Never Get a ”Real„ Job (2 page)

This book is dedicated to the death of the “real” job.

Die, you miserable bastard.

Acknowledgments

I’ve poured every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears I could muster into
Never Get a “Real” Job
. It’s my hope that this book gives you the strength, practical knowledge, and swift kick in the ass you need to avoid unemployment or underemployment, or quit lousy, life-draining 9-to-5s once and for all. May it give you the sense of purpose and perspective you need to kick your boss to the curb and never look back.

Before I shed light on the arduous, yet rewarding journey that lies ahead, I’d like to take a moment to thank the many people who have made
Never Get a “Real” Job
possible. My editorial team was simply top notch. I have never simultaneously loved and hated a group of people as much as the great folks who stood behind me during this grueling process.

To my partner in crime/book and
Entrepreneur
magazine editor, Kimberlee Morrison: Thank you for jumping on board the “Death to the ‘Real’ Job Express” with me. Your guidance, support, and no-holds-barred editorial approach played an instrumental role in transforming this book from mere words on a page to hardcore advice worth reading. You’re one tough cookie, and I love you for it.

Partnering with John Wiley & Sons, Inc., on
Never Get a “Real” Job
was without a doubt the right move. My book editor Dan Ambrosio helped steer this book’s content in the right direction from the very beginning. If it weren’t for him, I might not have written this book in the first place. Thanks for believing in me, pal. I look forward to a long and prosperous collaboration.

Many thanks to my friends, colleagues, and loved ones who read and reviewed countless drafts and kept me from losing my mind during my quest to reach the Holy Grail of 60,000-plus words: Tana Pierce (the love of my life), Stephen Gnoza, Michael Volpe, Adam Steinhaus, Rachel Cohn, Geoff Glisson, Tyler Cohn, Jenny Winters, Julia Monti, Adam Biren, and Ron Adler. The panel’s mix of “real” job loyalists, aspiring small business owners, and hard-liner entrepreneurs made for great debates and insightful exchanges that I won’t soon forget.

To Amy Cosper and all of the other great folks at
Entrepreneur
magazine: Thank you for giving me my start as a writer and columnist. It’s been one of the greatest privileges of my life to connect with hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs around the world.

I’m extremely fortunate to have such an amazing bunch of mentors and colleagues in my corner who motivate me to kick ass and take names every day: Rosalind Resnick, Ed Droste, Craig Spierer, John Bellaud, Ron Mannanice, Sharon Badal, Jeff Sloan, Scott Talarico, Robert King, Michael Sinensky, Charlie Stettler, Domenic Rom, Michael Simmons, and Donna Fenn. I thank you all for your continued support of my entrepreneurial ambitions. I also want to shout out all of the great organizations that promoted
Never Get a “Real” Job
while it was being written:
Entrepreneur.com
,
About.com
, Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour,
Mixergy.com
,
BusinessInsider.com
, Young & Successful,
YoungUpstarts.com
,
SuccessCircuit.com
, and
Under30CEO.com
.

Finally, to my mom and dad, Ellen and Kevin: Thanks for supporting and loving me every step of the way. I know it’s not easy to have a son who likes to live on the edge, but you’ve stayed by my side through thick and thin. For that I am truly grateful. Sure, you guys swear by “real” jobs and have tried to get me to do the same time and time again, but I love you anyway.

Foreword

I started my first business when I was 16 years old. Being an entrepreneur has completely changed my life for the better. Simply put, it is the single best professional decision I’ve ever made.

Over years of hard work, I’ve written a best-selling book,
The Student Success Manifesto
, spoken to tens of thousands of fellow Generation Yers, built a successful business that promotes entrepreneurship on college campuses called The Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour, and been featured in national media that I only dreamed of.

However, what many people don’t know is that I had over $40,000 in credit card debt at my lowest point and had to constantly hear my mom ask me when I was going to get a “real” job.

When I was first getting started, none of my friends had any idea what entrepreneurship was. I can remember the stress of pursuing a vision that I felt I saw clearly, but that no one else could see. I questioned myself constantly about whether or not I was doing the right things. But, I kept on going, and in the end it all paid off. Not because of luck, but because I actually learned how to run a business. I only wish that
Never Get a “Real” Job
had been written when I was getting started so I could have learned from Scott’s mistakes instead of my own.

Today’s twenty-something-year-olds are experiencing the reality of this book even as I write this foreword. After nearly two decades of schooling (with lots of student debt) in preparation for the “real world,” a large percentage of today’s young people are moving back in with their parents, taking low-paying jobs that they could have done in grade school, or going on to further education in hopes that there might be a job waiting for them once they graduate. (Good luck!) The reality is that we’re all experiencing more of a sign of times to come than of a passing recession. In tomorrow’s world, being an entrepreneur will be a requirement for success. If Generation Y adopts this mind-set, I believe it will create a new level of prosperity that we have never seen. However, if it doesn’t, I fear that Generation Y will become the ‘lost’ generation.

Never Get a “Real” Job
is a timely book that needed to be written and Scott Gerber is the perfect person to write it. Scott is part of his audience, and he’s successfully done what he’s asking his readers to do. He has an entertaining style, which makes the book a page-turner.

The old path of going to the “right” school, getting good grades, and going right into your dream job is broken! Which is why this book should be required reading for every college student and twenty-somethings—because it gives people a new, clear path and shows them how to go from where they are to achieving their personal and career goals. Scott provides a solution that he himself recently navigated through. Instead of the typical narrative from other business books: “I’m super successful and twenty years ago when I was in your position, here’s what I did,” Scott’s narrative is more authentic, relatable, and therefore, easier and more effective to apply. He is still in his twenties and very recently in the same exact position as his readers. He admits that he doesn’t yet own the Ferrari, yet his success is extremely impressive and inspiring nonetheless.

Never Get a “Real” Job
is also very realistic, pulls no punches, and is perfect for the times we’re in. It doesn’t provide the rosy perspective of: “If you become an entrepreneur, money will take care of itself and you’ll be able to live happily ever after.” Instead, it warns you about the misconceptions of entrepreneurship and provides a systematic, three-stage approach to minimize your risk and get money in your pocket as soon as possible.

In the end, this book is a great wake up call for both parents and young people. Scott warns parents that the “go to school, get good grades, and get a good job” mantra is broken. At the same time, he doesn’t simply let young people off the hook. He shares that to be successful will require a ton of hard work over time, learning new skills, and constantly going outside your comfort zone.

I guarantee that if you follow Scott’s advice, your success will not be a question of if; it will be a question of when.

This book and Scott’s highly trafficked youth entrepreneurship columns are just the start of the “Never Get a ‘Real’ Job movement,” and I’m honored that my organization is a part of it.

—Michael Simmons, Founder of the Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour

Introduction

Never Get a “Real” Job

“Scott, when are you going to get a
real
job?”

With those words, my mother had decided to bring up
the
question for what seemed like the millionth time—a question that had become the dreaded, bane-of-my-existence conversation starter, one that felt like root canal surgery without the Novocain every time I heard it. Even though I had fought hard to win this discussion countless times before, she simply wouldn’t let the topic die.

Being one year out of an expensive university without a “real” job to show for it gave my steady-paycheck, benefits-loving, schoolteacher mother heart palpitations. Granted, I wasn’t making much money at the time—but I certainly wasn’t living on the streets begging for change, either. My start-up company was generating a modest income—comparable to most entry-level positions—and was enabling me to feed myself, pay my rent, and socialize like any other normal twenty-something-year-old. And although I was busting my ass, hustling my way into pitch meetings with Fortune 500 companies, every time I heard my name in the same sentence with the phrase “real” job—which, according to my mother, meant one with a specific title in which I worked for someone else—well, it was almost as if none of my hard work mattered.

Fear of deviation from the straight-arrow path drove my mother to constantly ask this question of me. And the only way she could calm her fears was to try to scare the hell out of me and to point out why my life choices were unequivocally flawed.

“One day you’re going to have a family. How are you going to support them? You’ll want a nice house. You’ll have to pay a mortgage,” she cautioned frequently.

The tone of this discussion changed regularly, usually shifting between loud and louder. However, the main points were always consistent:

“What are you doing with your life?”

“Why did I send you to college?”

“How do you plan to make a living?”

Frustrated and standing my ground, we’d begin the big debate.

“I know what I’m doing,” I would reply. “Just because I don’t work 9-to-5 like you doesn’t mean I’m not making a living.”

She’d respond with an apples-to-oranges comparison.

“Your friends are all moving forward in their lives. They all have good jobs and are building their careers. I don’t understand why you can’t do the same.”

I’d throw in some sharp-tongued sarcastic comment criticizing her values.

“You taught me to be a leader, not a follower. Didn’t you? Or was that only meant to be applied to every
other
aspect of my life?”

My mother would inevitably try to end the debate with an existential-sounding proverb of her own design meant to illuminate my foolish train of thought.

“You don’t want to wake up one day and see that life has passed you by, do you?”

But it never ended there.

This argument was a test of wills; it could go on for five minutes, or five hours. But after all of the pointless back-and-forth banter and skyrocketing blood pressure, the exchange only resulted in a stalemate—and fueled similar debates later.

There is a good reason that becoming an entrepreneur feels so natural to so many of us. Whether they realize it or not—and as I pointed out to my mother during these trying discussions—our parents and our teachers encouraged us to be that way. Years of lauding and back-patting ingrained in us the notion that we could conquer the world. Ironically, what our mentors neglected to teach us was how to actually
live
that lifestyle. And the thought of us
not
getting a job terrifies them. Why? Because our parents learned from our grandparents that a job—preferably a “safe” one, with benefits and a pension—was necessary for survival.

But while our parents and teachers may have felt comforted by this security, rarely was it what they actually
wanted
from their careers. Naturally, they wanted us to pursue our dreams at all costs—sometimes even to the point of risking poverty to put us through college. The problem is that they didn’t know truly how to help us get there; and if they didn’t know how to survive as entrepreneurs themselves, then how could they teach
us
to avoid getting a “real” job? They couldn’t; so we didn’t learn. And our education system doesn’t fill in that gap. In fact, it’s meant to teach us to be employees. So when we graduate, we’re made to believe that our choices are to get a “real” job—or to hit the highway.

Rather than chalk my mother’s encouragement up as another bedtime story, I chose the highway—and set out to learn the practical skills and tricks necessary to become what she dreamed I would be. These are the lessons I will now teach you.

WHO NEEDS THE 9-TO-5?

The mere thought of living the conventional 9-to-5 life plan—creating wealth for “The Man” instead of for myself—made me want to reach simultaneously for a bottle of Xanax and vodka. Cubicle farms, incompetent bosses, strict dress codes, and inane corporate acronyms crammed into a potentially 50- to 60-hour workweek that was out of my control—in exchange for a paycheck that barely covered expenses—it all sounded like torture. And it wasn’t for me. So I simply made up my mind that I was never going to get a “real” job. I’d find a way to make it on my own and create a life of my own design.

I just needed to figure out how the hell to do that.

I took a trip to the local bookstore during my sophomore year of college to find some material written by entrepreneurial peers who could offer me practical insights. After hours upon hours of reading book jackets and tables of contents, the sheer volume of redundant business-plan books and mundane start-up how-to guides overwhelmed me. There were countless books promising quick fixes and instant millions. There were dense dissertations packed with MBA jargon from hoity-toity academic theorists; more than a fair share of war story autobiographies from famous rock star entrepreneurs; and boatloads of overly glamorized soft covers that made entrepreneurship sound as if readers were guaranteed success if they just “set their minds to it.”

There wasn’t, however, a single, practical book written by a twenty-something-year-old with whom I could identify. Not one book in the entire store by a down-to-earth, Generation Y business owner who had turned the nothing they started with into something they wanted.

I didn’t want to learn to incorporate a business or write a business plan; this was hardly insider information, and could be found almost anywhere online anyway. I wanted solid, real-life advice from a peer who understood where I was and what I needed to do to build a business—not just a theoretical plan on paper. With the hope that my assumptions were wrong—and the feeling that I had to buy
something
to get myself on track—I purchased a few titles.

Sadly, I
wasn’t
wrong. And I ended up $75.65 poorer as a result.

Most of the books I bought were repetitive and wholly unrealistic for aspiring entrepreneurs. I began to wonder if any of these so-called business experts had ever even met a college student, recent grad, or young person looking to start his or her own business before. Ask friends and family for start-up capital? The author might as well have said, “Good luck, but if daddy doesn’t have deep pockets, don’t even bother. Get a ‘real’ job, punk.” Apply for bank loans and credit lines to gain access to operating capital? Sure, because so many of us have outstanding credit and have already paid off all of our debts and student loans. Yeah, right.

I might not have had a pot to piss in, but I sure as hell wasn’t about to quit because some blowhard authors had penned one-size-fits-all approaches to starting a business in exchange for an advance check from a publisher and an expert credential to headline their blogs.

No matter. Nothing was going to stop me from fulfilling the promise I had made to myself—not even being clueless about how to start a business.

With barely a dollar to my name and no resources to guide me, I did what I thought any half-cocked, passionate, ambitious, impulse-driven know-it-all would do: I got started and figured it out for myself. Crazy? Perhaps. But in the end, my decision and subsequent hard work paid off tenfold. Sure, there were nights I went hungry and days I nearly starved. But as the months and years passed, I found ways to feed myself quite well—all without a suitable guidebook. Fortunately, you won’t have to face the same situation; it’s a problem I’ve now remedied for you with
Never Get a “Real” Job
.

I KNOW YOU

Let me be clear: I don’t have millions of dollars in the bank, six-figure sports cars, or gold-plated yachts. I’m not the product of a wealthy family or a storied entrepreneurial heritage; nor am I the outcome of an accredited business school. In fact, I graduated from a film school where I never attended a single business or mathematics class.

So why should you listen to what I have to say? After all, who am I to tell you how to build a successful business?

Because I know what it’s like to have to move back in with your parents and how depressing it is to have shrinking bank accounts and mounting debts. I know what’s in store for you. I know what you think is going to happen versus what will actually happen.

I understand you, because I
am
you.

I was where you are right now—confused, eager, antsy, disappointed, scared, unfulfilled, and ready for something more; and not 30 years ago, either. Most importantly, my journey—and its results—are proof that
anyone
has the ability to survive, thrive, and make the seemingly impossible happen—all without ever needing to get a “real” job.

Since I became an entrepreneur, I’ve built several successful companies, and others that didn’t last more than three months. I’ve worked alongside both smart partners and idiots. I’ve made a lot of money—but I’ve failed more times than I’ve succeeded. Through it all, I’ve always been my own boss; I’ve never worked for “The Man,” and I’ve never gone bankrupt. Both my successes and failures have prompted me to develop new ways of thinking about business. I’ve created business planning, bootstrapping, and sales and marketing methodologies that have enabled me to build a steady and sustainable lifestyle, supported by a healthy six-figure income. I’ve shared my strategies with tens of thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs through my syndicated
Entrepreneur
column—and will now share them with you in this book.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO GET FROM THIS BOOK

Let’s get a few things straight at the outset. I don’t have any magic formulas for raising capital or get-rich-quick schemes. If you’re looking for cutesy gimmicks and paperwork exercises, then look elsewhere. If you’re shopping for a miracle cure or infomercial-style promises that will get you from zero to hero in a week, allow me to offer you some free advice: your ideals are totally unrealistic, and unless you change your mind-set, you’re hopeless. You can’t lose 50 pounds in one week by sitting stationary in a chair with a machine strapped around your gut; and you can’t build a successful, lucrative, and sustainable business overnight.

Unlike many other start-up guide books that offer you a few tips that might help you make a quick buck, the multifaceted approach to entrepreneurship I present to you here includes a full attack on your lifestyle. It presents logic that will challenge you mentally and emotionally, and asks you to make many tough choices, the outcomes of which will affect every facet of your life. All of this is done for a single purpose: To train you to generate immediate income to support yourself and build a business—whether you have a budget or not a single dollar to your name.

This book helps you to become a person who sees no limits, doesn’t believe in boundaries, and won’t take no for an answer. It helps you become a person who balks at the 9-to-5 system that conditions us to be dependent, and someone who stays the course even when independence is hard—or damn near impossible. This book helps you become a person unafraid to fail even when conventional wisdom would say to play it safe. Above all, it will teach you that entrepreneurship isn’t just about what you know, what you do well, or even who you know—but rather, whether you can execute effectively and
make things happen
. Some people get it; most people don’t. This book teaches you how to get it.

ALL ABOARD THE DEATH TO THE “REAL” JOB EXPRESS!

Whether you’re wasting away in a cubicle wanting to climb the tallest clock tower, feverishly mailing out resumes, praying you’ll get a “real” job to help you start paying down college loans, or a student who’s terrified to graduate to the real world to a position as an underemployed grunt—here is my challenge to you: Give yourself the opportunity to take control of your own destiny, walk on your own two feet, and fail or succeed on your own terms.