Loading ...Escape From Cubicle Nation
One of our favorite daily destinations in the small business blogosphere has to be Pamela Slim’s Escape From Cubicle Nation blog. A business coach who spent more than 10 years advising corporations, Slim is a lively, informed writer with a goal that’s not very different from ours: to help people trapped in offices realize their dream of owning their own business or franchise.
If you find yourself stuck in a 9-5 rut and yearning to go out on your own in business, either by opening a franchise for sale or launching your own business concept, Pamela has a lot of insight to offer. And this week Pamela publishes her first book, Escape From Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur. It’s one of the most talked about books on entrepreneurship to be published in a long time and we hope to have a review very shortly. In the mean time, here’s an excerpt of an interview Pamela did with Business Week magazine recently. She shares her opinions on entrepreneurship in recessionary times, as well as the great importance of financial advisors.
Why leave a corporate job in this economy?
What the economic downturn has done is expose what might have been really unhappy careers. Some people have always known that they’re really not in the right place, in the right job.
In this current economic climate, [people need to] understand the kind of risk that they’re taking on and make sure they do a lot of testing and trying of ideas before they actually go out on their own.
You advise aspiring entrepreneurs to form relationships with a group of advisers you call the “High Council of Jedi Knights.” Why are such connections so important?
For any person who’s starting out in a business, there’s probably someone who has already been through all the trials and tribulations to actually create something real in that business arena. It gives a very concrete example to study, and to notice what it was that person actually did to meet that level of success, because many people need to see that vision and know that it’s possible.
The High Council of Jedi Knights example is made up of people who have had business success but are also the kinds of human beings that you really aspire to be. So you notice that they didn’t do it by stomping on a bunch of other people to get what they wanted or by being unethical. It can be really encouraging for people to know it is possible to have positive business growth without compromising ethics or integrity. That’s something I think a lot of people coming out of the corporate environment are really tired of. They don’t just want to succeed at any cost.
You can find out how to buy the book here.
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I totally agree that this global economic slowdown unleashed untapped talents or dormant skills that have been kept unused in the corporate world.
The use of High Council of Jedi Knights by Pamela is very witty and exemplary registers in readers’ psyche.
I admire the honesty and courage of Pamela when she mentioned something about “a lot of people coming out of the corporate environment are really tired of stomping on a bunch of other people to get what they wanted or by being unethical”
In these hard economic times and when one’s morality is being compromised, I still believe that there are still ways to earn a living that will not sacrifice one’s integrity and ethical standards.
Thanks for the comment, Jason. I’m reading Pamela’s book at the moment and I’m really impressed by her courage and smarts. She pretty much lays out how to break away from the office world and fulfill your entrepreneurial dreams. Keep an eye out for a formal review on the blog later this week.