For some, the drive to be your own boss is empowering that they’ll sacrifice anything to achieve it. Many people are happy to clock in and out daily, taking a regular paycheck and stability. Entrepreneurship doesn’t offer a cushion. Instead, it can be like a rollercoaster ride with tons of ups and downs.
Do You Settle or Forge Along the Uncertain Path?
Very few people would turn down a six-figure salary, especially turning that down for an uncertain future filled with instability and risk, during a pandemic no less! All these factors contribute to making that decision even more challenging. If you’re one of the few who pursues this path and continues on the road of self-employment, sacrificing everything to meet your goals, you probably agree that it’s worth it.
But the truth is, there’s never a perfect time to start a business. Now is as good of a time as any. Just ask Darren Cabral, founder, and CEO of Suits Social, a leading social media marketing agency in Canada. Before his business took off, he was forced to make the decision between a 6-figure salary or the uncertain risk of running his own business.
Before the offer, he had just learned that after finishing up his first year in business he had only earned $18,000! Despite 70-hour weeks and ongoing promotion, it took him six months to land his first client. Worse yet, he didn’t even break $20,000 in year one.
Darren had a choice between a six-figure salary with a cushy office and plenty of perks or take a risk and continue work night and day to make his business successful. He decided to turn down the offer and take the risk. Why? His rationale was simple, if the business didn’t work out he could always get another job. But if he didn’t start the business, he’d be left wondering “what if” for the rest of his life.
Did he make the right decision?
From Plumber to CEO in Three Years
Some backstory…in 2012, Darren started his job as a plumbing apprentice working in the housing projects of Toronto. He invested three years into his plumbing career, starting as an apprentice at the age of 17. Darren chose this path to avoid a stuffy office job, something he knew he never wanted.
Instead, he picked a career with 80-hour weeks working in sub-zero temperatures. Darren understood the value of hard labor. He was the son and grandson of immigrants that worked two and three jobs to provide for their families.
After investing three years and 3,000 hours of labor into the trade, he decided it wasn’t going to get him where he needed to be, so he quit. Darren wanted something different. Something better. His parents convinced him to go back to school, where he earned a business degree. But that wasn’t enough. Between attending classes, he developed his first side business, Toronto Skycam. Which he managed while working 2 part-time jobs and going to school full-time.
He sold the aerial photography and video business to a larger UAV tech firm and went back to the drawing board to plan his next business.
So Was It Worth It?
In 2016, he launched Suits Social, a specialised social media advertising agency based near Toronto, Canada and he poured everything he had into this new venture. Fast-forward four years, his hard work and perseverance has paid off. His agency has grown over 2700% from 2016 to 2020. Generating millions of dollars each year for their hundreds of clients around the world.
So was it worth it? The answer is yes. Darren Cabral made the right decision to follow his dreams back in 2012. He’s earned more money in the past three years as an entrepreneur than he would have in a lifetime as a plumbing apprentice. During the time, he’s learned more, helped more people, and transformed his entire life by making two significant personal and business decisions—leaving the plumbing industry and turning down a six-figure salaried position in marketing.