Facing Most Difficult Life Decisions Yet at Age of 26
Hi Everyone,
I'm a longtime lurker who's been following WSO since freshmen year of college. Ended up in F500 FLDP, worked 1.5 years before having to leave and help my father launch a small business that had been stalled heavily by the pandemic. (Parents are 1st gen immigrants, separated but both are each owners of their own restaurants).
Although I didn't end up in IBD, this forum's advice has been monumental given that my parents are 1st generation immigrants with essentially minimal understanding of higher education and white-collar occupations.
My father began building a new business (related to restaurant business) in late 2019, however we all know how the pandemic has wrecked the hospitality sector. Come 2020, I stepped away from my F500 role to help him push the business to opening as well as run the business as I was afraid neither his new venture nor existing restaurant would survive.
After finally opening the doors and operating the business for over a year, things have not gotten better and we are underwater in debt.
It seems my only option is too throw the keys away, declare both personal and business bankruptcy, and then attempt to find a normal job again, whether that's FP&A (which is where I ended up in the FLDP), or anything else for that matter.
My question to the folks here who have some life experience; am I seeing all the options clearly? What are my career prospects given that I haven't worked a normal role in 2.5 years? How does filing for bankruptcies in this particular scenario impact things?
I have no regrets with my decision to help my family; crap was hitting the fan for the family businesses when the pandemic went down. However, I feel that getting a normal job and bringing in a secure income would be better now than me trying to prop up a failing business. I've been working 90 hours week nonstop for the past two years, worked through unimaginable crap to start/keep this business operating, but I'm burning out now.
I'm pretty screwed, no?
Commenting to say I'm sorry and that at least you tried your very best. No one talks about the many failed businesses. You're def not alone, and don't think you are dumb/not good/etc because it failed. Don't let this define you. Goodluck
First am sorry to hear the way things worked out, as a fellow immigrant and very much family oriented, I can understand why you did and what you did…
Some positives
1/ You are young, getting back up from a failure like this is relatively easier vs later in life
2/ You have learnt the price of failure, you will carry that feeling for the rest of your life and will try to be the best in everything you do esp. so when you get a corp job - learning hustle early is critically important
3/ you have good story to tell incase you wanna do masters /MBA-scholarships deciders / admit committee / entrepreneur clubs etc are a sucker for these stories - I have more than few friends who used the story (although some were rich fucks who played the tune to bend the system)
Now decisions
1 - Bankruptcy: it will come on you background check in practical everything you do - depending on companies it could be viewed negatively, I know one MD who faces something like this early in life but managed pull it together and get a Wharton MBA n make it in life - so not all is lost
2 - think you are on the right path with going the corporate job (esp. now!) but given where the job market is it’s going to be tough - have that at head start - great if you land a brand name but experience and skill set are more important - figure a job that gives you that - startups in restaurant space (eg-cloud kitchen by travis) space may be a good idea
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