Moonlighting
Use your full-time job to launch your own Declaration of Independence.
The Light Dawns
There comes a day when we realize that we have to plan for our latter years. In 2008, I came to realize that time and gravity were not my friends.
The sun rises as you reassemble your creaking bones from your comfortable bed, don your uniform, start your car, deal with traffic while consuming coffee and a fast food sandwich to make it to work on time. You wonder what kind of fresh hell the blinking idiot light on the dashboard means.
Upon arrival, you find the overnight shift has left your work area a shambles in favor of a record production run (hence a bonus for them). The office trolls are arriving in their suits and dresses, expecting you to clean up your line (because we have corporate visitors today) and achieve the same output as the last shift. The machinery and robots are exhausted and in need of parts and service and 3 mechanics called in sick.
The enrichment of a corporation becomes less appealing every day. If you are lucky enough to have company insurance, a 401K or other “perks”, you realize that these benefits are at the mercy of the fat-cats that write your paycheck. Of course, their situation is the same, though they have yet to realize it.
“At-Will” employment is the law in 49 of our 50 states (exception being Montana) and you can be terminated for no reason, at any time. Curiously, this often happens just before your pension date approaches or your 401K becomes fully vested. Or, maybe the CEO’s son-in-law needs your job. Unless you have a union to stand up for your rights (10% of workers in 2023) you will need a plan to deal with this life changing event.
Loyalty to a company and a company’s loyalty to its workers has become a façade that only lasts until something better comes along. I believe this stems from the leaders of these entity’s interest in climbing their own personal ladders and lining the pockets of the top tier (5%) of the corporation, while the workers who actually produce value get treated like sandpaper that has lost its grit and constantly changed out. The value of their positions in government offices, factories, service and retail has changed as they have had time to rethink and pursue other interests. Until a company’s workers are valued above their bottom line, this will continue.
Whether driven by financial needs or by the loathing of the workplace they currently slave at, workers are now exploring other avenues to make a living that allows for more flexibility in their daily life, finding fulfillment and satisfaction in something that they have control over (mostly).
Job Status vs. Happiness
I believe what you do outside of your place of work is your business. As long as you are not competing directly with your employer or hindering your performance while you are on their clock, all is fair game.
There is a “happiness” factor in life that must be pursued. After all, it is right there in the preamble of our Declaration of Independence. I think it is more important to your mental health than “job status”.
Saying you are the “Master Cabinetmaker” for RAMJAC Corporation sounds more prestigious than saying you make and sell chopsticks online. But which sounds more happy making? Dealing with pompous architects, builders substituting inferior materials and budget minded pencil-pushers? …or… Working at something that you enjoy, while refusing work that you are not interested in, getting reviews and emails on how your work has become cherished mementos that are enjoyed every day, and structuring your life around what is important to you?
Yes, the monetary compensation is likely to be much greater for the master cabinetmaker, but what is the real cost of that status? Or the security?
From the day that it dawned on me to revive my dormant woodworking craft to sell online (sometime in early 2007) the wheels of contemplation started turning. After a couple years of making paper towels and toilet paper, I realized that my expiration date at the paper mill job was coming closer. It was a physically demanding job. My life consisted of 12 hour shifts, 4+ days a week on concrete, in heavy steel toe boots with ear plugs in and dust mask on, in a loud un-airconditioned Florida plant. Although the pay was decent enough for these parts, the benefits (insurance and 401K) and my coworkers with were great, but I needed a plan for my latter stages.
I believe the catalyst for me was receiving the dilapidated band saw from Frances and Stan. I rehabbed the tool on my days off from the paper mill. Once I got it running with a fresh eighth inch blade, I needed to cut something. People still loved seeing their names, so I carved a few gift keychains from scrap wood for my co-workers. The smell of wood dust revived the gray cells and my digits remembered the freehand letter style that I had created back in the 1980s. My friends at work loved them and wanted more for their family members. Resurrecting that Craftsman saw re-awakened the craftsman and sleeping entrepreneur in me.
Of course, I could not just give up my paycheck and go right at it. I had to redevelop my craft, gather tools and find outlets for my rediscovered woodstuffs. I had to moonlight!
Quitting My Day Job
After beginning my online woodworking concern in 2008, I continued to work at the paper mill for 3 years until I reached my self-set sales goals. I then left the mill and got a part-time position as a tool monger at Sears for a bit of transitory income and amped up my own production of woodstuffs. Sears was a fun job (management aside), seeing the latest gadgets and talking with a tool minded audience. I met a lot of new friends and some that I hadn’t seen since high school. That continued for two years until corporate greed killed the 100+ year-old institution, but by then I was ready to fly on my own. So, from the time my enterprise first dawned to full-blown self employment was 5 years, give or take a month or so. That was in 2013 and has grown every year since.
Everyone’s paths and needs are different, so you will have to consider your own approaches and plan accordingly. It is easier if you have a bit of capital as a cushion to begin with, but not absolutely necessary. Having a supportive spouse and family is a powerful hole card.
Enter the “Gig” Economy.
People worldwide are realizing their worth, especially after the at-home hiatus that the pandemic caused.
After all is said and done, if you can pay your bills, eat well and enjoy your family and friends, how can you be richer? To me, trusting in yourself and your abilities is likely more gratifying than trusting that bosses will recognize, appreciate and reward your hard work.
Once set up, your at-home concern can continue well after you reach retirement age.
It works both the right and left sides of your brain, keeping it active, challenged and balanced.
The stress level is only what you decide to take on, enough to cause improvement.
The income supplements whatever you have coming due to you via Social Security, IRA or pension.
Carving my chopsticks and keychains is not overly physical and the friends I make worldwide through them, are a joy. So until the courts order the removal of my sharp objects, I will carve and mail out my woodstuffs.
Go for it! Build cigar box guitars. Knit dragon comforters. Hawk those baseball cards. Write that music blog. Record that demo! Drive that Uber! Whatever brings you peace (and perhaps a little side income) is healthy to your state of being and is likely to lead to further enrichments and less dependence on that weekly paycheck.
Rest assured that it can be done and you can free yourself from the tyranny of the establishment that enslaves you. Follow your passions, keep faith in yourself and overcome the obstacles that will inevitably arise. They are merely lessons. When faced with a fork in the road, settle on the path of happiness, not riches. It is my experience that with time and perseverance, they can coexist.
If you are enjoying what you see… I like it hot and black. 😉
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Loved that picture and, as always, your blog. 👍🏻💕Mom