The Best Mistake I Ever Made

This is an excerpt from an interview I had with Vanessa Ogle from Authority Magazine that warranted its own post.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

My journey of entrepreneurship started when I made a huge mistake. After completing several rounds of interviews for a job, it was time to discuss compensation. I knew I was undervalued at the place I was working at the time. I was making 40-something thousand and knew that I should have been making mid-50-something thousand. So, I decided an annual salary of 60,000 was my minimum. I would ask for 68, be thrilled with 65 but still accept 60.

So when the recruiter called me to discuss compensation, I repeated in my head “68. 68. 68.”

I was already nervous to ask for this amount. Nobody likes negotiating salary, and in the place I was working I had my completed and signed contract ripped up in front of me and was handed a lower salary (yes, it was illegal).

Then, instead of the expected question of annual salary, the recruiter asked for my hourly rate as a contractor.

I blurted out the number I had been practicing. “68.”

He went quiet and did some calculations. “Hmm, so that comes to about $130, 000 a year.”