So, you have been working on your free time on your own business, and think it is time to move on and focus all your time on your own business? There are a few things to check before doing any major decisions, such as quitting your day job.
In this post, we will go through questions to ask yourself, before making any major decisions that might affect your situation. Let’s dive right into it.
Is your financial situation good enough?
Do you have enough saved up, so you can cover your living expenses if your business doesn’t yet provide enough salary? If so, how long do your savings last?
If you think your business will generate enough in 12 months, and you have 12 months’ worth of savings, you might want to get some extra bumper to your bank account. Things don’t always go as planned.
If you quit your job now and things didn’t go as planned, when you have a good flow going on after 12 months, but your money runs out, you have to figure something else out. You might end up sacrificing the good momentum you had in your business, to work for someone else again.
Make sure you have enough money to cover your life expenses until your business takes off. It can be really hard to calculate and guess, when exactly that is. If you are unsure, maybe start with shorter work weeks on your day job to focus more time on your own business if possible.
Does your business already generate income?
If your business is already up and running, but requires more effort and time to expand, then you might be good to go. When you can already cover your living costs with the profit your business is making, it could be a pretty safe bet to quit your job and focus all your time into your own business.
This will let you focus all your energy and focus on your business and get the most out of it. If, however, your business doesn’t yet generate enough for you to live off from, make sure you have some savings to support the expanding phase.
It might be that the only thing standing between your business’ success, and you is time. If that’s so, you still might want to have some kind of emergency fund, in case things don’t go as planned. There can be various events in the world that might affect your business. Make sure you are prepared.
Does your business require more time?
If your business is as large as it will be, and you still have time to do your day job, time won’t be a problem. If you want more free time, try working shorter days or shorter work weeks.
However, if the issue in your own business is that you don’t have enough time for it, you might want to think, what does it take to support yourself if you quit your job. Like mentioned before, you might need some savings to support the phase where your business doesn’t yet generate enough income.
Other times, when you focus all your time and energy towards your own business, it starts to generate enough, or even more than you need to cover your daily expenses. If that’s the case, it could be a pretty safe bet to quit your job and focus on your business.
Are you disciplined enough to quit your job?
It is easy to work when someone is telling you what to do. Someone is keeping you accountable for the things you do or do not do. If you don’t do your tasks at work, you will get fired.
When you work in your own business, you will have to be your own boss. You don’t have anyone to tell you what to do. You must yourself keep yourself accountable for your actions. If you delay the tasks, you should have done, your business could suffer.
Make sure you are disciplined enough to focus entirely on your business before you quit your job. The reality can hit you to your face when you realize you can hit that snooze button. Even when you work for yourself, set some rules. Do tasks on time.
Does it feel like right time to quit?
If the world is going through some serious problems and the future is uncertain for your own business, it might be a good idea to still see, what the world has to offer. If you quit your job and things go wrong, you might not get your old job back.
However, if the time feels right and you have a feeling, that it is time to take the next step, then do it. If your financial situation is good enough to manage without your day job, why not. There is a saying, that you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
Do you have plans for the time you have afterwards?
If your business doesn’t really require any extra time to run, where do you spend that extra time? Before you quit, think about what you will do with the time that is freed from your day job. Have an action plan to expand and improve your business.
When you have something already in mind you are going to spend the time for, you can more easily justify quitting your job for yourself. You really need more time, in order to improve and scale your business. When you have a plan, it is also easier to keep track of your actions and keep yourself accountable.
Final words
Every situation is unique, and this should not alone be your guide to determine if you should quit your job or not. You can do a classic, pros-and-cons list about quitting as well.
If you decide to quit your job, do it with good manners. Tell that to your boss beforehand that you have planned on quitting to focus your energy on other things. Don’t leave them in trouble and try to maintain good relationships with your old workplace.
If your business doesn’t take off, there are higher chances that you can return to your old workplace, if you are in good terms with them. You might even co-operate with them with your business.
Hopefully this can help you determine if it is time to focus more time on your business. More business-related posts can be found here.
Have a nice day.
This is not financial advice. Always consider every aspect before doing major decisions that may affect your financial situation.