There’s an ongoing joke that comes up from time to time during our little Dot Com Pho gatherings. Most of us are not employed by a conventional company in a conventional kind of way. Some may say that this makes us a part of the “unemployed” demographic, but John Chow is quick to point out that isn’t exactly true. He’s not unemployed.
He’s unemployable.
If you follow the story of the so-called dot com mogul, he’ll tell you that he has only held one regular job in his entire life and he lasted there less than a week. Working “for the man” simply wasn’t in the cards for him and he has managed to find a great deal of success working for himself instead. He has a popular blog on the Internet and he finds other ways to make money online too.
Working for Me, Not Working for You
Taking this kind of career path is not exactly conventional, but it’s a path that has worked for many members of the Dot Com Pho crew. Some run successful websites, others dabble in arbitrage, and here I am as a professional freelance writer.
John says that he is “unemployable,” because no one in their right mind would actually hire him to do a job. They have no problem throwing money at him for advertising and marketing opportunities, but they wouldn’t want the “root of all evil” as an employee. He wouldn’t be reliable, he wouldn’t want to commute to an office, and he’s not exactly one to respect authority.
The Dot Com Lifestyle
Whether or not you like your job, there are many people out there who dream of leading the dot com lifestyle. If it were at all possible, they’d like the ability to work for themselves in some capacity. However, by taking this path, you can run the risk of becoming “unemployable” in some way.
For me, while I pride myself in having a strong work ethic, I haven’t updated my resume in nearly five years. I don’t need to update it, because I’m not applying for any jobs; I run my business and, should a client require more information, I can direct them to my freelance writing site for testimonials, writing samples, and the like. It’s not a resume, but it can serve a very similar purpose.
Drinks at Lunch, Work on Weekends
If you are planning to embark on a “dot com lifestyle” journey or if you have already done so, do you worry about being unemployable? Do you find yourself slowing turning into the Charlie Sheen character from Two and a Half Men, working from home and adopting some bad habits, but finding a way to generate some decent income along the way?
In your opinion, is this still an honest living, like how a regular job is?
New Interviews and Performance Reviews Every Day
Maybe it’s because of the nature of being a freelance writer, but I don’t think that I’ve fallen into the “unemployable” end of the spectrum just yet. In some ways, it’s like I hold several part-time jobs with all of my ongoing clients.
However, the critical difference is that I am able to maintain a business partnership with my clients rather than the subordinate relationship that regular employees may have with their employers.
The more I think about it the more I believe I can’t work a 9-5. I’ve done it and while I wasn’t miserable, that had a lot to do with the people I worked with rather than the job. I just know I wouldn’t be happy with a regular job somewhere and what’s the point of doing anything if you’re not happy with it?
I think it’s a sad reality of the world when most people have to spend their existence doing something they don’t love and don’t feel inspired by.