Starting over isn’t
easy
Credit:
Zac Ong
January 12, 2022
As
we start to emerge from the pandemic, I expect that a lot of newly unemployed
and somewhat older professionals (I’m thinking ages 40 to 55 years old) will be
wondering what to do next with their lives. It’s pretty clear that there’s
gonna be no going back for millions of these people (unemployment hit 6.3% in
January — twice the level from a year ago) and sadly the prospects of shifting
to another employer in their same or adjacent industry sectors are also going
to be looking pretty grim.
The
pandemic has provided ample cover and convenient excuses galore for cost
cutting, workforce reductions, and compensation caps that will be with us long
after the last vestiges of the virus. The rapid rise of white-collar job
targeted RPA (robotic process automation) is continually eliminating far more
jobs at higher and higher levels than are being created by new technologies.
A
lot of the job shrinkage we’re seeing is structural and permanent and, in
certain industries, long overdue. But, even in those spaces where rebuilding
has begun, most of the available slots are going to be filled by younger,
cheaper and more technical talent. Or, worse yet, by ‘digital’ workers, aka
bots. No one is going to tell older applicants to their face, but employers
today are too often looking for youthful energy (and even inexperience) rather
than lengthy employment histories, a lot of “experience,” and all the baggage
that comes with it. They’d rather save some money, start from scratch, and
“grow their own.” Older employees lecture; younger folks ideally listen, learn,
and rarely talk back.
A
lot of the job shrinkage we’re seeing is structural and permanent. But most of
the available slots are going to be filled by younger, cheaper and more
technical talent.
As
a result, especially after getting kicked in the teeth a few too many times,
the prospect of starting their own new businesses (as opposed to spending
another 6 months or longer getting turned down for jobs that they’re
overqualified for) will look pretty attractive to many of these WFH warriors.
One of the key reasons may well be because no one (except their family members
and maybe their financial advisors) can really tell them not to do it and
they’re pretty sick of hearing “No” all the time.
So,
I’m stepping up to the plate with a simple message: don’t kid yourself and take
a long look before you leap. Startups are hard and starting over is even harder
— especially when you’ve accumulated a bunch of family obligations and other
financial commitments. At a minimum, you’ve got to do a serious personal
inventory and really ask yourself honestly whether you’ve got the stuff and the
stomach for what it’s gonna take. And, of course, it goes without saying that
if your idea is just another “me-too” business with nothing distinctive or
different to set it apart, please don’t start.
Remember
that, for every breathless story bragging about some overnight startup success,
there are dozens of other “wannapreneurs” who are back on the breadline. They
may have started, but they never upped. And, in any event, before you insist on
heading down this very precarious path, here are a few things that it’s
important to keep in mind. Believe me when I tell you that whatever you
ultimately decide, you’ll thank me later.
