Adapted from Cheating on Your Corporate Job: A Comic Look at the Startup DreamBy the creators of #entrepreneurfail

Psssssst. Hey you! Yes, you… the one reading this. We know who you are.

You’re one of us…

The kind of person who is just itching to make the leap from your cushy (or maybe NOT so cushy) corporate job into the world of startups.

And don’t go trying to deny it. We caught you, walking around the office, talking to yourself under your breath, saying stuff like…

– “I just want to take charge and do things the way I want to…”

– “Oh please… I’m sure I can make more money with my own business than in this place…”

– “I am soooooo bored at work. Sleeping with my eyes open is a great skill, but this is ridiculous…”

– “I can be my own boss. In fact, I’d look good sitting behind a big desk, making really big decisions…”

– “There has got to be a better lifestyle than this 9-7 grind EVERY SINGLE DAY.”

You know what? We don’t blame you one bit. Because there is something to be said about living your passion, earning money doing it and making decisions with no one but yourself to answer to.

Of course, there’s also the long hours, scouring the planet in search of customers, and sometimes, eating leftovers from the leftovers from last week.

And surely SOMEONE told you it wouldn’t be as easy as starting a business then becoming a multimillionaire overnight. Right? RIGHT? Hmmmm… we need to have a talk.

The startup experience has been romanticized in movies and literature. Whenever we speak to entrepreneurs who have left the corporate rat race to pursue their own ventures, their experiences always echo our own. Sure, new small business owners expect more ownership, additional flexibility, less bureaucracy and longer hours. However, the biggest surprises will probably involve job satisfaction, getting a product to market, and organizational structures.

Our goal is to create a way for you to look at the inside from the outside, to help you decide whether or not this is the road you want to take or if you’d rather stay at your job, sleepwalking through your days and blowing drool bubbles as you watch the clock slowly tick away to 6 PM. But in all humility, and jokes aside, we respect that in the end, you – and only you – can decide which path is right for you to take.

Knowledge, preparedness, and laughter are powerful tools in the startup world. Download our comic book: “Cheating on Your Corporate Job: A Comic Look at the Startup Dream” to help you decide where you belong. Get the book FREE on Thursday December 5th.

Read more: Ben Kampa