Well, my boss and I have run through every possible option for me to leave work this month without breaking my contract (which expires Feb 2, 2005). And we’ve come to a dead end. It’s basically come down to I’m free to leave, except I owe back the 3500$ (US) moving allowance they gave me.
I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that, as obviously leaving 2 months early and paying 3500$ isn’t kind of the ideal situation.
However, Shannon and I have decided to tough it out. I’m going to scale back some of my online activities a little bit to ensure I can stay sane for the next 6-8 weeks, and the decision is basically that unless I get a book deal, I’ll be staying here at HSC until mid-January (I have a few weeks vacation left).
Good? Sure, having a paycheque is always nice. Still, it’s always frustrating to get “so close” and see your dream take a step back. It’s a small step, but it’s still a step farther away.
But, in the meantime I’ll be doing some cool things to help save taxpayers money and improve non-patient care services – which is definitely one of the best parts of the job.
I’ll have a post later this week summing up what projects will stay active and what’ll happen with the rest. All those who I’ve signed contracts with or have current deals (or pending deals) with, don’t worry: nothing will change. I just have to work out how to balance this all for the next few weeks 
December 7th, 2004 at 10:36 am
Very good decision. Don’t overdo it! One step at a time. If it is a truely good idea, which I think it is, it will be there in a month.
December 7th, 2004 at 11:11 am
I’m surprised it wasn’t pro-rated across 12 months or something like that.
Look at it this way… At HSC you could probably do half your side work during the day, and still be more productive than most of the other people.
Sean
December 7th, 2004 at 12:08 pm
It may be a step back, but its not a big one. You’ll be fine.
Then, in 8 weeks, you’re free to go! Count down the days… 
December 7th, 2004 at 12:50 pm
What’s eight weeks against the rest of your career? This is a bump in the road, nothing more. Keep your eye on the prize!
Paul Chaney
Radiant Marketing Group
December 7th, 2004 at 1:20 pm
Exactly one week from tomorrow will the one year anniversary of my “we’ve decided to shift away from internet marketing to focus on direct mail, so we’re going to have to let you go effective immediately” one-way conversation with my last boss. In my case this provide the *encouragement* I needed to start my own business.
IMO the best way to do it is full-force. I took six months before that day of slowly building my business, but the results of jumping in and building your business full-time are so much more productive.
That said, since you’ve got 3,500 reasons to stick around for a while I think you are making the right decision. You mentioned some time off and vacation time… perhaps you could use some of that time to help launch the business…
Most businesses are slow to agree to new contracts and such around Christmas-time anyways, so I don’t think you’ll lose out much on new business. Best of luck!!!