I’m generally not a fan of autobiographical blogs, but something happened to me last week that I think bears relating.
A Little Background
In 2011, after almost 20 years as a so-called factory rep in the IT industry, I found myself working for a company that was just not a good fit for me. That bad fit manifested itself in my dismissal from the company in October of that year. (They fired me on a Sunday afternoon. By phone. Nice, huh?) Although this was the first time in more than 30 years that I’d been fired from a job, it wasn’t unanticipated.
A Geezer Looks for Work
My first reaction was to start looking for another factory rep job. I had a bunch of interviews and by Christmas 2011 it looked like the new year would find me secure in one of two positions for which I’d had multiple call backs and even plane flights to meet with senior executives. Neither one of them panned out. I began to realize something – the factory rep job is a young man’s (or woman’s) game. At 54 years old, I had simply become too old for the job. Of course the prospective employers couldn’t legally tell me that, but it is a fact. “They want the hair and the teeth” is the way a recruiter friend put it.
I could have gone to work for any one of numerous IT resellers and/or integrators, many of whom already knew me as their rep from my prior job(s). A few reached out to me when they heard I was looking for work, and for that I was gratified. But after a lot of reflection, my impulse was to strike out on my own, to try to forge something I could be proud of, to create a role from scratch that was tailored to my skills, expertise and personality.
The Decision
So in early 2012, I founded Southern Data Storage with a very simple mission: utilize my hard-earned expertise in the disciplines of data storage and data protection to find great products made by emerging, innovative companies, and then find business customers for whom those products are a great fit. After a few lean months, SDS began to find its rhythm. Since then it’s been an incredible learning experience, sometimes frustrating and infuriating, but also an amazing amount of fun.
A Blinding Flash
This past week I had an epiphany. My recruiter friend called me, once again, to see if I’d be interested in interviewing for another factory rep job. The job is right in my wheel house – I know the technology, the territory, even the prospective customer base. It is a perfect fit. After a brief conversation with her, discussing the pros & cons of the opportunity, it hit me: I’m not interested. I like what I’m doing now. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished with SDS so far and I’m excited for the future. I’m having fun. So, my response to my friend was “Nah, I think I’ll pass.” Perhaps other entrepreneurs will relate to this – the moment when you realize you really are one. It was an emotional experience.
So I guess in retrospect the folks who cut me loose in 2011 and the folks who didn’t hire me in 2012 did me multiple favors, although some would not become evident for awhile. So to those folks, I’d like to say thanks for allowing me the opportunity to become what I probably should have become a long time ago: an entrepreneur. I like this role. It fits.
“Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.” – Mark Twain