This week I hit code complete on a two-year freelance project that originally should have lasted only for a few months. In the beginning of 2004, a close friend of mine asked me and my technical partner-in-crime to work on an e-commerce website for his business, and we gladly agreed, because we work together very well, are pretty efficient about it and have the technical know-how. Unfortunately, what we lacked was the correct motivation. You see, we both were not motivated by money and as community activists at heart any work for any Vietnamese event we deem worth supporting was just more important to us than pure-business.
Over the past two years, we have constantly put this project on hold over and over again, because I got busy organizing the first uNAVSA conference in Boston, co-chaired the VPS Conference 2004 in Santa Ana, took time off to write my book, was busy with creating slideshows and coordination of the Vietnam Freedom March in DC, dealt with personal problems in my life, helped a bit with the second uNAVSA conference in Chicago, and then went head-on into the Fourth International Vietnamese Youth Conference. Throughout all these events, I felt awfully bad for continuously letting down my close friend by not meeting that project deadline.
After returning from Sydney, we both finally managed to put community work completely aside for a few weeks to work on finishing and delivering the project this week, and I am sooooo relieved that we finally shipped this thing, so that I can clear my mind and focus on VietACT and Lenduong, and for heaven’s sake just enjoy a weekend playing racquetball, watching independent movies and read interesting books again. In hindsight, I would have chosen not to take on that project, as I realize that I am not motivated by money, and herein lies the problem.
I am constantly being approached left and right by friends to start my own business. Whether it’s my technical expertise in programming, my project management skills or my love for cats, I dunno, but pretty much ever since college people always seek me out for entrepreneurial ideas or wonder why I haven’t started my own business yet. I have always declined those business proposals, because I seriously think that people don’t think thoroughly enough about what they are getting themselves into. Having your own business means working 24/7, having it constantly on your mind, being stressed out about it and worry about it while having no time for family. Sure, it’s neat to be your own boss and take off days whenever you want to do community work, but frankly, how often have you seen business owners say “cool, now that I worked enough, I am going to quit and transfer all the work and business to my partner, so that I can go on vacation for a year and/or commit to this community project.”
During the days of the Third International Vietnamese Youth Conference, I have worked around the clock for an entire year, creating slideshows, directing people, coordinating translations, designed websites/brochures, took care of logistics and so on, and never became tired, because it was a project that was so dear to my heart. However, if it’s business work, even though it’s a lot of money involved, I am lazy, come up with excuses to do other stuff and never get around to it.
So be it, I don’t want to have my own business, unless it’s well thought through and is really just passive income (there you go, that's the keyword here). Other than that, I’ll stick to my master plan of just investing, so I can continue to do community work part-time and then retire somewhat early to do community work full-time.