So how’d I get here? I began the corporate journey at the age of twenty-two. I hired on for what I thought would be a job to serve until I found something else. I was setting up a store for a growing retailer (no intention of giving free publicity to my former employer. “You gotta pay, Frank. You gotta pay” Cole Younger, The Long Riders). Promotions to hourly supervisor positions eventually transitioned to salaried management. A growing family, stock splits, and stories from managers who were retiring at the age of forty kept me connected. “If I can at least stick with it for seven years until I’m fully vested, then I can do something on my own,” I thought. Thirty-two years and nine months later, I was laid off from my career, with a retirement fund which was sorely lacking (largely due to years of tending to immediate needs rather than the future needs).
When the axe fell, I must admit I had hopes I would find some new vocation with which to support myself and my family. Thirty-three years of corporate grind, dealing with customer complaints, managing people issues, commuting, and following someone else’s direction left me wanting a different way of life. Yet, that need for stability which had kept me connected continued to pull at me. Though I’d always dreamed of going it on my own, I focused my efforts on finding another corporate position where I could use my management experience. Even while I was looking, there were these dreams of a little building where I could do my thing all day long, listen to music if I chose, dress casually, step back with a look of pride at my work, take a long lunch with my wife if I wanted, and basically be the master of my own destiny. But how would I pay the bills?
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