Two Roads

May 8, 2012 by jason

Starting sometime in January, things around here have really started to heat up.  I have fielded numerous inquiries from head-hunters, experienced a giant step up in project quote requests, and have talked to a handful of new and existing customers about forging a full-time arrangement.  To me, it appears that I have reached a cross-roads with fourfightingfoxes that could easily move forward on one of two different tracks.

(a) I could further invest in my budding young business and spend some time looking for a new partner to share the workload.

(b) I could transition back into the world of full-time employment, including all of the benefits and drawbacks associated with working for someone else.

I am very happy with my current situation.  My independence affords me an incredible amount of flexibility to adapt to the ever changing schedule of my 7 mo. old son.  With my wife also working full-time, that flexibility is nearly priceless.  ​nearly.

​Some of the offers have still managed to be quite intriguing.  Here is a Pros and Cons comparison of how I see the two options:

Option (a): Grow fourfightingfoxes

Option (b): Join existing company

​​​Pros

  • Maintain maximum flexibility
  • Greater long-term income potential
  • Greater job satisfaction

Pros

  • Income Stability
  • Learning potential
  • *Immediate income increase
  • Group health / 401k / Company Benefits

Cons

  • Month-to-month income instability
  • Finding a good candidate will be difficult / time consuming
  • Greater long-term financial risk

Cons

  • Losing existing progress in fourfightingfoxes
  • *Decrease in flexibility
  • Decrease in autonomy

The items in *italics​ represent potentially negotiable details, the value of which may strongly sway the balance of the scales.  Specifically, the starting salary could be a large factor, as well as the ability for me to maintain as much flexibility as possible by working remotely, making my own hours, and leveraging available technology to interface with my co-workers using video chat, screen sharing, etc.

I attempted to organize the items in descending order of importance for each list, but even that wasn't very easy.

There is one offer in particular that really appeals to me.  So much so, that we have already begun a large project together, with the intent of exploring how a full-time position would feel for both parties.  The company is called SelectMinds, and they are interested in bringing me on board as a UI Developer for their TalentVine product offering, which is a powerful job referral platform.  The position would place me on the front wave of the social media explosion, which I think would be fascinating.  The current arrangement allows me about as much flexibility as I can imagine while still working in a collaborative environment.  The expectations for compensation also seem promising, with the potential to boost my effective income by ~30% (largely due to the absence of self-employment tax).

I am very excited about the opportunities that lay before me right now, but I also feel the need to proceed cautiously and with great consideration.  I'd love to hear opinions from others, especially if I am missing some important factors that should not be overlooked in making this decision.

posted in Entrepreneurship