Three days back I answered this question on Quora. Since we made a similar transition in our life- quit our jobs, started our business and are now following Financialcial Freedom, I wrote what had worked for us. In the last 3 days, my answer got a phenomenal response- 45,000 views, 432 upvotes and comments such as ” Wish I had read this article 3 months ago … I left my job with 6 months of finance back- up. Though entrepreneurship is a great Journey in terms of knowledge I do regret my decision!!... “
With a hope that you or someone you know (please share it) may also find it useful..I am re-publishing my Quora answer here. let us know if you want to learn more on this subject. It is a quick read.
originally published on Quora.
I want to quit my job and start my own business
My answer- Imagine this:
- Starting/ running any business is 10X more difficult, time-consuming than a job.
- 50% of all business fail in the first five years. so, your chance of success is 50%.
- So, if you want to succeed you want to financially, emotionally and skill-wise be fully prepared for the journey of entrepreneurship.
The glamour, novelty and excitement of starting a new business leaves within the first year and then your success depends on your intrinsic motivation, skills and your ability to stay in the arena. Click To Tweet
My husband and I quit our jobs and started our own business over 6 years back and moved to Goa. 2 years into it, our business started covering our expenses. Now we are saving more money to reach full financial independence so that we can take more bold decisions with our lives and start more business ventures.
MY SUGGESTION, BASED ON OUR OWN EXPERIENCES:
Create a financial safety net before you start your own business– save a couple of years worth of expenses :
Most business if successful can take 2–5 years to start generating profits. So, Create a financial safety net before you start your own business– save a couple of years worth of expenses before you quit your job so that you can focus on your new venture without worrying about how you would pay your next month bill. We are talking from personal experience, as my husband and I did the same and are very glad we had 7 years worth of expenses. However, with even 7 years worth of expenses under our kitty, we felt the heat. You can read more about it, in our interview on entrepreneurs of India.
Your savings are like a parachute, which you can use to save yourself in event of a crash. The riskier your business venture is that much bigger your parachute needs to be. Min. recommended is 5-7 years worth of living expenses. Click To Tweet
Test waters while you are in Job:
I know two people who quit their job to start a business but could not work at the pace they had imagined, ran out of funds and had to go back to the job. Ramping up a new business takes time and funds. Use after work hours and weekends to kick start your idea and develop it to a reasonable stage before you quit your job. We have written about how to start your business.
Read our article on How to get your life back, if you are unhappy with your job– a stepwise approach to quitting your job and pursuing your dream.
Start following and interacting with people in the field
Start following and interacting with people in the field you want to start your business. Learn from people who have already done it. This will saves you years in time, as you will learn from their mistakes.
Invest in yourself
learn the skills you require to run the business. Take courses, attend workshops, seminars. Immerse yourself in the field you want to start your business.
You are your biggest Asset Click To Tweet
Target Financial Freedom:
Once you are a bit settled in business and started to churn profits:-) hurray!!! seriously target financial independence. Businesses are a risky venture and being Financially Free will give you another level of financial safety net & confidence to go bold in your business. So many businesses fail because once they make money owners are too scared to tweak them, experiment with them and the businesses die a slow death. We were one of them…Once our business started paying our bills we were too scared to shake the boat by making any big changes. We realized this fear and that is why we are on the path of Financial Freedom. Financial freedom gives you the courage to do the right thing in your business and in your life.
You can not survive in business without innovation- making creative improvements. Click To Tweet
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