From: Jim Delahunty
Date: Thursday, November 28, 2002
Subject: Some thoughts on going pro
Howard,
I am not writing to be argumentative, however I would like to add one
more facet to your essay on why woodworkers might be better off not
going professional. As you say, you are someone for whom this decision
meant not only losing a hobby, but also gaining an occupation that you
presumably didn't anticipate, or love enough to continue. If I had to
guess, I'd say that this scenario is probably the most common one.
I do feel that there is wisdom in affirming the nagging concerns
of those on the verge of going pro, and that those who don't have fear
probably should. I also know that the people who are destined to
succeed at something are going to be inspired, rather than discouraged
by being told they are up against the odds, so perhaps no harm can come
from giving a negative perspective. When I was about to go into
business with a partner, his father (who had failed as a general
contractor) gave my friend and I a long speech about how much business
we would have to do just to pay the overhead - about all the bad
customers - about taxes.....you get the idea. On the way home I saw
truck after truck with the proud names of contracting firms on their
doors. Some were multi-generational, some I had been seeing around
town since I was a kid.
My friend wouldn't admit it at the time, but his fear of the
possibility his dad might say, "See, I told you you would fail!" kept
him from committing to the partnership. I didn't respond with fear.
All I could think about was the anger I felt at being told, though
implicitly, that I was overestimating my abilities if I thought that I
could do what other people around me were obviously doing. To me, the
idea was to see myself ten years in the future. What did I want my
life to look like and what did I need to do to make it happen? Was it
really so impossible to imagine that I could provide a competent
service to the community, get paid the same as the guys in the trucks I
had seen, and live a middle-class lifestyle? I was willing to be
objective. I was willing to see the obstacles in my path, but I wasn't
willing to let my friend's father be right.
Skip ahead ten years, and I'm sitting in a house in the country
worth twice as much as my friend's father's. Looking out the window,
There is a small woodshop full of machines that were long-ago paid for.
As I think of the last ten years of work, I remember cabinets,
furniture and the restoration of victorian homes - beautiful work that
has been a privilege to do - work that I got by paying dues and honing
my skills.
Your essay made me look back at the last ten years of my life and
consider the opposite outcome. It reminded me of my own inhibitions
and doubts. I imagined a scenario where I had a dream of being a
woodworker that turned out to be less enjoyable or profitable than I
had hoped. Would my life, and my opinion of my self, be better having
made a go of it and decided to stop, the way my friend's father had,
or would I have been better off avoiding the entire process? That's
not really an easy question. Trying and failing for him meant
bitterness that he was passing down to his own son and his son's
friends. Obviously there was something more. There was the idea that
going after something with a combination of drive, humility, and a
willingness to honestly assess, should be it's own reward.
To me, building things is something I would do without being paid.
I am willing to incorporate a certain amount of the unpleasantness
that doing business entails because anything I do for a living 40 hours
a week is not going to be fun for all 40 hours. Taking the longest
possible view, I try to see myself at the end of my career (or
careers). I can't believe I'm going to look back at the thousands and
thousands of hours of woodworking and wish I had done something else.
I'm not sure why I wrote this to you. I've read it back a couple of
times, and I still can't summarize a point, but I felt the need to
share this with you. As I said, I think what you are saying is true
and valid, I don't really even disagree, but I wanted to add this.
Thanks for reading - Jim
|
