[Advice Needed] Committing to a Company or Going on my own Path

[Being Cao Khanh]

Hey guys, so I need to make a big decision on my career and I would greatly appreciate other's perspective on how to choose between:

(1) Going off on my own: I have a vision for myself in the future of working on my own, solo-entrepreneur type and I'm currently pursuing it through building a Youtube channel that aims of Making Young Vietnamese Wiser. As of now, I will need 2 or 3 more years before I can switch to full-time here.

(2) Committing to a Company: I have been working at a tech startup that builds Personal-development-related Apps for 2 years and the CEO has offered me a partner position, which will give me a lot more benefits (shares, higher salaries...), but also a lot more responsibility (committing to at least 5 more years, dedicating my vision toward the company also).

I'm 22 now, the work at the startup is paying for my living and allows me to do my Youtube on the side. Although I do believe that the start-up would grow much more in 5 more years and this would greatly secure me financially, I'm still more inclined to branching off on my own.

What would you do if you were in my position?

Thanks

[lanasoul]

Hi there, fellow Vietnamese. 

I have been struggling to find the answer for that same question and after some serious contemplating and self-reflecting I have come up with the best solution for myself, hope it'd apply to your case. 

Committing to a company!!

Yes, it sucks to work for someone else, when you know fair well that you have great potential and you can do and achieve so much when you have that sense of freedom. But hey, you're only 22 years old. Even tho you would love to believe you are wiser than most people your age, there are a lot of things you still need to learn, develop (mentally, spiritually, financially, heck even physically) in order to achieve that ultimate goal "being self-employed and eventually reaching financial freedom". 

You are still contributing greatly to the society while working for that start-up, so why not? Taking that 2-3 years there as an opportunity to grow and prep yourself for that future you have been dreaming of. 

Hope this help you somehow haha. If you live in Saigon or Hanoi let's have some chats after this sucky quarantine is over! It's nice to finally meet someone here who's Vietnamese :))

[Snader]

YT is not very trustworthy business idea. Of course it can create lots of wealth, but I wouldn't count all on that.

Maybe you have a killer idea that is already doing fine and looks promising signs for the future, I don't know. But quitting a decent job without promising and tangible signs would be foolish. It's also good to remember that quitting that job would create financial pressure and stress, that you probably wouldn't want to have when doing artistic work.

Your life purpose is not going anywhere, so maybe keep working on your day job while at the same time strengthening your LP idea. By the time you are done with your day job, you have a strong foundation for your LP so that you are ready to kick some serious ass.

Anyway, listen to your higher self, while also not denying some crude facts about life and finance, and you will make the right choice for yourself.

[Being Cao Khanh]

@Snader @Peter Miklis @lanasoul Thank you all for your input. I have been asking around and seems like I should really consider take it slow and build up my Life Purpose with the commitment

[Bando]

If you feel this start up could turn into something and you enjoy the work and their values stick around. Gary Vee was saying that sometimes its better to be the 8th person at facebook that a ceo of your own company

[Yarco]

On 6/3/2021 at 0:04 AM, Being Cao Khanh said:

building a Youtube channel (...) As of now, I will need 2 or 3 more years before I can switch to full-time here.

Why 2 or 3 years? How did you calculate that number? And what number of subscribers, monthly ad revenue, or other metric will tell you when it's time to switch to full-time?

What is holding you back from committing to the company AND working 2x as hard on your Youtube channel as you currently are?

I just looked up your channel and it looks quite good. I don't speak the language, but they look well edited and packed full of detailed information. So I understand that they take a lot of time to produce. But if you are passionate about going full-time, you need to work a little bit harder to get there. Like at least 20%.

Before your most recent video that you uploaded today, your last one was 2 weeks ago. I think you should be aiming to upload a video on the same day of the week at the same time each week.

That might mean waking up 2 hours earlier every day for the next couple of years. Or 2 hours per night less doing stuff you enjoy. But now while you're young and have lots of energy is the best time to do it.

[Being Cao Khanh]

@Bando That's a great point from Gary. If I made this decision, I will basically become the number 2 at the start up. We are only 300k in annual revenue but I do believe it will grow tremendously. So sticking around will be beneficial financially a lot.

[Being Cao Khanh]

@Yarco I calculate by the number of growth expected in views to reach to a reliably amount of money from Youtube ads to cover my basic needs (which is around $500 here per month in Vietnam).

I agree with doing both. But I guess the thing that's bugging me about is the "freedom" aspect of committing to work for someone else for a really long time (to me it's a long time haha, 5 years now seems like my whole youth).

Thank you for calling me out on my inconsistency haha. Thank you man, I'm aiming for weekly on Sunday but sometimes I fall off this schedule. Mostly due to a low ability in self-governance.

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Anyways, I guess I will be sticking with both. I feel like I'm in no particular rush and working in the company doesn't necessary mean sacrificing my Freedom forever. It just means I have to work harder in the short-term or develop more patience.

Either way, I think it's the most reasonable and sound decision for me right now.