The Only Secure Job: Changing From Employee To Entrepreneur [Paperback]

If you're a new trooper in the growing army of "free agents" answering the bugle call of the millennial working wars, then Richard Worzel's latest book could be critical to your survival.

True, the economy's bubbling along quite nicely and we've witnessed the global triumph of capitalism. The world has all the hallmarks of the end of history. So who, you may wonder, needs an entrepreneurial survival manual? If you have to ask, then you do. Let me explain.

In 1996 Statistics Canada reported that self-employment was the fastest growing sector of the job market, accounting for over 2 million jobs -- double the number in 1976. Furthermore, Stats Can says "industries with rapid employment growth do not necessarily have low layoff rates."

Indeed, those sectors driven by technology, the global economy and demographics are generating new, well-paying jobs. Trouble is, most of them require specialized skills often in short supply. Mr. Worzel likens Canadian job growth to a ladder with highly skilled jobs being added to the top rungs, while others (think Eatons) are falling from the bottom. On the middle rungs are the career churners, people exchanging their third or sixth stint in the course of a ten-job career. Many of these veterans enlist in the free-lance bootcamp, burnt-out or unable to advance their careers.

This new breed of free agent adopts "the mentality characteristic of the entertainment and sports industries" and while that may sound glamourous, the chances of being punted out of the end zone are very high. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business reports that only one in five new businesses will celebrate a third anniversary.
But from this chaos arises opportunity. That's why The Only Secure Job is so valuable. Several chapters focus on choosing the right business. There's an instructive narrative on generating new ideas that shows why it's helpful to stick to your expertise, hire talent to fill the skills you don't possess, and find a niche you can quickly establish as your own beach-head.

Forty-five pages are devoted to "alternatives" in three sectors: e-commerce, franchises and network marketing. Here Mr. Worzel gives several experts free reign to state their views in their own words. In some cases their verbatim wisdom runs five or more pages without interruption. It's a refreshing format you don't often find in a book like this, and it works.

Earl Epstein, CEO of Passport Online, identifies three low-cost ways to exploit the internet: participating in Usenet discussion groups, cross-linking with non-competitive sites to boost your own traffic, and maintaining relations with past visitors. The one essential to success is ownership of a domain name (which costs about $100 CDN) like

Mr. Worzel reveals the fundamentals of planning, financial forecasting and securing funds. Money can be found in five places: "your own pocket, blood money, bank financing, unsophisticated investors, and professional investors." An analysis of the benefits and pitfalls of each includes a special caveat about banks.

The most entertaining and incisive section, "Selling by the Swimming Pool," is a short course on the art of the deal: Be sure to make your pitch away from the office, somewhere relaxed and cosmopolitan. Ask for more than you think the investor can afford. Close the deal in person, without lawyers, accountants or spouses who possess vetoes.

Despite such financial finesse, the wheeler-dealer may be heading for disaster. Mr. Worzel reminds us that "the less outside financing your business needs, the better your chance of success." It's a sentiment Jimmy Pattison and a host of other self-made millionaires swear by.
This principle underscores the author's first criterion of success: self-sufficiency. "The moment you commit to operating a business, a clock starts ticking. It doesn't measure time by hours and minutes, but by the number of dollars it'll take until the business generates enough cash to keep itself alive. To survive, you have to finish everything necessary before the money runs out."

It's a message any free-agent shock trooper should memorize. Once you've established a self-supported position in the market you'll be ready to take on the world. You'll also understand why the only secure job is the one you create yourself.

D.F. (Don) Bailey /The Only Secure Job Changing From Employee To Entrepreneur (2002 publication)

› Go to Amazon.com to see the review  3.0 out of 5 stars