Got a job offer .. help me out....
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There's nothing wrong with working a day job or even working on a career with a larger company, if that's what makes you happy. I know there are a ton of people in here who will tell you to focus 100% on your online biz, but a lot of people need to take a conservative approach to things.
If I was 10 years younger and still single with no kids? I'd be doing the IM thing 24/7.
Now that I have a wife and 3 kids? I'm fine with my 7-3 government job that will give me a pension in a decade or so and has all kinds of benefits. If the job starts pissing me off for whatever reason, I can literally walk out the door, flipping them off the whole time, and be ok financially.
I work on projects that interest me and have a wife that's seen the good things that IM can provide so she stays out of my hair for the most part and lets me do my thing.
If I was 10 years younger and still single with no kids? I'd be doing the IM thing 24/7.
Now that I have a wife and 3 kids? I'm fine with my 7-3 government job that will give me a pension in a decade or so and has all kinds of benefits. If the job starts pissing me off for whatever reason, I can literally walk out the door, flipping them off the whole time, and be ok financially.
I work on projects that interest me and have a wife that's seen the good things that IM can provide so she stays out of my hair for the most part and lets me do my thing.
Take the job. Treat it like a learning experience. Treat it like you respect it even if you don't. When it's time to leave - do so nicely. Never know when the internet will implode, some stupid law will change how you earn, or if there will even be a place for "AM" in 5 years.
You are young, you need SOMETHING to put on a resume besides college........
Besides you might like what you do - I still work *(very)* part time doing handyman/plumbing jobs not because I need the money but because I literally can't stand not doing anything other than sitting on my ass in front of a computer all day.
You'll probably find that since you aren't broke, you feel more creative when you do the web stuff in your spare time and get more done.
You are young, you need SOMETHING to put on a resume besides college........
Besides you might like what you do - I still work *(very)* part time doing handyman/plumbing jobs not because I need the money but because I literally can't stand not doing anything other than sitting on my ass in front of a computer all day.
You'll probably find that since you aren't broke, you feel more creative when you do the web stuff in your spare time and get more done.
Oh man, that's the holy grail for me. There's a public sector recruitment freeze now but I'd love a civil service job doing something with computers, it sounds so easy.
I just did this
I imagined i was in my decent but not too big home, nicely furnished with my 2 kids chilling in the front room, my missus baking a pie and me feeding the dog in the garage which contained my classic car, no more money worries, nice calm and relaxed. Right now back to fucking work, gotta date with that in 5 years.@OP I think personally i'd take the job, and see if i could drop my hours down. If not, then yea be careful as soon as you get comfortable thats when the rot sets in...
No other words can describe it better. Take the job and see how it goes, if you take it you can always quit at any point, if you don't....
Do what you feel is right, but be smart about it. Without knowing too much about you, if I was in your shoes, I would take the job. It all depends on your risk tolerance.
Not sure who the company is with, but having some experience under your belt will solidify your worth in the job market. Let's say you decline and after a couple years of IM you decide you want to go the corporate route again. The chances of you being hired is drastically reduced. From the corporate view, a job applicant working on internet marketing for a couple years after graduating is pretty much the same as unemployed.
On the flipside, let's say you go the consulting route for a couple years. Having actual work experience gives you the credibility employers look for in new candidates. You have Booz Allen, BCG, Bain, or McKinsey on your resume, you can bet you will still get the phone calls for interviews, even if you decide to take a break for several years.
Who knows, you might even like the job. I can tell you that I had a lot of fun on my business trips the first couple years after graduating. Nothing like racking up the miles and eating good food on the company's dime.
The point I want to make is this... taking a chance is a great thing, but not at the expense of closing the doors that are open in front of you. Taking your consulting job will probably open up more doors than you currently realize. I'm more old-school, so take my advice with a grain of salt~
Not sure who the company is with, but having some experience under your belt will solidify your worth in the job market. Let's say you decline and after a couple years of IM you decide you want to go the corporate route again. The chances of you being hired is drastically reduced. From the corporate view, a job applicant working on internet marketing for a couple years after graduating is pretty much the same as unemployed.
On the flipside, let's say you go the consulting route for a couple years. Having actual work experience gives you the credibility employers look for in new candidates. You have Booz Allen, BCG, Bain, or McKinsey on your resume, you can bet you will still get the phone calls for interviews, even if you decide to take a break for several years.
Who knows, you might even like the job. I can tell you that I had a lot of fun on my business trips the first couple years after graduating. Nothing like racking up the miles and eating good food on the company's dime.
The point I want to make is this... taking a chance is a great thing, but not at the expense of closing the doors that are open in front of you. Taking your consulting job will probably open up more doors than you currently realize. I'm more old-school, so take my advice with a grain of salt~
for all the nice talk here, you need to work in the corporate world a bit to understand how it works. you wont come to a true opinion of your own (that is right for you) by listening to others.
but ye, listen to the view-it-as-a-business guy is my advice. Don't build a niche for yourself, its natural to try to "find your place" in a new environment. Don't make that work, make that social. Be very very social. When you quit in five years the most valueable things you will leave with is 1) experience and 2) business contacts. Do a bit of everything if you can and expose yourself to as many different tasks and people as possible. You won't be an expert after your first job anyway.
but ye, listen to the view-it-as-a-business guy is my advice. Don't build a niche for yourself, its natural to try to "find your place" in a new environment. Don't make that work, make that social. Be very very social. When you quit in five years the most valueable things you will leave with is 1) experience and 2) business contacts. Do a bit of everything if you can and expose yourself to as many different tasks and people as possible. You won't be an expert after your first job anyway.
Maybe for some people. But for me, A 9-5 job drains my ass and it cripples my productivity and creativity in the limited time I have to do my side work.
I say ditch the job... You're not in a financial situation where you need this job. Obviously you're attractive enough to get this job offer, so if thing's don't work out 4-5 months from now, then you can shop yourself around and get into the awefull 9-5 grind.
Sorry, but I'm a bit fixated on this $11 logo thing.
Why $11 for a logo? Can you really spend the amount of time it takes to turn out quality logo designs for $11?
That's 11 minutes dedicated to creating someone's identity if you are billing yourself out at $60 an hour, which you should at least be doing.
I work on most logos for 1 to 3 days or more. You'd have to turn out at least 50 or 60 logos to begin approaching what one decent paying logo gig starts at, and that's what I would consider entry level if you are serious about this stuff and do work for serious clients.
Do you want to work your ass off day and night to turn out 200+ logos to make ends meet every month and burn yourself out in the process? Or would you rather spend time making quality product turning out 2 or 3 logos, working less and making more?
Whatever you decide on, take pride in yourself and your work and don't be a pushover.
Why $11 for a logo? Can you really spend the amount of time it takes to turn out quality logo designs for $11?
That's 11 minutes dedicated to creating someone's identity if you are billing yourself out at $60 an hour, which you should at least be doing.
I work on most logos for 1 to 3 days or more. You'd have to turn out at least 50 or 60 logos to begin approaching what one decent paying logo gig starts at, and that's what I would consider entry level if you are serious about this stuff and do work for serious clients.
Do you want to work your ass off day and night to turn out 200+ logos to make ends meet every month and burn yourself out in the process? Or would you rather spend time making quality product turning out 2 or 3 logos, working less and making more?
Whatever you decide on, take pride in yourself and your work and don't be a pushover.
I don't know why everyone is bagging consulting - you can make good money once you get the right experience. $1000/day, every day without worrying about google shutting you down tomorrow is a good motivator plus you can work on AM of an evening if you want (and don't have kids or a wife that cares!)
The biggest advantage I see AM has over a job is scalability. If you're selling your time - even for $125/hr, there is only so many hours in the day and it limits revenue. If you're selling services or a product that isn't based on your time.. well, now we're talkin serious potential and to earn more than $200k/yr you have to make money without your time input - and there's many ways to do this, not just AM - it's just that most of them require more money to start up (eg. investing in real estate, stock market, buying an existing business, etc.)
So as others have said - stop selling services that are based on your direct time input - or try to find a way to outsource it.
The biggest advantage I see AM has over a job is scalability. If you're selling your time - even for $125/hr, there is only so many hours in the day and it limits revenue. If you're selling services or a product that isn't based on your time.. well, now we're talkin serious potential and to earn more than $200k/yr you have to make money without your time input - and there's many ways to do this, not just AM - it's just that most of them require more money to start up (eg. investing in real estate, stock market, buying an existing business, etc.)
So as others have said - stop selling services that are based on your direct time input - or try to find a way to outsource it.
You're welcome.
I mean no personal offense, but I wouldn't mind seeing you and others like you on the street and forced to do something productive. And I will vote in this manner every single chance I get.
Anyway, the OP knows what he wants to do, but he needs to not lose sight of his long-term 5-year plan.
It's easy to get sucked into the golden handcuffs... and next thing you know, you're 45, have two kids nearing college, marriage is falling apart, have gained 25 pounds of fat, are hooked on some sort of prescription drug, and are generally miserable.
Does that happen to everyone? No... but don't tell me you haven't seen it because I have 100 times.
And those business contacts are only good if you're working for an industry that you give a crap about. This is my issue. I have thousands of contacts in an industry I no longer care for. And that's another reason why it's time to leave...
Yeah? Well congra-tu-fucking-lations on your happy employment experience. I can tell you first hand you're in the minority (complacent sheep excluded)