA3_X1l4gUn8kC1hG_w.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

The Best Time to Start a 1-Person Business is Today. The Worse Time? When You Need It.

Ironic but true

Need $$? There are better ways to earn some, without the pressure of building a 1-person business. Photo by Tamas Pap on Unsplash

I like to think about life, money, and fulfillment.

Perhaps too much.

My mind runs amok when it is free of work obligations. I worry. I get paranoid. I constantly wonder when I will run out of financial ammunition.

And from there, other thought bubbles pop out.. like weeds in the garden.

What if I get retrenched tomorrow?

(I was asked to leave during my first job.)

What if my investments halved in value?

(My investment portfolio took a hit during the start of COVID.)

What if my 1-person business generates $0 in revenue?

(Yup, yup. It happens. I rode along.)

And these questions drove me to think about the inevitable, unavoidable, and unenviable source of psychological jitter.

What if, and what if, sh!t happens… and the money runs out?

You Want Your Life Vest with You When Titanic Sinks

Insurance matters.

Of course, there are all kinds of insurance. Travel, car, personal, term, and so forth. They serve one purpose.

Protection.

It is like buying a put option to hedge your stock investments. You want the protection to be there before the stock market collapses.

Try buying one during a financial apocalypse. All the best to you. You cannot.

All you can do is sigh and tell yourself it will eventually rebound. Most of the time, it does. Occasionally, it doesn’t.

Why bet on chance? It is a terrible idea.

It is like searching for the life vest when the ship captain announces that a collision has happened and the ship is sinking. Avoid that. You are more likely to be caught in a fist bump with the person beside you scrambling for that elusive life vest.

Have it with you beforehand.

Preparation is king.

I Think of My 1-Person Business as Insurance

In truth, I am not focusing on profits now.

I know it takes time.

All businesses, regardless of model, take time to mature into profitability.

My goal is to learn the ropes of the game while I still have,

Employment income,
A job that is not threatened by a weak global economy,
Sufficient cash buffer to care for my family when they require support.

It is a comfortable spot to be in.

My reason is simple.

Pressure backfires.

And I do mean excessive pressure to perform. Financially. Think about it this way. Suppose I must start my 1-person business today because I am…

Running out of cash in the bank,
About to be retrenched by my company,
Bleeding big money from trading the markets,

… I will make all the wrong decisions hastily because there is a rush to become immediately profitable.

Of course. When you are confronted with mouths to feed and bills to pay… you will lose your mind.

And when that happens?

You and I will be experiencing hell on earth.

When Life Chewed on James

James, a long-time friend, was in this (exact) predicament 6 months ago. He was retrenched, He had no savings. He was saddled with a ton of debt.

James did what I mentioned above.

He started his 1-person consulting practice.

I have no doubts he will kill it in time to come. Zero doubts. The problem? He did not have time. The bank was waiting for him to pay his car loan. And his condominium mortgage.

His wife is waiting for him to transfer money to her account to pay for the high-end preschool for their twins.

James could not think straight.

He would pitch to his ex-clients from sunrise to sunset, asking them to bring him on board as a management consultant.

James told me this.

“I thought they would because they loved me during my previous employment. I thought so. It turns out that they did, but I fell out of favor the moment I left the company. WTF.”

I said nothing.

I know his ego is bruised.

And this is the moment to be there for my friend in a quietly supportive fashion.

In short, you don’t want to be there.

It is too pressurizing.

You will be disappointed, too.

You will because you need immediate success to keep your daily life going. It chews on you when you must put food on your table.

It is the worst time to start a 1-person business.

So, if you are thinking about one, this is my advice.

Do you need money today?

If so, better not.

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