Dear Kababayan,
My name is Jon Orana and like most people, I was groomed to be an employee and took the same path and – that is, finish a degree and get a good job.
Right after graduation in 1999 from Adamson University I got a job as a web designer in an Internet service provider in Ortigas, Pasig City.
I’m thrilled to be hired as a professional as this is the whole point of going to school for years – to get a JOB.
After just over 2 years of employment, I was already restless.
I saw the limited income and opportunities from the corporate world. I’m starting to hate Mondays and every day at work I’m constantly checking time hoping its 5pm so I can get out of my cubicle.
“I’m getting sick of this.” I said to myself.
Hoping to make my life better, I changed career from web designer to a computer programmer.
I was wrong.
Just months after working as programmer, I felt the same feeling again of being trapped in a corporate jail though my income is a little bit better.
Then somewhere in early 2002 a friend asked me to buy and read a short-length book titled “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. While reading this I felt the heavens opened up and the voice of God revealed what was in my DNA and that is…
…to be an entrepreneur.
Finally, things are getting clearer why I’m struggling through the years and why I feel like I’m a fish out of the water because I should be an entrepreneur.
Also, I realized after reading the book that as soon as I get a job after graduation I simultaneously received a lifetime imprisonment in corporate world with no chance of parole.
So I decided to escape.
Without wasting time, I started a side business doing freelance web design to medium sized companies and organizations.
Since I had no business background, mentors or anyone to guide me, my routine remained for the next couple of years and that is – work full-time, run my side business.
After couple of years of wearing two hats as employee and running my side business I finally quit from my job and went full-time in my consulting business. I’ll say quitting my job was the scariest thing I did in my life.
No more steady income, no health benefits, no more paid vacation, and other perks of the corporate world.
I went full-time in my business because I thought I already knew how to start and run a small business.
But it was a disaster.
Immediately lost my all capital and savings from that business.
It was surely an expensive experience but the education it provided was amazing. Something you can’t acquire from any business books or by taking an MBA at Harvard.
Humiliated and dismayed I went back to employment, mopping floors and selling cell phones at the mall.
If you’re previously as working professional with a nice desk, making nice income and suddenly you see yourself mopping floors making little money – it is surely a humbling experience.
But that didn’t stop me. While working as a glorified janitor at the mall, I assessed my situation and thought hard about why my past business ventures had went bankrupt.
During this time of self-discovery I developed my “Safe Escape Plan.”
It’s a practical and low-risk approach in business that will give me a safe transition from employment to entrepreneurship.
To make it work though, I needed to wake up as early as 4am and work my business.
Gradually, that part-time business picked up and I scaled up my business, systematized it, and hired two people.
Mind you, it wasn’t easy and I can’t promise you that you’ll get the same results.
But what I can guarantee you is if you work hard and SMART, you’ll get amazing results from your efforts.
To your freedom,
Jon Oraña
Chief Escape Officer (CEO)