Fire Your Boss When You Are 30: Start When You Are 18

This report applies to college graduates as well as those completing high school. 

The college person should act as soon as they read this; they have already lost valuable time. We’ll begin by explaining WHY you need to have your own business (even if—especially if—you’re employed elsewhere). Then we’ll discuss HOW. 

Age 18 is the starting point because that is the age of legality. You have to be able to make agreements without the consent of your parents to have your own business. 

High school and college people are all young enough to think they are invincible. 

They are armed with tremendous knowledge, and they can change the world and live happily forever. That is, until the first pink job-termination slip comes and payments are due on that spiffy new SUV. There may also be family considerations. Everyone has to have a roof over his or her head, clothes, and food. Health also is not usually an issue for young people, but the very lifestyles we all enjoy are beginning to sicken us. Nothing is ever secure and certain, especially in the present economic climate. 

Think for a minute what you are to your employer. 

No matter the level of your training when you go to your first job, you know absolutely nothing. Everyone requires some amount of orientation to learn about the company environment. You will probably never specifically use much of what you were taught in school. You will learn about ongoing processes in your company and go from there. In time, you will become an asset of some economic value to your employer. You’re human, but after that you are much like a computer or machine that has been purchased

.

When buying machinery and equipment, what happens? The buyer tries to negotiate the lowest price. The same thing happens when an employee is hired. You are paid the lowest amount required to get you to work. That may be hard, but it is true. 

Then, when the economy sours and business is off, who goes first? Absent a requirement for experience or unusual ability, the oldest will go first, then the highest paid and those with the longest service time or seniority.

Why? Because these classes of employees:

• Make too much money
  
• Have too many health problems
  
• Know too much about the company and its managers
  
• Aren’t as attractive as younger people
  
• Resist change
  
• May soon be eligible for expensive retirement benefits

In an interview with the Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/ liveonline/01/politics/johnson110201.htm), Heritage Foundation Economist Dr. Kirk Johnson said economists generally believe the “natural rate of unemployment” is about 6%. In fact, according to the U.S.Bureau of Labor Statistics, since 1939, there has been no decade without at least one year of unemployment exceeding 6%. That’s for the entire year, not just a month or two. In all of those years of relatively high unemployment, many persons were unable to find work. 

If your job is terminated for any reason, or if you leave the workforce for a time and try to return, you may have difficulty. Where you live and the state of the economy may have a lot to do with your chances of finding employment.

If you are over 30, your problems begin to accelerate. This is why you should be able to fire your boss if you want to or if you must.

What is happening at this time in your career? “I just started,” you say. Your employability could change quickly. 

Consider these facts: 

If you had a good job before being unemployed, your previous pay scale may be a barrier. Even if you are willing to accept less pay, your employer is likely to believe you will be dissatisfied. Given a choice, the employer will likely choose someone who isn’t used to making a lot of money.

Sometimes a high level of education works against you. You may be willing to take a job below your skill level, but an employer is likely to view you as a potentially unhappy employee if you are overqualified for your job (and your salary). You may be expected to take a better job as soon as one is available; the employer will then have to go to the effort and expense of finding and training a new person. 

Soon your age will also become an impediment to finding a new job.

When you’re 30, you’re still a viable employee with seemingly endless opportunities. This isn’t so in reality. You begin to lose much of your employment flexibility around age 35!

When you’re 40 you are out of the desirable hiring group. Proof of this is the age bias law covering employees 40 or older. This is the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. 

The law sounds fine, but without an overt act by a company manager, you’re toast after 40. You can’t stop potential employers from considering your age in their mind, can you? They will act on what they are thinking and little of this will help you as birthdays mount. 

There is no loyalty in the job market, and employees know this. They begin to try to manage their own destiny early. CNN quotes a study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, in December, 2000, money.cnn.com/2000/12/11/people/ q_college/index.htm as saying 25 percent of college graduates leave their first jobs within five years. Although the article cites a strong economy as one reason for this situation, the fact remains that this trend continues to be a factor for many businesses. 

Assuming most college graduates are 22 or 23 (unless you are on the increasingly common six-year schedule) five years will bring you close to 30 years old. You need to be able to fire your boss, as stormy years are approaching for your career. 

In "Die Broke" by Stephen M. Pollan and Mark Levine (Harper Business, First Edition, 1998), the authors deal with some facts many people don’t want to acknowledge: There is no such thing as job security, and to seek such a position in today's job market is useless and very frustrating. 

"Die Broke" provides a great solution to this problem. Wherever you are, whatever your age, “quit your job”…at least in your mind.

To quit—in your mind—just realize your job does not define you. It is simply a way of making as much money as you can. 

Constantly keep a current resume and do your networking in order to stay in the highest paying job you can find. The authors call this the “Mercantile Ethic”; you work simply to increase your earnings.

This is an excellent plan, but remember you become less able to do this after 35. Therefore, your home-based business is a must for your future financial security. 

Also, consider this chart showing the employment situation for each of the 50 states: 

Current Unemployment Rates for States and Historical Highs/Lows
SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Current Unemployment Rates for States and Historical Highs/Lows
Seasonally Adjusted
	Mar. 2003p	Historical High		Historical Low
State	Rate	Date	Rate	Date	Rate
ALABAMA	5.7	Dec. 1982	15.6	Aug. 1998	4.1
ALASKA	6.8	Aug. 1986	11.6	Nov. 1998	5.6
ARIZONA	5.9	Feb. 1983	11.7	Jan. 2001	3.7
ARKANSAS	5	Feb. 1983	10.5	Nov. 1999	4.2
CALIFORNIA	6.6	Feb. 1983	11	Feb. 2001	4.7
COLORADO	5.7	Oct. 1982	8.8	Jan. 2001	2.6
CONNECTICUT	5.2	Feb. 1992	8.2	Aug. 2000	2.1
DELAWARE	4.1	Jan. 1982	9.1	May-88	2.9
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA	6.4	Jul-83	11.9	Nov. 1988	4.4
FLORIDA	5.3	Mar. 1983	9.7	Jul-00	3.5
GEORGIA	4.6	Dec. 1982	8.5	Mar. 2001	3.5
HAWAII	3.7	Sept. 1978	7.8	Jul-89	2.3
IDAHO	5.5	Jan. 1983	11.4	Jan. 2001	4.4
ILLINOIS	6.6	Dec. 1982	12.9	Apr. 2000	4.1
INDIANA	4.7	Nov. 1982	12.7	Sept. 2000	2.8
IOWA	4	Jan. 1983	8.9	Nov. 1999	2.3
KANSAS	4.7	Aug. 1982	7.5	Jun-78	2.7
KENTUCKY	5.7	Dec. 1982	12.6	Apr. 2000	3.8
LOUISIANA	6.3	Sept. 1986	13.6	Dec. 1999	4.7
MAINE	4.5	Feb. 1983	9.9	Jan. 2001	3.3
MARYLAND	4.5	Jan. 1982	8.7	Jan. 2000	3.5
MASSACHUSETTS	5.7	Jul-91	9.6	Aug. 2000	2.5
MICHIGAN	6.7	Nov. 1982	16.3	Mar. 2000	3.1
MINNESOTA	4.4	Feb. 1983	9.2	Apr. 1999	2.4
MISSISSIPPI	5.9	Feb. 1983	13.8	Feb. 1999	4.7
MISSOURI	4.8	Apr. 1983	10.6	Jan. 2000	2.9
MONTANA	4.2	Mar. 1983	9.2	Feb. 2003	4
NEBRASKA	3.7	Jan. 1983	7.1	Jun-90	2.1
NEVADA	5.5	Feb. 1983	11.6	Jun-78	3.7
NEW HAMPSHIRE	4.1	Jul-82	7.9	Mar. 1988	2.2
NEW JERSEY	5.9	May-92	9.4	Feb. 2001	3.4
NEW MEXICO	5.9	Feb. 1983	11.7	Mar. 2001	4.6
NEW YORK	6	Apr. 1983	9.2	Apr. 1988	3.9
NORTH CAROLINA	6	Feb. 1983	10	Jun-99	3
NORTH DAKOTA	3.7	May-86	6.7	Oct. 1997	2.3
OHIO	6.1	Jan. 1983	13.8	Mar. 2001	3.6
OKLAHOMA	5.1	May-83	9.7	Feb. 2000	2.9
OREGON	7.6	Jan. 1983	12.4	Mar. 1995	4.4
PENNSYLVANIA	5.8	Feb. 1983	13.1	Apr. 2000	4
RHODE ISLAND	5.3	Oct. 1982	10.9	May-88	2.7
SOUTH CAROLINA	5.9	Feb. 1983	11.7	Mar. 1998	3.3
SOUTH DAKOTA	3.2	Feb. 1983	6.3	Mar. 2000	1.9
TENNESSEE	4.8	Dec. 1982	12.8	Mar. 2000	3.7
TEXAS	6.7	Oct. 1986	9.4	Dec. 2000	3.8
UTAH	5.8	Apr. 1983	10.5	Mar. 1997	2.9
VERMONT	4.1	May-83	7.5	Jul-88	2.4
VIRGINIA	4.2	Mar. 1982	8	Jul-00	2.1
WASHINGTON	7	Nov. 1982	12.5	Nov. 1997	4.4
WEST VIRGINIA	5.7	Feb. 1983	19.5	Oct. 2001	4.7
WISCONSIN	5.5	Jan. 1983	12.7	Jun-99	2.8
WYOMING	4.1	Feb. 1987	10.7	Apr. 1979	2.2
Note: Data series begin in January 1978, except for California, where it begins in January 1980.
Rates shown are a percentage of the labor force.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Data refer to place of residence. Estimates for recent years are provisional and will be revised when new benchmark and population information becomes available.
Historical highs and lows show the most recent month that a rate was recorded in the event of multiple occurrences.
Last Modified Date: May 8, 2003

If you live in a state with 5.5 % unemployment or higher you will have difficulty finding a new job. 

There IS a better way! 

There is a new business model made easier by Internet technology. It provides a way for a person to devote a small amount of time each week and gradually build a business with great flexibility in a few years. It has the power to provide an income in six figures. 

So, if your job is terminated, if you are laid off, if you become ill, or you just get tired of the hassle, so what? You don’t need to work for anybody but YOURSELF! 

Everyone won’t have the vision to see how such a business really works. A doctor or lawyer making perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars each year is likely to scoff at anyone’s ability to spend a small amount, perhaps just $29.95 per month, to make any kind of serious income. 

But many successful entrepreneurs have done just that.

How do you start a home-based business? 

Excellent blueprints for success are right in your MoneyPak. There are interviews with successful entrepreneurs who have appeared in past issues of SFI Magazine. These may be viewed from your MoneyPak or online at IAHBE  under the MoneyPak section. 

Pick a month, and you’ll find archived interviews. 

In Volume 5, No. 4, Charles Fuchs tells how he became a Diamond in Lifeforce International in just five months. His best month at the time of the interview was $57,000. 

The story of Jennifer Ambrose is in Volume 6, No. 1. Her business is Empowerism and she was profitable after one month. At the time of her interview, her monthly income was $20,000. 

Gery Carson has written two books about great entrepreneurs. His latest one is "The Home Business Revolution’s Greatest Entrepreneurs, Volume 2" (HBRGE), Carson Services, Inc., 2003. 

Joseph Lemire is interviewed in this book. Mr. Lemire represents Pre-Paid Legal Services. Although he did not specifically say what he makes in a month, he did indicate it’s about what many make in a year. 

There are many other success stories in Gery’s HBRGE books and there will be more to come as free book-of-the-month offers with your monthly MoneyPak. There’s no need to re-invent the wheel. Study these interviews and fit their ideas into your plan. 

If you’re interested in one of the businesses you find here, contact the person mentioned. They may not directly put you in their downline, but they will surely place you where someone will be happy and able to help you get started. 

There are more ideas about succeeding in a home-based business in “Stories About People With Successful Home-Based Businesses” in the March, 2003, MoneyPak. 

If you don’t have the CD, you can find it on the IAHBE site.

There is an enormous amount of help available at IAHBE. Add the resources from SFI, and you have everything you need to succeed. Use all of it.

If you are already older than 18, don’t hesitate. 

Start your plan to make your own job and fire your boss whenever you want. It’s your key to financial survival.