Self-employment
Being your own boss means controlA bad day on the job can make anyone think about starting their own small business. After all, no one likes being bossed around. ROGER PIERCE |
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 [ 2005-02-23 ] |
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Engineer Adrian Feudale at work in his company, Alltech Solutions Inc. He says he loves being his own boss and wouldn't have it any other way.
"I was really frustrated working for someone else," confesses entrepreneur Adrian Feudale. "I knew I had to escape the corporate prison."
Feudale owns Alltech Solutions Inc. (www.alltech-solutions.net), a company that supplies Information Technology solutions to residential and commercial clients experiencing computer problems. He launched his business eight years ago using his own savings.
An Electrical and Computer Engineer with plenty of high-tech know-how, Feudale keeps his clients up and running with services such as computer networking, software installation and troubleshooting problematic hardware. He's proud of his company's "onsite, no-cost and obligation-free" service estimates -- something he claims no one else is offering.
Dissatisfaction
Growing dissatisfaction with his employers pushed Feudale to venture out on his own. "As an employee, I saw so many things being done poorly in the workplace," he remembers. "It was okay to ship customer orders late, sell defective products or ignore employee training needs. I just felt I could run things better in my own business."
Filled with entrepreneurial spirit, Feudale is clearly destined to be his own boss. "The best part of being an entrepreneur is control over every aspect of your business," he says. "For example, we make house calls to service our client's computers whenever they want us, day or night. I couldn't make that decision working for someone else."
However, being the boss comes with a catch. "You're always under pressure," Feudale explains, "because your income is directly tied to your decisions and management skills. Ultimately, you're responsible for the success or failure of your business and that can be a big burden."
Not everyone is comfortable being their own boss, Feudale says, but he encourages those who are to go for it. "You'll become increasingly miserable working for someone else," he says. "And that's no way to live."
-- Entrepreneurship expert Roger Pierce trains people on how to start a small business in the Up & Running Biz Launch Program.
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