Quitting Your Full Time Job To Start Your Own Business
Some people think of quitting their full time job to start their own business as a bold, daring move. It is definitely one of the biggest decisions you can make in your life and requires courage, discipline, and a lot of risk. The good news is that it's possible to quit your full time job and start a business with less money than you would have made in your old position. There are a lot of different routes you can take, but this article is going to detail three of the best ways to go about it.
In a Nutshell:
If you're thinking of quitting your job to start a business, there are a few things that you should do first. Put together your budget and decide exactly how much money you need to make your business work. Figure out if it's more cost effective for you to rent or buy office space, and choose an appropriate location for your business. Think about the type of supplies and equipment that you will need and whether or not you should actually purchase them or find someone with experience to help out in the early stages. The most important thing of all, though, is to actually lay out a business plan and try to be as detailed as possible. The more realistic your plan, the better prepared you will be.
How to Quit Your Job & Start a Business:
When you first quit your job to start a business, you may find that it's not the way you imagined it would be. It requires a lot of hard work and gives you little financial return for the first several months. Before making any rash decisions about quitting your full time job and starting your own business, make sure that it is really what you want to do. Before you quit your job, ask yourself these questions:
Are you willing to work 80 plus hours per week? This can happen if you are the sole owner of a small business and rely on that income. Are you willing to have a different income for at least six months, or possibly more? If you're not sure if this is the right business for you, there are several ways that you can find out. Find a friend or relative who has started a business and see how they like it. Call your bank to see what interest they will give you on an account that has no earnings coming in most of the time. The only way to know for sure is to try it.
In the very beginning, it's best to avoid debt because it will hinder your ability to start and manage a small business. There are several ways that debt can hinder you, but I'm going into this topic in a later article so keep it in mind throughout the rest of this one. The point here is that you need money to start up a new business and if you have other debts, those must be paid off first before you can start looking for new customers or be able to pay your employees.
One of the biggest mistakes that people make when quitting their job to start a business is to quit too soon and not give their business enough time to grow. In the beginning stages, a small business is not going to bring in a huge income, making it difficult if you have any other debts to pay off. It would take a year or more for most businesses to even begin bringing in an income, so having loans and credit cards can put you in an extremely vulnerable position. If you have no other source of income coming in, this could mean that you will lose your house or car because you can't make your payments on time. Starting a new business takes a lot of hard work and can be very stressful. It's important to take a deep breath, assess your situation and make sure that you're making the right choice for yourself and your family.
Six Tips to Get Started:
1. Make sure that this is something you really want to do: Quitting your full time job to start a business is risky no matter what kind of business you decide to open up. Before you quit, make sure that this is what you really want to do, instead of just jumping into it because of peer pressure or because you think it will be fun. 2. Don't quit your full time job too soon: There are two main reasons that people decide to start a business but don't have enough money to do it with. The first is that they don't know how much money it will cost and the second is that they don't have an idea of how much money they will need to put into the new business. Before you quit your full time job, take a serious look at all of your expenses from both sides of the equation. You may find that the actual costs of starting up a new business are far higher than you would have thought or that even though you were planning on quitting, you never had a plan in place for making money once you start up your new company. 3. Take notes: When you first start your new business, take a good look at all of the expenses you're going to have. You should write down all of your monthly bills, such as utilities, rent or mortgage payments, car payments and other household expenses. You should also research and find out what supplies you'll need to purchase. Some examples of these are computers or office equipment, cell phones and even business cards for clients. You may need to sign insurance policies including things like liability or workers' compensation for employees, but this is something that should be taken care of in advance by your lawyer before you actually quit your job to start your own business. 4. Make a budget: This is one of the most important steps that you need to take when starting a new business. You need to make sure that you have enough income to pay for your bills every month. If something unexpected happens, like your car breaks down or you find out that you need glasses, these expenses can add up quickly and put your business in danger. You also need to budget for things like advertising and supplies and hiring employees if you decide to expand your business. It's very important that you stay on track with this step so that you don't spend too much money in the beginning stages of your new company. 5.
Conclusion:
The starting part of your new business isn't easy and it's very important to go into it with the right mindset. If you're not sure if this is the right decision for you, find a friend or relative who owns a business and talk with them about what it's like. As I said before, starting new business can be very stressful and if you're not prepared for this stress, then you may want to hold off on doing so until a better time.