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You’re working to build your business on the side, focusing your efforts on growing your income and working full time while you do it. How do you know when it’s time to quit your job to allow you to spend more time and energy on your new business?
It’s not uncommon for business founders to start their own business while still working, and the question of “when do I take the leap?” is one many people face. In my work as a business coach, I help people start successful businesses from day one, so they can rely on the income and find a new kind of freedom.
Your Business is Highly Successful
When your business is highly successful, bringing in a profit, helping you find new opportunities and growing quickly, you may be ready to quit your nine to five job. You have likely been working for months or even years to make your business successful, and when that finally happens, quitting your job could be the best thing you can do.
If you give yourself more time to focus on your successful business, it will grow quickly and reach new levels of success, that it couldn’t while your attention was divided between your job and business.
You are Financially Stable Through Savings or Income
One of the most obvious signs that you’re ready to quit your day job is that you are financially stable. This stability could come from savings from making extra money from home or it could come from the fact that your new business is bringing in enough income to cover your living expenses.
Also be sure to do some planning to make sure you will have funding for the next few months as your business grows and becomes more lucrative. Being financially prepared will help you be more successful and allow you to focus on building your business.
You are Prepared to Hit the Ground Running
Don’t quit your job until you are fully prepared to make your business work. First, make sure you have what you need to succeed. This could mean having a home office and equipment ready, a team of contractors to work with, promotion and advertising in place and having the tools you need to do well.
It is absolutely necessary that you have a strategic business plan in place. The most successful businesses have a plan and when you have one from the very beginning, quitting your job and shifting your attention to your business will be a smoother process.
Your Business Demands more Time to be Successful
When you start your own business, you will reach a point where it will demand more of your time and attention for it to move forward and be successful. When you reach the point where you just don’t have that time, it may mean you should quit your job.
If you feel you are missing opportunities or that your business is at a standstill, decide if these are consequences of not being able to put enough time into it. If this is the case, quitting your job to focus on your business could give it the jumpstart it needs.
A Golden Opportunity has Presented Itself
Part of finding success is taking the right opportunities. If a golden opportunity has presented itself, and you know its one that you just can’t afford to pass up, you should consider quitting your job to take full advantage of it.
Of course, if you take this route, you should still be well prepared financially and with a strategic plan, but when the right opportunity comes along, it may be wise to take it.
Deciding when to quit your job and focus on your business can be challenging. The key is to understand when the benefit outweighs the risk and to identify if your business requires more of your time in order to be successful.
I help people start businesses and set and achieve goals. If you are interested in working with a business coach in Ottawa, contact me.
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