Never get a "real" job : how to dump your boss, build a business, and not go broke

Young serial entrepreneur Scott Gerber is not the product of a wealthy family or storied entrepreneurial heritage. Nor is he the outcome of a traditional business school education or a corporate executive turned entrepreneur. Rather, he is a hard-working, self-taught 26-year-old hustler, rainmaker, and bootstrapper who has survived and thrived despite never having held the proverbial "real” job.In Never Get a "Real" Job: How to Dump Your Boss, Build a Business, and Not Go Broke, Gerber challenges the social conventions behind the "real" job and empowers young people to take control of their lives and dump their nine-to-fives—or their quest to attain them.Drawing upon case studies, experiences, and observations, Scott dissects failures, shares hard-learned lessons, and presents practical, affordable, and systematic action steps to building, managing, and marketing a successful business on a shoestring budget.The proven, no-b.s. methodology presented in Never Get a "Real" Job teaches unemployed and underemployed Gen-Yers, aspiring small business owners, students, and recent college graduates how to quit 9-to-5s, become their own bosses, and achieve financial independence. Q&A with Author Scott Gerber Author Scott Gerber The title of your book is “Never Get a Real Job,” but are you suggesting that there’s an entrepreneur in everyone? Millennials are no longer beneficiaries of the hand-out, resume-driven society of old. Boomers and Gen Xers need to stop training Gen Y to believe that the mantra of ‘work hard, get good grades, go to school and get a job’ that they were told to buy into, is alive and well. It’s not — it’s dead — and now it needs to be buried for good. Fact: there are over 81 million young people unemployed worldwide. And this number does not account for the tens — if not hundreds — of millions more that are underemployed. It’s becoming more and more apparent that in today’s world, young people will need to create a job to keep a job. Millennials need to re-train themselves to become self-sufficiency experts capable of generating their own incomes. I truly believe everyone can become entrepreneurial and partner with individuals whose strengths fill in gaps and weaknesses. The key is for us to stop thinking “Facebook” and start thinking about practical, nuts-and-bolts, income-generating, on-the-ground businesses. When we finally turn that corner, Gen Y will truly become the most entrepreneurial generation in history. How should young entrepreneurs go about determining if their “passion” can become a scalable business? The Hollywood-esque scene for most young entrepreneurs, where two guys are sitting at a bar, write their idea on a napkin and then proceed to build a gazillion dollar business is fiction — at least for 99.9999% of us. In truth, every entrepreneur needs to have a gut-check moment. They shouldn’t simply “believe” their idea will work as a business and get started. Rather, they need to prove it to themselves, poke holes in it, determine if it can generate real revenues — as well as how fast those revenues will start rolling in — and be able to defend their assumptions to their harshest critic. I know my detractors will mention “revolutionary” and “game-changing” companies such as Facebook and other Silicon Valley darlings that went on to raise millions, get acquired for billions, or go public. However, I would never advocate to young entrepreneurs, especially in our current economy, that jumping right into a business on passion alone is an advisable way to start a business. What made you want to be an entrepreneur? The thought of working for someone else gave me chills. Office politics, dress down days, cubicle life, water cooler rants, a lack of real decision making ability--they all made me want to reach for Vodka and a bottle of Xanax. If I was going to fall flat on my face or go bankrupt, it certainly wasn't going to be because I let myself end up in a position where I could be underpaid or downsized without any warning. "Real" jobs, and the quest to attain one in the first place, didn't make sense for me--and they especially don't make sense now in the new, post-recession economy. I found all the arguments that "real" jobs are stable and secure to be ludicrous. After all, how stable and secure is ANYTHING that you don't control, own or have a real say in? And with ever-growing rises in outsourcing, globalization, on and offline educational institutions, and recessions, I know I absolutely made the right decision and have absolutely no issue telling others they should do the same in order to take control of their lives and financial futures. Jobs are not going to materialize out of thin air just because politicians say they can make it happen. The only job that is remotely safe for young people in this new economy is one of their own creation and design that they own and control. However, even though we live in a world of an over abundance of collegiate institutions, enhanced automation, increased globalization, and ever-growing outsourcing options, Gen Y is still being force fed that this age-old "send out resumes to get a job" is still relevant and applicable to today--when the reality is that this notion is anything but the actual reality. Yet there hasn't been any real action. Just empty promises and words from politicians and pundits. Nor has there been any sort of helping hand to teach Gen Y about the new way forward they must learn in order to stay competitive and effective. This needs to change. Young serial entrepreneur Scott Gerber is not the product of a wealthy family or storied entrepreneurial heritage. Nor is he the outcome of a traditional business school education or a corporate executive turned entrepreneur. Rather, he is a hard-working, self-taught 26-year-old hustler, rainmaker, and bootstrapper who has survived and thrived despite never having held the proverbial "real job. In Never Get a "Real" How to Dump Your Boss, Build a Business, and Not Go Broke , Gerber challenges the social conventions behind the "real" job and empowers young people to take control of their lives and dump their nine-to-fivesor their quest to attain them. Drawing upon case studies, experiences, and observations, Scott dissects failures, shares hard-learned lessons, and presents practical, affordable, and systematic action steps to building, managing, and marketing a successful business on a shoestring budget. The proven, no-b.s. methodology presented in Never Get a "Real" Job teaches unemployed and underemployed Gen-Yers, aspiring small business owners, students, and recent college graduates how to quit 9-to-5s, become their own bosses, and achieve financial independence. Q&A with Author Scott Gerber Author Scott Gerber The title of your book is Never Get a Real Job, but are you suggesting that theres an entrepreneur in everyone? Millennials are no longer beneficiaries of the hand-out, resume-driven society of old. Boomers and Gen Xers need to stop training Gen Y to believe that the mantra of work hard, get good grades, go to school and get a job that they were told to buy into, is alive and well. Its not its dead and now it needs to be buried for good. there are over 81 million young people unemployed worldwide. And this number does not account for the tens if not hundreds of millions more that are underemployed. Its becoming more and more apparent that in todays world, young people will need to create a job to keep a job. Millennials need to re-train themselves to become self-sufficiency experts capable of generating their own incomes. I truly believe everyone can become entrepreneurial and partner with individuals whose strengths fill in gaps and weaknesses. The key is for us to stop thinking Facebook and start thinking about practical, nuts-and-bolts, income-generating, on-the-ground businesses. When we finally turn that corner, Gen Y will truly become the most entrepreneurial generation in history. How should young entrepreneurs go about determining if their passion can become a scalable business? The Hollywood-esque scene for most young entrepreneurs, where two guys are sitting at a bar, write their idea on a napkin and then proceed to build a gazillion dollar business is fiction at least for 99.9999% of us. In truth, every entrepreneur needs to have a gut-check moment. They shouldnt simply believe their idea will work as a business and get started. Rather, they need to prove it to themselves, poke holes in it, determine if it can generate real revenues as well as how fast those revenues will start rolling in and be able to defend their assumptions to their harshest critic. I know my detractors will mention revolutionary and game-changing companies such as Facebook and other Silicon Valley darlings that went on to raise millions, get acquired for billions, or go public. However, I would never advocate to young entrepreneurs, especially in our current economy, that jumping right into a business on passion alone is an advisable way to start a business. What made you want to be an entrepreneur? The thought of working for someone else gave me chills. Office politics, dress down days, cubicle life, water cooler rants, a lack of real decision making ability--they all made me want to reach for Vodka and a bottle of Xanax. If I was going to fall flat on my face or go bankrupt, it certainly wasn't going to be because I let myself end up in a position where I could be underpaid or downsized without any warning. "Real" jobs, and the quest to attain one in the first place, didn't make sense for me--and they especially don't make sense now in the new, post-recession economy. I found all the arguments that "real" jobs are stable and secure to be ludicrous. After all, how stable and secure is ANYTHING that you don't control, own or have a real say in? And with ever-growing rises in outsourcing, globalization, on and offline educational institutions, and recessions, I know I absolutely made the right decision and have absolutely no issue telling others they should do the same in order to take control of their lives and financial futures. Jobs are not going to materialize out of thin air just because politicians say they can make it happen. The only job that is remotely safe for young people in this new economy is one of their own creation and design that they own and control. However, even though we live in a world of an over abundance of collegiate institutions, enhanced automation, increased globalization, and ever-growing outsourcing options, Gen Y is still being force fed that this age-old "send out resumes to get a job" is still relevant and applicable to today--when the reality is that this notion is anything but the actual reality. Yet there hasn't been any real action. Just empty promises and words from politicians and pundits. Nor has there been any sort of helping hand to teach Gen Y about the new way forward they must learn in order to stay competitive and effective. This needs to change.

Praise for Never Get A "Real" Job

"Practical. Irreverent. Insightful. If you read just one book this year aboutbecoming an entrepreneur, make sure it's Never Get a 'Real' Job."
—Anita Campbell, founder, Smallbiztrends.com

"With the economic spiral of 2009, our world of work was blown up, and with it,traditional frameworks for career success. Thank god we have Scott Gerber, a member of the next generation, telling the truth about what it takes to succeed in the coming decades. Gen Y, and parents of Gen Y, you will put your livelihoods at risk if you don't read this book. Buy it."
—Pamela Slim, author of Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur

"Economic turmoil has made it more difficult than ever for Gen Y to have abreakout entrepreneurial success story. However, thanks to Scott Gerber, there's hope.He breaks it down, tells it like it is, and kicks you in the pants with his no-nonsenseguide to getting started and achieving real success—now."
—Jeff Sloan, cofounder, StartupNation.com

"Scott is the Simon Cowell of young entrepreneurship."
—Mike Michalowicz, author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur

"Wow! If all Gen Y-ers were like Scott, we'd never have to worry about our kids moving back into the basement after college. As filled with no-nonsense, practical, yet unpredictable advice as it is serious attitude, Never Get a 'Real' Job is a must-read for all aspiring entrepreneurs. No coddling here—just the straight-up truth from a very savvy guy who's been there and done that."
—Donna Fenn, author of Upstarts!: How GenY Entrepreneurs Are Rocking the World of Business and 8 Ways You Can Profit from Their Success

"Scott doesn't give the sugar-coated advice that wannabe entrepreneurs like to hear.He gives the blunt guidance that real entrepreneurs can actually put to use."
—Andrew Warner, founder, Mixergy

"Never Get a 'Real' Job will help any reader—even those withoutstart-up finances or previous entrepreneurial experience—quit their quest for9-to-5s and become self-sufficient small business owners."
—Steve Mariotti, founder, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE)

"Never Get a 'Real' Job is a straightforward, funny, and insightful book foryoung entrepreneurs looking to make a name for themselves."
—Dan Schawbel, author of Me 2.0, and Managing Partner of Millennial Branding, LLC

"Go to work for the best boss in the world-yourself Never Get a "Real" Job challenges the social conventions behind the old-school, 9-to-5 "real" job, and empowers entrepreneurs to take control of their lives, fears, and careers. Successful entrepreneur Scott Gerber dissects failures, shares hard-learned lessons, and presents practical, affordable, and systematic action steps to building, managing, and marketing a successful business that accompanies being your own boss. The proven no-holds-barred approach presented in Never Get a "Real" Job teaches aspiring entrepreneurs, small business owners, students and recent college graduates how to quit the rat race and achieve financial independence without going broke. Author Scott Gerber is not the product of a wealthy family or storied entrepreneurial heritage. Nor is he the outcome of a traditional business school education or a corporate executive turned small business owner. Rather, he is an authentic, self-taught entrepreneur who has survived and thrived despite never holding a "real" job. Start your business based on your passions using the included self-assessment tools that include tips on how to make the leap between the dream and the doing without breaking the bank. Successfully transition into being your own boss, and never work in anyone else's office again with Never Get a "Real" Job."-- Provided by publisher Young serial entrepreneur Scott Gerber is not the product of a wealthy family or storied entrepreneurial heritage. Nor is he the outcome of a traditional business school education or a corporate executive turned entrepreneur. Rather, he is a hard-working, self-taught 26-year-old hustler, rainmaker, and bootstrapper who has survived and thrived despite never having held the proverbial'real” job. In Never Get a'Real'Job: How to Dump Your Boss, Build a Business, and Not Go Broke, Gerber challenges the social conventions behind the'real'job and empowers young people to take control of their lives and dump their nine-to-fives—or their quest to attain them. Drawing upon case studies, experiences, and observations, Scott dissects failures, shares hard-learned lessons, and presents practical, affordable, and systematic action steps to building, managing, and marketing a successful business on a shoestring budget. The proven, no-b.s. methodology presented in Never Get a'Real'Job teaches unemployed and underemployed Gen-Yers, aspiring small business owners, students, and recent college graduates how to quit 9-to-5s, become their own bosses, and achieve financial independence.