Whenever I speak with people who are playing with the idea of leaving the corporate world behind, the following question comes up: how did you know when it was the right time?
They don’t mean the right time to start a business, but the right time to fully quit their job, say goodbye to a “secure” income and do their own thing.
There isn’t a specific point in time, but there are definitely indicators.
The simplest way I can describe it is this: if you’re running a business on the side and you’ve won customers/clients, have built some processes around your products or services and you’re getting somewhat steady interest in what you do from prospects, it’s time to look at the numbers.
And then I’d ask the question: if you continue your day job, can your business grow or will it stall?
If there is still room for growth and you are risk averse or simply have others who financially depend on you, you may want to keep the day job for a bit longer.
If your 9-5 becomes a blocker that keeps you from expanding your business, it may be time to make the big decision.
ASSUMING: you have some “financial runway” as the cool kids say. You definitely need a buffer and how much that is totally depends on your expenses, dependents and income potential. For me it was 6-12 months of savings for the case that my business made zero money (thankfully it didn’t).
My first business coach always said “you’ll know when the time comes” and I think she was right.
Another helpful way to think about it, especially when fear and doubt strike in the middle of the night, is this: if you side business is generating some income (yay!!) in a few hours a week, imagine what you can do with 40 extra hours each week once you quit your job!
The above is the decision making process I used and it wasn’t quick. I always wanted to eventually run my business full-time, but between deciding that I was keen for that to happen soon and it actually happening, were 14 months (and a house move and a baby).
To wrap up, I’d love to ask you a question: Are you considering starting your own business?