From DIG YOUR JOB, “Best and Worst Career Advice from Other Dads”
About 8 years ago I was totally down in my job. My bosses were tyrants and you
never knew whether you were going to get Dr. Jekkyl or Mrs. Hyde. I complained a
lot about the situation, but would never do anything because there was this insecure
part of me that thought all of the horrible things they were saying about me were
true. I was stuck.
One weekend I flew home for a wedding that I attended with my parents. At the end
of the evening my father took me into the cigar bar at the venue and we ordered a
drink. He looked me right in the eye and said, I am sick of hearing you complain. I
want you to come up with a business plan and present it to me. If I think you have
a viable idea I will fund and support you for one year so you can get your feet off
of the ground.
That evening was a major turning point for me. My father had started his own business
about 20 years ago and has been very successful. I respected him and wanted
to follow in his entrepreneurial footsteps. So I pulled my resources together and
now seven years later I run a successful marketing/pr fi rm. My business partner and
I work with clients in the publishing, tech and healthcare space, we have invested
our money and own real estate. Our goal is to retire in about 8 years and move on
to something else.
Without a kick in the pants from my father I would not be where I am today.
– Michael Volpatt, Larkin/Volpatt Communications, www.larkinvolpatt.comBest and worst advice my dad ever gave me? I’m still trying to figure that one out, as
it may have been both at the same time!
My father was in the oil business back in the 70’s & 80’s, and had a best friend that
was a corporate pilot. They took me up for my fi rst flight and, though I was initially
terrifi ed, I was hooked on aviation ever since. The stories they exchanged, as his
friend lost jobs from airliners, or through different mergers led my father to discourage
me from taking an aviation career. The one line I’ll always remember is “You’re
really just a bus driver, baggage carrier without even the job security they have.”
Well, it could be true, and I still dabble with fl ying, but have never pursued it as a
career. I alternate from kicking myself for not going for it, to being thankful when I
watch what continually goes on in the airline industry.
– Darrin Guilbeau, President of Silicon AdvantageSaid to me by my dad when I was the CEO of my own 10-person new media agency
in NYC:
Dad: “Why don’t you get a job as a secretary at (specifi c company) in NJ? You can
get health benefi ts and a 401K!”
Me: “Um, Dad, I am the CEO of my own successful company, and I offer my employees
health benefi ts and a 401K.”
I guess the idea of the supposed “security” of having a meager-paying, but healthbenefi
t offering secretarial job trumped the independence and unlimited potential
of heading one’s own company. I laughed off the advice my dad gave me and have
started 3 more companies since.
– Christine Harmel, Interactive Resource, www.interactiveresource.comI thought I could share these two snippets of advice from my father, who is in a blue
collar small business profession, didn’t go to University because the school system,
did not realize he is dyslexic (something I fi gured out when in high school) though
he is more than intelligent enough.
Best: When I was in high school, Dad gave me the best advice to ‘always carry a
notebook and pencil, take notes everywhere, so nobody can ask you what you are
doing’ – fast forward 20 years later, in my career I have learned to listen and take
notes so well, that our companies’ clients appreciate it and see it as a differentiation
of our service.
Worst: “Stay at safe big company job.” – Instead of ditching to co-found a software
and consultancy company (in my case Royal Dutch Shell (Oil)), “because the neighbor
who worked there who lives up the road, has a good pension from them.” After
35 years of service – which is longer than I have been alive, and cannot conceive of
staying in bureaucracy for that long.
– Naomi F. Moneypenny, VP Research & Technology, ManyWorlds Inc.,
www.manyworlds.com
Go ahead. What did YOUR dad tell you about working?
I
5 users commented in " What Would YOUR Dad Say? "
When I was in High School, my Dad took me to see an independent jeweler he knew. Later, he suggested I become apprenticed to the jeweler who did very well and worked for himself. I laughed it off.
I went to college, incurred massive debt and have been working in a profession I hate for 15 years, trying to muster up the courage and resources to get out and do very well working for myself.
When I was down, but not out, following my divorce, trying to manage and grow my(at the time) start-up company with limited resources, someone very close to me suggested I find corporate employment/security (her intentions were good, but I really felt she didn’t ‘get’ me at all! I lived, ate and breathed my business; it was the fire in my soul). My dad, in his typically calm, firm, caring approach said, “Jacqui, you do what ‘you’ want to do. Don’t let anyone else influence that decision.” Simple and sage advice; and believable because it was sincere.
I pursued and persisted, and have developed my then 3-year-old, locally based company once fueled solely by local referrals and Yellow Pages into an 11+ year-old virtual service organization kindled by partnerships, alliances, referrals and the Internet.
Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter, Master Resume Writer
http://www.careertrend.net
Hey Todd…thanks for this personal story.
It is never ever too late to give it a shot. You can even start one while working to lower the financial risk.
jacqui, thanks for stopping by and sharing your story. For others, jacqui is one of this industry’s best resume writers and helpers.
When I joined the Marine Corps, my dad told me to never volunteer. He is a lawyer and gives good advice to his clients, but knows nothing about Marines. I volunteered for everything. I’ve gone from a high school grad to being a CIO in a fortune 100 company. I have competed in professional sports – taught rappelling and scuba classes, I’ve worked in 74 countries and lived for more than a year in 5 countries.
I’m sure he gave good advice, just not for me.
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