I Couldn't Take Being A Corporate Slave

As many twentysomethings face the reality that there are far fewer entry-level corporate positions necessary to help usher in their entrance into the business world, others are choosing to avoid the corporate world altogether.

Starting an independent business is quite the feat for a person of any age, which is why many are now turning to franchises to launch their entrepreneurial dreams.

Such is the case for “Passion,” a recent college grad previously featured in USA Today for her an investment club she co-founded on her campus. Feeling defeated at her big post-graduate corporate gig, “Passion” decided to speed up on achieving her business owner dreams.

Here’s her take on why she made the move sooner rather than later:

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“Most of us have been raised to go to school, make good grades, go to college, get a good job, and told after we did each that all will be fair in Life & War. Of course, being the great daughter, student and model citizen that I am, I did all of the above. I dotted my I's and crossed my T's. And shortly after I traded my 17 yrs of school, 2 degrees, 4 internships, and great 401k + benefits into freedom because I felt like I sold my life to a corporate plantation.

The American Dream felt like a big scheme, and I had fallen victim to corporate slavery. I was told what to wear, what time to work, what time to leave, and what time to eat. I worked 80+ hour workdays that lasted well into my weekends, was micro-managed every hour of the day, punished for mistakes, singled out & set-up because of the color of my skin, on top of never finding a way to properly balance lance and work. At the end of each work day I felt like I had been bamboozled and hoodwinked for years. I knew that this couldn't be life. Not my life!!!

Thus, I followed my heart and started my own business, via a franchise. I no longer felt a victim of a corporation, but a victim of prosperity & destiny. I unconsciously enrolled myself into Street University. A place where what school you attended, your degrees, your professional resume are all irrelevant. The criterion for Street University is heart, hustle, leadership, wisdom, etc. Street University builds character and independence, whereas school unconsciously creates slaves. Nevertheless, sometimes I feel as though I'm living in a “Rich Dad Poor Dad” nightmare. I say nightmare because I feel like I am the black Robert Kiyosaki without the rich dad to observe, follow, mentor or connect. The blueprint was there for Mr. Kiyosaki and other successful entrepreneurs. I now am creating my own blueprint for my journey to successful entrepreneurship. I follow my own rules, which sounds easy, but can be challenging at times because I am used to someone always telling me what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. That is how I was trained, so now I am in a phase of re-training myself through self discipline, experience and books.

Everyday in my walk of Freedom, I keep hearing the same cliché in my head that I heard throughout my school days which is "Knowledge is Power,” but I have come to realize that only the right knowledge is power. Our education system teaches us how to be dependent on others; entrepreneurship teaches you to depend on self. An so, I am and looking forward to graduating from Street University. I won't have any additional degrees, 401k or fancy title, just lots of independence that I didn’t have before with time to enjoy life and a cushiony bank account to pursue.”

“Passion”

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Passion is currently a 25 year old entrepreneur. She owns a limited liability company and operates a tax office under a number one income tax franchise.

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Michael Arceneaux hails from Houston, lives in Harlem and praises Beyoncé’s name wherever he goes. Follow him on Twitter.