Editing The Pen Addict 185/transcript (section)

== Job Quitting ==


'''Myke Hurley:''' All right. Okay. It's time. We've, we've teased the people for long enough. Uh, you have some big news today.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So I do. And where to begin? Um, well, what did you do? Um, I quit my job. This one? Not this job. Not the penaddict job. Not the not-go job. I quit my jobby job. Day job. Um, I quit my day job. Uh, two weeks ago, Monday.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Mm-hmm.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Two weeks ago, today. Um, I turned in my notice at my job.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I have been dying to talk about this on the show.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. So Friday was my last day. Um, I took the weekend out of town to spend with the wife because it was also our 18th anniversary yesterday. So that was a big deal. Um, so I actually timed the quitting, uh, for a lot of reasons. Um, that being, that was one of them. But this has been in the works in my head for a while. I've got the ball rolling probably, what, this summer is when I first let you know that this is what I'm working towards.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. I mean, like, we were talking about it. We were talking about it seriously a few times over the years. Like, seriously. Like, okay, I'm making this plan. I'm making this plan. But, yeah, in the summer, um, you were like, yeah, no, it's happening now. We've worked it out. I'm gonna make it work. Yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So it's a kind of a long time coming. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and a lot of nerves and scared converse, emotional conversations, you know, not in a bad way, but just in a, oh my God kind of way. And, you know, it's been a process and it's been a brain switch. You know, you definitely have to switch some things around and, and how you think about things. Um, but leaving, you know, the stability and security of a job I've had 14 of the last 15 years, you know, um, you know, I, I did work for jet pens for a year in between there, but I worked for the same company before and after that.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Do you remember when we used to put the disclaimer at the end of the show? Because if you're, because you worked at jet pens, do you remember that?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, that, that was weird. We don't have to disclaim anymore because it's, uh, I'm, I'm going independent basically, you know, stationary is going to be my life and I am so excited and I'm really grateful for all the listeners and readers and everyone who's been along for the ride and everyone who's brand new, everyone who's been around forever. I mean, I, I couldn't do it without, you know, everyone giving me thanks in the chat room, giving me thanks on Twitter, Instagram, you know, texting me, calling me some people, you know, a few people knew, uh, ahead of time just cause you know, I kind of gotta, I kind of get to get some words out. Um, this is the part where I get almost crying, but, um, it's a big deal and it's not easy and it was a massive, massive decision, um, for my, you know, my whole being, right. You know, uh, a lot of times, you know, you're looked at in, you know, maybe, you know, not unfortunately, but just saying, you know, pure defined by the job that you have. And, you know, my job was great. It was very good. Um, you know, you'll hear me say stability, uh, a lot and getting, throwing yourself into something completely different where it's not stable, even remotely. And it's going to be kind of a whirlwind to kind of get going, even though I've been doing, you know, I've been writing the pen addict had its eighth anniversary in November. It's been doing it for eight years. It's unreal. And the way it's grown, um, and then it's allowed for things like this podcast, it's allowed for me to start a company, um, called not co for those who aren't familiar, um, because of all this and it's gotten to the point where I look at these things and just see the opportunities there. If I can put my, all my time and effort behind knock and behind pen addict and behind this community that has been so supportive of me and I want to support with like every fiber of my being. It's been an amazing journey.

'''Myke Hurley:''' All right. So I have a bunch of questions for you, um, but I'm going to kind of ruin it by doing the emotional part now and then I'll ask you the questions. Um, I can't even begin to explain how happy I am that you've done this. I have so many friends. I mean, you know, all of us here at Relay, we work really hard and the majority of people that are a part of Relay, um, are not independent. Um, they have a job of some kind or they had a job at a certain point and it goes for many of my friends who, you know, they have a thing that they do, an outlet that they have that they would love to be what they do for a living. Um, but it's, you know, for whatever reason isn't or can't be. And that can be just through the fact of it doesn't make them enough or they just don't feel secure enough. But I think out of everybody that I know, um, you are easily and, you know, were with the previous job the hardest working, like the pure amount of things that you somehow managed to do. I don't understand how you are still alive. Like, because the thing is not only did you have a massively successful blog, like your site is the is of everyone that I know is the most successful, right? Page views wise. I mean, it's not, it's on your website. People can go see it, but like the pen advocate gets like a million page views a month, right? That is like madness. So you manage that and everything that goes along with that. You have three people that write for you.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Uh, two on the payroll and then, uh, you know, people like, uh, John and, uh, Nick, um, fall under the, the guest posting category.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So you have that to do. You have this show every week and you put together like 75% at least of what goes into this show every single week. Um, and you have knock, which is a real business. Like this, no joke. Like it is a real business. I've seen it in action. Like knock is a thing and you work in a night shift and you would somehow find the time to fit all this in. And I have seen you with your family and incredible dad as well. And it is so clear to me from that FaceTime call that I got to witness from your car in Atlanta that your kids absolutely adore you. I don't understand you. Like, I don't know what it is that you drink. Uh, but coffee mostly. There's some, there was something in it. And I've got to tell you, buddy, I am so happy. And this is so deserving and it is a heck of a long time coming.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Oh man. I have to take off my glasses for a minute. I love you, Brad Dowdy. I love you too, man. Thanks so much. I appreciate it. I couldn't do it without you. I mean, remember that you're the one that, you're the one that caused a lot of this. Remember you gave me the kick in the butt that I needed. You said, I think we haven't, I think we can do a podcast about pins. And I pretty much told you you were stupid and go away. And you, uh, you kept at it and stuck with me. I guess you saw something then.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Um, no, I mean, you know, look, maybe for as long as you've known each other, I've tried to force you to do something. Right. You know, like, oh, I have had over the years, I've thrown many ideas Brad's way. Most of them were silly. And the one that actually ended up really working has nothing to do with me. But the point was, I just knew I, one, I knew you could. And two, you deserve it. Like you, you deserve it. And that the whole time, like the pen addict is a, like a, as a, just a, a gold mine that you don't take advantage of. Right. And, you know, just that whole brand and everything about it. Um, it really is something that you can push more. But the great thing is like not co is a business that's making money. And the pen addict is kind of like a sleeping giant, right? Like pen addict.com is like this, the sleeping giant that I think you can also really turn into something. But we should talk about that sort of stuff. But I need to go back to the start a little bit. Why have you quit now?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' It's time from a growth perspective for both knock and the pen addict that if I want to continue to do all these things, continue to pour my heart and soul into it, something has to give. And there's never going to be a perfect time, which a lot of people have told me that you've told me you've, when I kept telling you no, and it's not the time, or I talked to Jeff and I was like, it's not the time. Or I talked to my wife or I talked to my parents, you know, because they're all involved in these decisions too. And, you know, there's never a perfect time. You know, you can't wait until the money's perfect or the time is perfect or, you know, the distance is perfect. At some point, you have to make a leap of faith. You have to believe in yourself enough and the people that you work with enough and your support system enough to where you're like, okay, I can make this jump. And I can make these additional sacrifices that are going to require my time in order to make knock the best company that it can be. And in order to make the pen addict, the best website it can be in the best podcast that it can be. And, you know, to make this stationary community as a whole, even stronger, because that's what I really want to do. That's what I really believe in. I believe in the people so much in this community.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' You know, that's like a huge focus of mine. Always has been. You know, I always want to put, you know, the people first. And, you know, the readers and listeners. And all the people I made at pen shows and people I talked to online and email. You know, that's always come first and that's always will be. And I think that's why it's been successful. But the time came to where the personal time balance that I have with everything that I do that you were mentioning before was things were starting to knock heads a little bit, if you will. So some decisions had to be made. And which direction is the rest of my life going to go? And, you know, is it going to be sitting in front of a computer at three o'clock in the morning fixing problems? Or is it going to be focusing on the things that I love? You know, knock in the pen addict in my family, you know, primarily, not necessarily in that order. Good thing my wife doesn't listen. So just to clarify. But.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' It became time because those things started bumping up against each other pretty hard here in the past, probably like past couple of years, my health deteriorating because of my shift, my time with my quality. Of life with my family is. Getting worse because of my job, my previous job. And this is nothing against my previous job. No one there listens. They would know anyway. But I had a really, really good job. That's what made it hard to leave.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' But the all these things were kind of boiling in a pot together. And, you know, at some point, you know, I just had to make a decision which direction I want to go in. And I want to go in the direction of this community. And that's how much I believe in it. And being able to be a part of it by making things at Nock and talking about things with the pen addict is just the way I wanted to go. And. It was time to do that. You know, it was it was time to make that leap of faith. It's never going to be perfect timing. But it just got to where I had to do something. If nothing else, I'm going to die early working this these hours for so long. This last run of third shift was about four years. I did it two years, you know, a few years ago. So I've had like six years total of working third shift. And it's just it's it's hell on your body. And that's not the sole reason, but that plays into so many other things, you know, with my quality of life. And could I make a success out of the pen addict and Nock and get myself out of that vicious cycle that I was in with the lifestyle I was leading that was caused by the job that's really secure and pays really well, you know. So it was not an easy decision by any stretch of the imagination, but I feel it's the right decision. I'm gone for months and months, probably since the summer of just massive amounts of nerves, right? Just on the decision. Am I making it the right? Am I making the right decision? And I felt so nervous about having to make that decision. Like, you know, I was always like hemming and hawing over it and, you know, kind of keeping one toe in, you know, if you will. And.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And I finally made that decision, like only like.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Definitely, definitively, probably like in October, like, you know, maybe the end of September, beginning of October. Here's the plan for me leaving my job and I'm going to do it. And, you know, once I started working towards that. And putting more time towards that, you know, the nerves start to subside and the excitement starts to kick in. So that balance starts to shift. Right. So once I finally made the made the call that, OK, here's what I'm going to do. Here's why I'm doing it. Here's how we're doing it. And here's when we're doing it. You start moving forward and I start getting pumped about what opportunities I'm going to have with Nock now. Like we have such a good thing going at Nock and it's going so well and we can do so much more. It's not even funny. And I have to be there to do that. Right. To help with that. I mean, I certainly can't do it on my own, but Jeff's been doing this on his own for like two years already. It's like I contribute very little in the grand scheme of Nock, like in the actual day to day working of Nock. And Jeff's been killing himself and he needs me there to push this thing forward. We both have a vision of what we want this to be. And it's going to take both of us to get this done and it's time. So using that, you know, as really the core of making this jump, it made it a lot easier because it's going well. And we can see, like even though we're not, you know, things aren't exactly happening right this second, we see it. Right. It's like on the horizon. We can see. We can do this. Right. But it's going to take me getting in there and kicking as much butt as Jeff has over the past two years because he's totally killed it. I mean, he's been awesome. And it's completely time for me to get in there and do this.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So your last day is past, right? Was your first day self-employed today?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I guess you could say so. Yeah. Today is. Yeah. Yeah. So my last day at work was Friday.

'''Myke Hurley:''' All right. So how did you spend today?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Today, I spent driving back from St. Simon's Island because I was out of town.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So it's tomorrow then, right? Tomorrow. Tomorrow is the real day.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' That's what I was alluding to earlier. I forget exactly what I said. But tomorrow, I was driving back with my wife and I said, tomorrow is going to be really strange.

'''Myke Hurley:''' What's the plan for tomorrow? You've got to have a plan. What is the plan?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Tomorrow is to set up my workspace. Nice. So I haven't had time to do any of this, right? So I did actually on.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I've been doing a lot of back end stuff, trying to get things ready, you know, just to make this, you know, one of the silly little decisions on why I decided to do this now was also because of tax time. Right. So I want to start fresh January 1st. So, okay, I've got to get this accounting set up. I'm working for myself now. It's a whole different ballgame, right?

'''Myke Hurley:''' I have a really good accountant, by the way.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, I have him too. Okay, good. He's a good guy. He's our knock accountant. So he's also my personal accountant.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Excellent.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, but, you know, you've got to do those things, right? So that was a consideration of the when I'm going to tell my job that I'm quitting because now I can, you know, officially flip the switch, flip the job switch on January 1st and it makes my accounting cleaner. So I was thinking of things like that. But, yeah, Tuesday is going to be weird. And I just realized that today, driving home.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And the biggest thing I'm going to do is set up my office because I need a workspace away from the family a little bit. You know, I need an area where I can go and focus and do those types of things that I need to do on a day-to-day basis. But once I'm in, like, the full swing, which probably won't be until, like, January 1st or the first of, you know, the first full week of January, I'm going to be spending two days a week at knock in the shop and then three days a week at home. That's the working plan.

'''Myke Hurley:''' That's pretty sweet.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Are you going to be making stuff at knock or are you going to be, like, business in it?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, mostly business in it. And there's some making stuff that I can do and I will certainly help. But, you know, we ship a lot more now, right? So, you know, I'll get in there and help with the shipping and the inventory and the organizing and the quality control. And, you know, then, you know, the marketing side of it. Like, I need – that's going to be, like, my biggest, biggest focus is the marketing side, getting our name out there outside of our community, right? Mm-hmm. And I'm going to be working on that. There's so much that we're not doing right now that's going to be my responsibility to do because Jeff is doing everything in his power for getting manufacturing done and getting these cases made so we can get them sold. You know, he – I've said it before about Jeff that him and I are so perfect together because we have almost no overlap in skill set except for knowing what we want to make, right? So, Jeff is awesome at all kinds of things that I'm terrible at and I'm awesome at all kinds of things that Jeff's terrible at. So, it's, like, the perfect match as far as that goes. So, that's what my weeks are going to be like. Like, but the reason I actually told you, I don't know, a few weeks ago that I didn't even want to have this conversation today. I wanted to wait until, like, January. January. January.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' But I realized – it took me until last week to realize that I'm going to be around during normal people hours all week starting this week and people are going to start asking questions. Why are you awake? And I was like, well, I can't hold it in that long. You know, so I was like, well, I guess let's talk about it on Monday. What do you think? And you're like, yeah.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, I've been dying to talk about this.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, I know you have.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Because I see the hour on what we call gardening leave. I don't know. I don't know what you call it.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. I don't think there's any perfect name for it. Maybe there is. It's basically I'm between jobs. I don't know. There's really no – I mean, for me, there's no real break. I mean, tomorrow really starts. Yeah, of course. You know. But, you know, I'm already working on that stuff, right? I am working on how I can make the pen addict better, what things I can do going forward with the pen addict, you know, that the readers will enjoy and things like that. So there's so, so many things up in the air right now that, you know, I mean, tomorrow it's get to work time.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So if you look at the way that your businesses are split up, going forward, where do you think the majority of your income is going to come from?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Nock, I would say. Yeah, I would have assumed that too. I don't have like a totally perfect math answer for that. I feel like it's Nock. And it pretty much has to be Nock, right? It just has to be.