Starting up a new business can be scary.. Moreso when you're 40 and deeply entrenched in your current occupation..
but sometimes there are those "signs", and you just have to follow your gut, no matter how stupid-crazy things get..
A friend of mine was having trouble at work.. boss is an ass, and he's got it in his head to get rid of her.. She needs the job, so sticks with it, even though it means hating coming to work every day and submitting to his idocy..
Some wine, some talking, some crying later, she's on the road to finding something else.. quite frankly *anything* else.. She gets her heart set on one company and gos after them like a rabid barracuda: She's reading up on the industry, following the Annual reports of this company, she's talking to their HR VP's.. She even, with a post-apocolyptic style head cold, meets with them *on her vacation in another province* @ their head office, to facilitate meeting with the decision makers..
The interviews go ok, she follows up, follows up, then nothing. *poof*... in fact, the nice HR lady makes it a point to say something to the effect of "Why are you calling, we're still interviewing" (after being 2 days over her *own* deadline of a promised phonecall to let her know the status)
So needless to say, a bottle of wine later, & we're talking about whats next for her.. "who else have you applied for", etc.. she's got some irons in the fire, but they're mostly with companies doing what she's doing now.. not ideal, but at least it gets her away from this "situation"..
I remind her that this is a great opportunity to start looking at being her own boss.. and she kind of grins.. "yeah, i had this one idea.. made up a business plan, did a lot of research.. it's a good idea, but we just can't afford to do it right now.."
So i ask her to tell me about it.. its a good plan, and a good business.. something that shocks you immediately at first, but once you start looking into what it is that the company would be doing, you think "hmm.." it's called Medical Tourism: the idea where you combine a vacation with misc surgery and recovery time.. Why spend $10K on a boob job in North America, when you can spend $8K and get the same boob job, by a qualified surgeon & recover in paradise..? or $5K vs $15 for Liberation treatment.. you get the idea..
My initial thought was "wtf? no *way* would i head south to get something done: i would prefer to do it here & have the comfort of being home through it"..
but then it got interesting.. the surgeons for DDS, Liberation, IVF, Plastic Surgery, all of it are all accredited in Great Briton or North America.. the facilities they use are World class... and they have resorts who specialize with recovery with on-site nursing and medical staff... they just happen to be in "foreign countries", plying their trade...
Knowing her, i know she's researched the hell out of this.. the business plan is solid, and startup is minimal.. *bink*..
(thats what the sound in my head sounds like when something twiggs..)
"what do you need?" i ask..
She tells me, and the next thing i know, its a month later, and Gateway Health International Inc. is born, registered, and on it's way to "becoming"... she's the brains, i'm the pretty face helping her with what she needs..
I still have my job & she's got hers (she *did* find a new one btw). We're both working hard & there's a ton more to do..
its funny though, how something can be thought of as "why we can't" turned into "Why can't we".... a closed door (denial of the job she wanted desprately) turned into an opportunity elsewhere..
We've bit off more than we can chew, and we're loving it
:O)
Many thanks to Norm, her husband, for being patient through this, and my "Angel" for all she's done..
You're with us now, and you'll be there when we're rich and famous! :O)
