I’ve been wanting to write a post about my thoughts about how Corporate America treats its employees but, there’s a few people who have done the work for me already.

Both articles bring up really valid points about why having a job is more of a risk than running your own business, or making money for yourself.  If you’re employed, you’re basically on a fixed income and nothing’s going to make you more money, not even working harder. Even if you’re a commissioned salesperson, and the company promises ‘uncapped commission’ the reality is that achieving those results is impossible. I know because I used to be there myself. I worked for a very WELL known brand, selling their warranties on appliances. The average warranty cost 150$, and no matter how much I sold one for, my commission would always amount to 1$.

Let’s dissect this a bit more though, I was selling a ’service’ that many people never even used, which means it’s free money for the company, yet they only paid me 1$ in commission every time. They wanted you to believe you could make a lot, but the formula they used for calculating your commission always made your commission just 1$. Why should I work harder to close a sale, if it’s only getting me 1$?

To further illustrate my dismay, here’s an example of some of my stats.

This is from 11/30/2008 – 12/20/2008.

• Net Sales: $29,177.25
• Base Commission: $149.98
• Total Commission (Base x 2): $299.96

Ain’t that a rip-off?

My commission got doubled only because I was in the top 10 all the time. But if everyone had made about 29,000 in sales, only the top 10 people would get double commission, and that’s nowhere near fair. I have to admit, it felt good raking in $2,000-$3,000 in sales everyday. On that note, I think that’s a goal I’m going to set for myself for 2010.

There’s also a lesson to be learned from my experience there. When I first started that job, it was my first run at telemarketing, and because I hate losing I went in there with a determined attitude that was geared for success. It’s the same attitude I came into Affiliate marketing with, and let me tell you something, BEING DETERMINED TO SUCCEED WORKS.

Anyway, John Martinelli and Steve Pavlina get it right in their articles when they explain that having a job is for chums.

Steve Pavlina from 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job:

It’s funny that when people reach a certain age, such as after graduating college, they assume it’s time to go out and get a job.  But like many things the masses do, just because everyone does it doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.  In fact, if you’re reasonably intelligent, getting a job is one of the worst things you can do to support yourself.  There are far better ways to make a living than selling yourself into indentured servitude.

John Martinelli’s article The Art Of Bending Time also illustrates how employer’s exploit their employees, and they fall for it all the time!

“An employer will never pay you what you’re worth, because if they did, you simply wouldn’t be a profitable asset to the company.”