Change is in the wind!

I have been debating whether not to tell you guys this.  As I mentioned early I am generally a private person, but in keeping with my stated goals of sharing my experiences with you, I’m going to go ahead and create this blog.

It’s been a very difficult time for me lately.  Since I was laid-off in May I have had one foot moving towards business ownership and another looking for a new job.

I wonder how many of you have been in the same scenario.

About two weeks ago, after becoming frustrated with the job application process, I gave up the notion of finding a new job.

What triggered my frustration was a failed job application.  Why was this failure so dramatic?

After successfully completing eight interviews and four behavior and personality tests, it looked like my job-hunt was over.  Except that…the company I did all this for decided that they had to regroup and reconsider whether the role I was interviewing for was actually needed. After all that effort and 4 months of waiting for the next hoop to jump through, I was still unemployed.

How could a $3.5 Trillion Company be so disjointed!

I channeled my frustrations into an energy boost to focus on my business.  Within two weeks I had registered Procurpro Limited Liability Company in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, registered the URL procurpro.com, and developed some marketing materials.  This week I began executing on my marketing plan.  You can read what my marketing plan is here.

A week ago, a conversation with an old colleague turned into a potential job lead.  Honestly at the time I wasn’t sure that I would be all that interested in working for my friends company.  It’s a big Fortune 50 global company.  It’s similar to work I have done before.  To my surprise they showed a great deal of interest.  In less than a week I had a phone interview and the company is flying me out this week for face-to-face interviews at their corporate office.

This brings me to a crossroads.

On one hand I have the beginnings of a business I really believe in, but don’t expect to see income from for at least another 6 months.  And on the other (assuming an offer follows) I could have a job that will probably pay me a very handsome salary immediately.

I’ve been going through the pros and cons in my head and I’m still on the fence.  I have considered whether or not I can do both.  I suspect that my new employer would be loath to allow me to keep a full-time job and still own a side business.  It is also possible that they might perceive my business as a competitor.  Not to mention the fact that I don’t expect to have the time to focus on my business while I’m working full time for them.

So if and offer is made and the income is as substantial as I expected to be, I will have to make a choice.

I don’t generally like cliff-hangers but since this is an ongoing thing, I won’t be able to tell you how this ends in this entry.

I’d do however want your feedback.  How many of you have been in this situation?  Did you make the choice to take the job or did you stick to your conviction to start a business?  Were you happy with the choice you made?  These are the choices I need to make.