Posted Under: Entrepreneurship, Our Heroes

Our guest today under the “Our Heroes” series is Shane Fischer, attorney at law. Shane worked as an associate lawyer until the Corporate Jail kicked him out—in other words, he was laid off twice in six months…Shane felt that job hunting was demoralizing and time consuming and he would be better off opening his own firm. He had some trouble learning the every-day aspects of running a business but once the clients came rolling in everything fell into place. Let’s talk to Shane and find out more…

DD: Who are you and what kind of corporate job were you at?

SF: My name is Shane Fischer and I was an associate at a large law firm in Orlando, Florida.

DD: What made you leave the job? When did you realize that you want to be an entrepreneur & why?

SF: My “ah-ha” moment was when I was laid off twice in six months. The job search process is so demoralizing and time consuming I decided I wasn’t going to go through months of searching only to possibly get laid off again, so I decided to open my own firm.  The way I saw it is that I could lose my job with an employer by pissing off the wrong person, but as my own boss I’d have to piss off a LOT of people to be out of business.

DD: What did you do to break the corporate jail? How did you prepare yourself for the employee to entrepreneur transition?

SF: See above…Rather than me breaking out of the corporate jail, the corporate jail kicked me out!  I didn’t have any time to prepare for the transition, which made things extremely difficult.  However, if I hadn’t been laid off I would’ve started taking fellow entrepreneurs out to lunch for advice on the best accountant, insurance coverage, office furniture, and phone plans.  I also recommend saving at least 6 months worth of living expenses.  Yes, I know it’s hard, but you need to save something so you’re not putting it all on credit cards.

After almost three years, it’s still hard, but easier than when I first started.  The biggest challenge that I face is learning the “back office” operations of running a business.  Things such as budgeting, payroll, managing cash flow, and accounting are my biggest challenges.  Specifically, I feel I’d be a lot more profitable if I knew how to use Quickbooks, or started working with a consultant familiar with Quickbooks.  I’m confident I can make good business decisions with accurate data, but because I didn’t properly set up Quickbooks my reports aren’t very useful since I didn’t input the data correctly!

DD: What are your top tips for employees who want to be entrepreneurs?

SF: 1.You can’t have your cake and eat it too.  As much as you hate your mean boss, low pay, and excessive workload, you’ll miss that guaranteed paycheck when you don’t have it, no matter how underpaid you might currently feel.  While I don’t have the work stress many of my contemporaries who work in law firms have, they don’t have to worry about paying the light bill, brining in enough business to stay afloat, or budgeting/marketing/cash flow issues.

2. If you decide to quit your job, make sure your medical house is in order before you leave, because you likely won’t be able to find individual health coverage that’s as comprehensive as the group coverage your employer currently offers.  Whether it’s that dental work you’ve been postponing, that new pair of eyeglasses you need, or a physical, get it done before you quit your job.

3.  Before you quit and do something totally different, work part time in your proposed field.  For example, if you think you’ve always wanted to own/manage a restaurant but have no experience, go work part time in one on the nights/weekends to see if it’s something you’ll like.  Nothing’s worse than quitting your job and committing yourself to something that you realize you don’t like.  The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.  If it doesn’t work out, all you’ve wasted are a few nights/weekends.  You may even gain a new appreciation for your job.

DD: How are you now? Are you still in same business, and how do you feel?

SF: Yes, I’m still in the same business.  I am more stressed out than ever, but it’s a different kind of stress.  As an employee you’re worried that if you screw up one thing, are late for work on the wrong day, or get blamed for something out of your control you’ll get fired.  As an entrepreneur I don’t have that kind of stress, but I have to worry about bringing in enough business to pay my employees, vendors, and landlord.  Oh, and while doing that, I can’t ignore my clients because they’ll go elsewhere.

DD: That was Shane Fischer everyone, attorney at law. Thanks Shane for the great tip about ‘sampling’ your career of interest before jumping in blindly…It’s definitely advisable to ensure you are getting into something you will enjoy before quitting your job and risking everything!  I agree with Shane’s words: “The grass isn’t always greener on the other side” despite the brilliant visions that may appear in your mind….So a word of caution, don’t rush into anything, and do your homework first!

Success to all!!