Pursue Career Upgrade or Business Upgrade?

 picture is for illustration purposes only

I've just reached a crossroad in my journey of being job independent by 18.08.2010. My original plan was to go freelance early next year, meant as a transition stage before leaping into a whole new chapter in my life. However, Last Thursday I was called for a one-to-one session with the new GM. At first I thought it was regarding my 1 year employment bond with the company which I was sort-of cheated into agreeing (read end of this post for more info). At first it WAS about that. But then he gave me a proposition that not only will make void the bond, but also with some other added incentives as well (read salary upgrade)!!

My current HOD has already tendered a 2 month notice to HR 2 weeks ago. He'll be moving into the agriculture business as his future father-in-law has some land up in Ipoh, and maybe do some freelance job to cater for our customers in the northern region such as Penang, etc.

And guess what? I was given an offer to fill in his shoes!!

The offer really came as a surprise. During my first few months here, I was really at low profile as we didn't had that many projects in hand. I guess Jeffrey probably had a look into my resume. He even offered a 25% salary increase on the spot (on top of other benefits that came with the job such as allowances, basement parking, etc). Oh! and did I mention that by accepting the offer I will receive a new agreement thus rendering void my old agreement and the bond that came with it?

Under normal circumstances, I would of accepted the offer (after maybe asking for 5% more >:) ) but by doing so will interfere with my original plans. Honestly speaking, I was very excited when the words came out from his mouth. My heart was leaping with joy, but then got pulled down when I was reminded of my plans. I was speechless and wasn't able to give a proper response or feedback. I was battling with myself on whether I should disclose my dilemma to the GM. After some deep thought (which seemed like an eternity) I decided to let it all out.

Being the gentleman that he is, Jeffrey understood and gave me 1 week to decide. He was even cool with the fact that I wanted to leave the company should I choose to go freelance (at least it seemed that way). He only had one condition, do not be respectful and accept the offer only to quite a few months later :). Anyways, I think it would be best if I list out the pro's & con's of each option. 

Accept Promotion 
Pro's: at least 25% increment (aka double my salary when I left TM last July), strengthen my portfolio when bidding for freelance projects, personal development, self fulfillment, void employment bond

Con's: busier thus less time to help wifey in business, cannot go full force to expand the business

Go Freelance 
Pro's: total freedom of time, can concentrate on business, no more headache of juggling time and thoughts
Con's: big humongous risk (business not yet stable, freelance jobs not set in stone, etc), would have to pay pro-rated bond,


Currently I'm thinking of accepting the offer, leverage on the benefits, build my portfolio, wait till the business is stable and then let go. In other words, I will still go freelance but it would not be as early as planned, at least another 6 months to a year. Plus I believe I can learn a lot in terms of "management" (people, projects, organization, etc) which can definitely help me later in our plans to expand the business.

Feedback from friends? As expected those "makan gaji" advised me to grab the promotion, those doing business advised me to go full-time.

What do you think? 

When I was offered this job, the previous GM wanted to me to hop-on early. Since in TM we need to tender a 3 months notice period, the company was willing to pay 2 months in-lieu (twice the amount of my basic salary) with no strings attached. Only that I had to fork out my own money in advance & claim later with the company. Though there was no black & white, I took the risk as I assured myself that this was a standard practice. Sure enough I was able to get my money back but with one condition, to be bonded for 1 year!! (meaning should I leave the company before bond ends, I would have to pay back the full amount!!). Man, was I furious. I felt cheated. Sacrificing 2 months only to be bonded 12 months? Turned out that the GM didn't consult the finance department when he made the decision to hire me early. So to be "fair" to both parties he negotiated with finance and changed it to a prorated bond. I tried to ask to shorten the bond to 6 months, but alas to no avail. They had the upper hand since they had my cheque on hold, and I desperately needed the money. Let this be a lesson to all, EVERYTHING SHOULD BE ON PAPER!!