- Steven Cravotta
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- I was the worst employee (and that's why I won)
I was the worst employee (and that's why I won)
Hey there,
6 years ago, I worked at a 9-5 for almost two years.
Account manager at an affiliate marketing agency. $100 million company. Decent pay.
On paper, I was a great employee.
In reality, I was probably their worst hire.
Not because I didn't do the work. I did and I leveled up fast. I crushed my role.
I was a terrible employee because I was always going to leave.
As an entrepreneur working a 9-5, you're unemployable.
The growth ceiling is just too low.
You have ideas they can't execute on and you see opportunities they don't have capacity for.
I'd pitch new ideas constantly. "We should do this. We should try that."
And they'd shut me down every time. "We can't do that right now. We don't have the resources to focus on other things."
I was miserable because I couldn't do enough.
That's when I set my number.
I told myself: If I can make enough to cover my salary for two months straight with my apps and agency, I'll quit.
Two months later, I hit it.
So I called my boss the next day. "I'm out."
He tried to keep me. "We need you. You're crucial. We want to promote you to manager."
Didn't matter. I was gone.
After quitting, I've built Puff Count to $44k MRR, sold it, and launched Posted to over $1M in revenue.
Still, my 9to5 taught me A LOT:
· How to build a team
· How to manage people
· How to structure processes
· How big companies operate
All of that paid dividends in what I'm building now.
I don't regret working there at all but my time there had an expiration date.
If you're an entrepreneur stuck in a 9-5, the environment is capping what you can build.
Don’t wait for the ‘right time’.
Set your number, build on the side. Then leave.
Peace,
Steven