Opportunity Knocked. I Opened The Door.
Jun 15 2008
You’ve probably seen those Nationwide insurance commercials that go something like “Life comes at you fast. That’s why there’s Nationwide.” And they show people whose car gets hit by a garage door, a leaf blower or some other random, humorous, or shocking thing. Check out some of their video ads on their site.
Photo by Sandy Blanchard
Well in every entrepreneurial journey things can happen fast and often there appears a fork in the road. I decided to pick one of the paths that will have quite an impact on my ability to spend time on Babble Soft. The opportunity presented itself when I wasn’t looking and I had to take a cold, hard look at it. The difference between success and failure can often come down to being open to opportunities that seem to randomly present themselves.
The decision on which path to take was not an easy one. It was not made without much thought, stress, doubt, questions, frustration, etc., but I believe it is the right decision for me, my family, and yes even for Babble Soft.
I worked part-time on Babble Soft for a while and started full time in late 2007. As some of you know, I went out to raise funds in early February 2008. By end of March and early April (because I’ve raised funds before and could see the writing on the wall) it became clear to me this was not going to happen right now for a variety of reasons including:
- We are too early. In other words, we don’t yet have enough users or market traction to make investors comfortable enough to take the bet given they have started losing money on many of their Web 2.0 companies that they invested in at the concept or early beta stage. It’s become clearer to me that we are trying to “create a market” which is often quite painful and takes a long time. Therefore, I cannot yet prove that the market is HUGE for what we were trying to do. By the way, what you see on the site is just a fraction of what I envision as a site for new parents. It also did not help that we continue to struggle to find a good SEO rhythm due to a variety of reasons including the fact we are, as I mentioned, for all intents and purposes making a market.
- I need a business partner. It’s tough going it alone without someone to bounce ideas off of on a daily basis. What I need is a strong technical co-founder and/or an expert consumer marketing partner. I remember meeting with another Austin entrepreneur, Chris Justice of Sparksight, a while back and he shared with me a sound bite from one of his mentors: “People fund teams, not individuals.” My husband helps me a lot, but he has a full time job and isn’t really into the business concept the same way I am.
- The economy is in flux. Investors and consumers alike are concerned about the economy, high gas prices, home foreclosures, job losses, the presidential election, impending tax increases, etc. and their behavior and outlooks have changed. I won’t freak you out with links to all the articles about the demise of Web 2.0/social networks and people losing their money and their jobs but suffice it to say there are many. There’s also a lot of good stuff happening but uncertainty is definitely in the air.
- Other personal stuff I can’t blog about yet but which is probably the biggest driving force for choosing this path right now.
So, not being one to continue banging bang her head against a brick wall, I took a J-O-B (another form of insurance that I don’t think Nationwide or any other insurance company offers) to support my entrepreneurial addiction!
I wasn’t looking, but the opportunity arose for an interesting, most likely fun, hopefully low stress job working with people I like. My boss (who has been a long time subscriber to my blog) is a very cool guy who I’m sure I’ll enjoy working with. He knows I will continue working on Babble Soft and is very supportive of my doing so. He also knows I’m a mom to two great kids and wife to a pretty good guy. 😉
I’m excited about the potential of this job combined with what’s going on in the rest of my life. Of course, I will have to become a guru in time management to make it all work.
The entrepreneurial lifestyle is not made up of beautifully paved, straight roads. There are often detours and roundabouts. Right now I’m crossing my fingers that this path I’ve chosen will lead to bigger and better things for me, my family, and my company. A friend of mine, who is a screen writer trying to make it big in Los Angeles, CA (probably similar odds to building a successful company), wrote an excellent post about his decision four years ago to do the same thing I’m doing now when he took a job. He reflects on how its been both a good and bad decision for his goal to become a recognized, well-paid screen writer.
I’ll continue to blog and will eventually tell you more about my new ‘day job’ so Sign up for free email updates so you can see a) how I make it work or b) a train wreck in action. If you see a train wreck about to happen, please leave comments and maybe if I read enough of them, I can find a way to build another track or jump off the train beforehand!
Aruni
Author: Aruni | Filed under: babble soft, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, fundraising | Tags: babble soft, day job, entrepreneurial journey, entrepreneurship, opportunity knocking, taking a day job | 24 Comments »
Best wishes on your new adventure in employement! It sounds like you’ve given it quite a lot of thought and chosen the best path for you right now. I’ll be cheering you on.
Connie Reeces last blog post..Anywhere News, No Boundaries
Aruni, all the best in your new challenge. I’m excited to think of all the new things you’ll be learning, and then applying in the future to your own ventures.
Becky McCrays last blog post..Failures are close to success
Good luck and best wishes — I know you’ll do well! And Babblesoft will come out stronger than ever at the other end of this little detour — just wait and see…. : )
Caroles last blog post..Twitter Updates for 2008-06-14
Good luck with your new Job. I hope the extra time gives the market a chance to catch up with your ideas for BabbleSoft! You’ll be right there waiting for it when it does.
Debbie
Debbies last blog post..Most Popular Articles in May
Aruni, we’ll be following your blog posts to see how this new twist in your BabbleSoft adventure opens new doors for you! Best wishes as you take this step!
Aruni, I’ve been waiting with suspense to see what the “fork in the road” was…and am excited to find out more about your new job when you can share! It is truly amazing where life can take us sometimes. I know things didn’t go exactly as planned with BabbleSoft but at the same time, this new chapter of your life sounds incredible. Wishing you much success in your new endeavors!
Jessicas last blog post..Get the Scoop on Family Friendly Vacations at TripAdvisor.com
@Connie – It’s always great to have you as a cheerleader!
@Becky – I am looking forward to learning new things.
@Carole – Thanks for the encouragement and your continued support!
@Debbie – Sometimes it is a matter of timing and hopefully as you say the market will catch up. 🙂
@Elaine – I am looking forward to seeing what’s behind the new doors I’m bound to come across.
@Jessica – I remember the saying by someone famous (but I don’t remember there name right now) that goes “life is what happens to you while you are making other plans.” So even though, as you said, it hasn’t turned out exactly as I planned I’m hoping it will eventually turn out better than I planned!
Aruni,
Just remember that it’s not a J-O-B unless it S-U-X. The road to passion/bliss not only has forks, but dips, curves, hills, and valleys. That’s what makes it fun! If you don’t believe me – take the drive from Waco to Dallas some time – BORING!!!
I know you’ll have fun in your new corporate position, and show them how smart they are for hiring you! Stay happy, keep blogging, and enjoy!
Mary McDs last blog post..Moving Day Preparation – lessons learned
Good luck, Aruni! I know you will do great things with BabbleSoft regardless of the J-O-B status. It might just open up more doors for you. “Making a market” is a challenge, but at least you will be “first to market” when it’s there. 🙂
Nicoles last blog post..Sleep Quick Tip – Which breast is next at 3am?
@Mary McD – I have taken the drive from Waco to Dallas many times and as you said, it is pretty boring! I’m looking forward to where this path takes me.
@Nicole – Great point about being ‘first to market’ when the market surfaces. 🙂 Made me chuckle!
Whoever you went to work for has got to be thanking his lucky stars! So glad you will continue working on BabbleSoft.
Zena Weists last blog post..KC tweetup
Your new boss is getting a real gem!!!
And I totally understand your reasoning. Can’t wait to hear how things go. When it’s right for Babblesoft, it will be right! 🙂
Congrats honey.
Hey Aruni — It sounds like you’ve made a very wise, well-thought-out decision. You’ve really looked at the big picture in a clear way. You’ve cemented a solid present for yourself, and you will have continued success in your future — absolutely! Keep us posted! 🙂
Having worked there myself for almost 5 years I can tell everyone that it is in fact a great workplace with the freedom to make the J-O-B whatever one wants to make of it. Plus, Aruni’s boss is truly a great guy and I’m sure she will be given what she needs to be successful….including continuing her work on Babble Soft. B-)
Erin Defosses last blog post..Next Austin Bilingüe Meeting – Wed, June 25, 2008 from 7 to 9 pm
@Zena Weist – that’s so nice of you to say!
@GeekMommy – you are so sweet! Crossing my fingers the timing all works out.
@Kristin Gorski – thanks. You make me sound so wise. 🙂
@Erin – I can’t believe you’ve been there almost 5 years!
Aruni, we are REALLY glad to have you on board! I’m sure you’ll be blogging about your new role, so I won’t steal your thunder except to say to your readers: Although it’s true that Aruni is now drawing a salary, her J-O-B is intimately involved in entrepreneurship and should provide excellent fodder for future posts!
Hi Aruni, you know in all this time I have been reading your blog, I don’t think i left one comment! Had to change that.
Just keep up the great work – blogging and everything else!
Pauls last blog post..BabbleSoft Blogger moving on
@Isaac – glad to be aboard! It should be an interesting journey.
@Paul – Thanks and glad you finally came out of lurking mode and left a comment. 🙂
[…] Means… « Opportunity Knocked. I Opened The Door. […]
[…] that I have my first come-to-the-office everyday job since the kids were born, I’m working my way back up the salary scale. However if I find a […]
[…] the limb was resting rather comfortably with no sign of roof damage. The next day while I was at my day job Erin met with the tree inspector guys who said we had to cut it […]
[…] so I’m still trying to figure out how blogging fits in with my full time day job so I’ll continue on the fortune cookie fortune blogging escapade (they make for good post […]
I related to this post and I’ve found that the only consistent thing in life, I’ve found, is change. Plan B might be BETTER than “Plan A”. But if it’s not, there is always “Plan C”. I feel at times I’m on “Plan N”. Good luck and I’ll be lurking by soon.
@michelle – thanks for stopping by. It is so true that change is probably the only constant in life. I have tried various Plans with different things in my life so now it’s onward and upward!