5 Year Plans...

F

Fern9do

Expert Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2008
Messages
3,077
Reaction score
0
Location
Cape Town
Was speaking to the guy from HR yesterday about my new contract and stuff and out of the blue he asked me "Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?". I was speechless! i then realised that i dont have a 5 year plan and i have no idea where i see myself in 5 years time, im 22 and graduated this year but i dont really know what i want yet.For example im stil thinking about wether or not to resign and do my BTech full time. I just kinda realised now that i dont have a goal or direction at the mo.

So my question to you guys(And girls) is how important is it to have a 5 year plan?Do you have one?Have you used one to get where you are now?
 
Scary, ain't it. Well my 5 year plan when I was your age (shocking 4 years ago :p) was to finish my masters degree in business, and seeing as that is now pretty much almost done with I'm working on my next plan and it's somewhat worked out:

1) finish writing my thesis in as many countries as possible! What I mean by this is that my University has a bit of a ****ty library for the topic I want to write on, which is why I have the lovely excuse of heading off to NY to do some research at the libraries there and then I come back for the winter semester and take my last exams and then head off to Australia to finish writing the thesis there. Not because I have to, but because it is a lovely excuse to not have a proper job thus a larger amount of free time (at least I can say when i am doing what) and still do something productive AND get to know a new country/continent whilst spending time with my older sister who now lives there and I haven't seen for a while.

2) Plan is to be finished with the degree by May-June 2009, then apply to graduate programmes at various investment banks around the world (I'm very flexible in this regard, dont really care where I end up and I'm hoping banks won't be in as much ***** as they are at the moment :( ) and then do that for 2 years or so. If for some odd reason nobody wants my fantabulous self as a graduate intern, then I shall find another job (probably in Marketing, my other major at Uni next to finance) and do my Chartered Financial Analyst degree part time.

3) Once I have gained a bit of experience and knowledge in my field of work and travelled a bit more, I'll probably think of settling down. What I mean by that is actually find a country that I will want to live in for a large portion of my life and then do it. Enough of this gypsey lifestyle.

So that should hopefully cover 5 years. It's very rough at this point, ek weet, but I think it's going in the right direction

Then I have my long long term plans, which is to become a lecturer at a university and become Prof. Hobagoas. I love the atmosphere of Universities...so hope it will always be a part of my life. And I want a farm...with no flippen neighbours in sight so that I can walk around and swim naked if I wanna!
 
My long term goal was to not work for a Boss. 9 years later I opened my company. I got comfortable working 8 to 5 and lost sight of it. Then my life got shaken up a bit, moved back to Cape Town to be closer to my fam (mom was diagnosed with cancer but is in full remission) and I decided its now or never.

I am doing ok at the moment. No one told me it would be so much work getting started and in the 1st year it wasnt uncommon for me to get home after midnight but its all worth it.

I am still not at a point where I can sit back and I don't have that much money to spend (most of it goes back into the company, still paying off 2 vehicles, increasing staff compliment and tooling up to take on bigger jobs) but each month it gets better.

So now I am my own Boss and if I do not make my millions I am the only one to hold accountable, thats a big motivation. Also having staff and knowing how you have been treated as an employee makes you want to make a difference. Motivating staff to reach your goal plays a huge roll.

Anyway a bit more info than what you asked for I suppose but I hope it motivates some ppl to go out and make a success of themselves.

I was always put down, ppl saying I wouldnt amount to much, I wasnt a top performer like my brother and cousins in academics.

I started a company with nothing and it is worth quite a bit in assets now.

So set your goals and go for them anything is possible.
 
Not too sure about my 5 year plan but, like yourself, i am also my own boss ( apart from the fact i have two partners ). Started off with a very small initial capital but seems to be moving up, although still not seeing the benefits but thats the downfall in starting up. Been 5 months now, with a few big jobs on our profile so not too long now i hope before the benefits show and hopefully i can't start honoring my debt.

I see though how you feel about employee's. Pity I don't have full say in what the employee's get paid.
 
acidrain said:
I see though how you feel about employee's. Pity I don't have full say in what the employee's get paid.
Click to expand...

It doesn't have to be big salaries, find out what drives them. The one guy bought a car and I set him a goal, sign off the site a day early and I make your next car payment and the team gets a case of beers. Was R600 + beer but I got a bonus for finishing early and I could move that team to a new site so I saved R400 in labour and scored a bonus why shouldn't he benifit with me.
 
Most people's 5 year plan is just to be comfortable and happy... no big deal.

Chasing after money will just give you an ulcer.

Let each day take care of itself.

Just smile and be happy. don't sweat the big stuff... things have a way of working out.
 
Gunny said:
It doesn't have to be big salaries, find out what drives them. The one guy bought a car and I set him a goal, sign off the site a day early and I make your next car payment and the team gets a case of beers. Was R600 + beer but I got a bonus for finishing early and I could move that team to a new site so I saved R400 in labour and scored a bonus why shouldn't he benifit with me.
Click to expand...

Even incentives are hard to to get past my partners, and when there are incentives, its not really that big given the amount of days its spread over. Im sure though things might change when cash flow is better.
 
to pay off my debt so that when i kick the bucket my family wont suffer
 
So been doing some 'Soul searching ' this weekend and figured out why i dont have a plan. I was getting used to just waking up and going to work, trapped in the same daily routine, not setting any goals for myself. It was easy.
But iv decided to set myself some goals and try and achieve them in the next 5 years.
Goals for 2008:
>Get a permanent job.
>Get my drivers license
>Save up R10 000 by December
>Work things out with my x

Goals for 2009:
>Buy my 1st car.
>Start dating again.
>Enroll for Project Management Course(Part-Time)

Goals for 2010:
>Finnish car payments
>Buy my 1st house

Goals for 2012:
>Start working as a consultant(Be my own boss:) )

Thats pretty much as far as i got, and its stil a bit sketchy but its a start. I think that saying is true, the one that says "Failing to plan is planning to fail"
 
5 years..?? im just worrying about the 1 year plan...masters? work? masters? work? masters and work? write actuarial exams? sleep?
 
@ cashmoney, you'll have to be earning some serious cash to finish car payments in 1 to 2 years :eek:.

It is certainly a good idea to start a 5 year plan. I for one currently find myself in a rut - I know where I want to get to but have not made any serious plans to get there :o.

It is exactly like you say - you kind of get stuck in a certain routine and lose focus of the bigger picture. It is also time for me to re-assess my life.
 
Last edited:
Cant really say I have one. But I know where I wanna be and how to get there, just that its not that easy to stick to the plan.
 
@ saule
I went car shopping saturday and saw a nice tazz(2003 model) for just under R50 000. In December i will have at least R10 000 so i will make a R40 000 loan and pay it off in just under two years.
I wanted to get a new polo 1.4 but then i would have to pay it off over 5 years and wont be able to afford a house anytime soon.

Its hard to stick to such a (Relatively) long term plan but its definately worth it.
Its been a good weekend for me,emotionally:)
 
cashmoney said:
@ saule
I went car shopping saturday and saw a nice tazz(2003 model) for just under R50 000. In December i will have at least R10 000 so i will make a R40 000 loan and pay it off in just under two years.
I wanted to get a new polo 1.4 but then i would have to pay it off over 5 years and wont be able to afford a house anytime soon.

Its hard to stick to such a (Relatively) long term plan but its definately worth it.
Its been a good weekend for me,emotionally:)
Click to expand...

Ok, I see about the car - I thought you were going for something new.

The house prices are really crazy the at moment and with the interest rate going up all the time, it is not getting any easier.
 
I think almost everyone has some kind of "5 year plan" somewhere hidden.
The biggest challenge is how do you go about it and stick to your plan throughout.
 
next month im being promoted to head accountant... :(
so my 5 year plan is as follows :

/suicide
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X