“Every parent of a special-needs child fears the day they will no longer be around to care for them”
It was bittersweet to read Shaina Keren’s response to the man asking about whether to turn his side hustle into a business.
Mrs. Keren’s advice sounded wise and responsible, and I hope that works for the person who asked, or anyone else who read it. But I was amused at how she made it sound like any decent boss would surely support his employee through this sort of transition, keeping him on payroll and encouraging him to grow the side business. Unfortunately, that was not my experience.
I was in a similar situation several years ago; I was very appreciative of the opportunities and experience I gained at my job, but I also knew that I could not be an employee forever. I knew I had the skill and ability to open my own business, and would be overqualified for my job within a matter of time.
I started taking side jobs in an industry that used the skills I had gained while at my company, but completely unrelated to the services my boss provided, and in a completely different market. Like Mrs. Keren, I thought my boss would be happy for me and we’d come to a mutually workable three-year plan for me to slowly scale back and invest in my business, which on my side, would include finding and training a replacement.
Create a free account to keep reading.
