Roddypod

How can someone be selectively obsessive-compulsive? For starters, I only freak out over things that I care about and that are important to me. That explains why I do the bare minimum on a daily basis at my day job. If I don’t care about it, it won’t get 100% of my attention and efforts. If you really like your job, it’ll get your undivided attention. I don’t like my job, therefore I won’t try as hard as I need to.

Over the past month, Jess and I have been planning and coordinating our transition to our new house. This is a very big step for us so the attention to detail on this has been staggering. I obsess over every detail, down to the type of reflective numbers I want to put on the mailbox, the route I want to run ethernet cables in the basement for the home network, and where I want to install the cat door! I probably don’t need to freak out over these details but I do. Why? I don’t want to have unforeseen problems creeping up in the future. I plan incessantly for all possible scenarios so I know the possible outcomes and there won’t be any surprises.

As for my MBA, I don’t know if I’m making a mistake or not working towards it. I haven’t really put in a lot of effort into the program and that tells me that I probably shouldn’t be doing it. So many successful companies were founded by members without MBA’s. Some of them without any college degree. I don’t really want to drop out of graduate school because I’d be shooting myself in the foot if my business fails and I need to go back to working for “The Man”. If I do finish my MBA and I’m still in business, I know I can apply what I’ve learned to improve my business. If I drop out of school, it will be an uphill battle learning the ropes of marketing by trial and error. If I do stay in school, I should be on track to graduate this time next year. I probably won’t be able to start my business until after I graduate because I’ll actually have time to work on it. Once I graduate, the odds of me staying at my current job are slim and none.

I started thinking about working for myself for the past two years now. Why does this appeal to me? For starters, I’m very frustrated with where I am in my career. I don’t share the same vision and enthusiasm of my current employer. Right now, I’m just “paying the bills”. I’ve always wanted to be my own boss and work for myself. The thought of calling the shots excites me to no end. My dad was self-employed and has recently retired after running his successful business for 27 years. He didn’t have to answer to no one but himself! How cool is that?!?!

So, what am I going to do about it?. I want to start a software business where I will most likely be the only employee. I don’t want to be just any software developer, I want to be an indie Mac developer! I want to write programs for the Macintosh. I also want to write apps and services for the web. I have so many ideas in my head and on paper, I think that I can really make something that can sustain Jessica and I.

How am I going to do this? Where will I find the time? I have no time! Working full time and being in school leaves little for anything else. Getting an MBA is my “back up plan”. If all else fails, I can still find a management position where I can at least call some of the shots but still have to report to someone. So, I’m thinking of extending my studies to give me more time to work on my ventures. I was planning on taking two classes per term but I feel like I’m stretched too thin. So, I’m going to finish this term and next term and then take one class per term after that. It’ll take me about a year longer to get my MBA but it’ll still be worth it in the long run.

What do I want to start first? I would like to start my indie Mac software business first until it generates enough income to allow me to leave my current job. I have several ideas that I think can generate some income quickly. More on that later. As for my web business(es), I have a few ideas kicking around that are mostly based on ad revenue models. Subscription based models are a little tougher to sustain but I might investigate that later. What I plan on doing first is making a compliment to an existing service from another company and hopefully having them incorporate it into their site. I will put advertising on my pages and share any ad revenue. This will also be applied to other sites at later dates.

So there you have it. Sorry I didn’t go into too much detail but I want to develop the apps a little more before I let the cat out of the bag. I’ll definitely do some previews when it comes close to launching to hopefully drive interest and traffic. When that’ll be, I hope it’s soon. Stay tuned…

I have a CS degree. I should be a programmer but I’m not. My job title is “User Support Specialist II”. They have different levels which only differentiates your salary. I don’t even know if there’s a level III but I don’t want to stick around to find out.

Just last week, I was passed over on a possible promotion. I could have been working on a database/programming project that would be a lot more exciting than what I’m doing now. Instead, someone else was hired fresh out of college to take over that project. I’m not too happy with that.

My dissatisfaction for this job was the final nail in the proverbial coffin. This job has pushed me over the edge. In a way, I am grateful to have this job because it made me realize that being almost 26 years old, I haven’t accomplished anything professionally. This job jump-started my decision to go back to school for my MBA. I knew I’d go back to school, but if I didn’t hate my job so much and want a change, I don’t think I would’ve gone back so soon.

I don’t think I’ll be working here much longer. I don’t think I could tolerate it here for the next year and a half while going to school. I need something less stressful and something that is a little more challenging. On the side, I have been programming. I have begun on a few Mac apps as well as some Dashboard Widgets that I will be blogging about later. Some of the apps will be free, the others will be paid apps. I’ll start a separate site and incorporate. I’m hoping to get this accomplished by next summer if not sooner. Stay tuned…