Quitting my job and starting my own business

[lagonis]

Hello everyone. I am a long time member of this site but have done little in terms of posting - that is about to change. I always appreciated what this community is all about and I pride my self in being a smart shopper and bargain hunter.

I have recently decided to change my life drastically and quit a very high paying job. I have given 5 weeks notice and I have 4 weeks to go. I am 28 years old and have graduated with a B.Comm degree in Information Systems. I have worked with a small distribution company and grew with this company over the last 5 years and have been involved in almost all business aspects. My position and responsibilities grew over the years. We have gone from 1.5 million in sales to 10 million and during this time faced countless challenges, a mix of good luck and bad luck. The most important thing I think I learned is that owning and running a successful business is not as far fetched as I originally thought.

My entire life I was told by parents and mentors that having a job is what I should aspire towards. I now face much cynicism and doubt from everyone I trust. The people around me don't understand entrepreneurial spirit and why I choose to leave a good job behind.

I will appreciate any comments or suggestions. And I am looking forward to contributing and starting new topics in the near future.

[imie]

Wow, that certainly a big jump with both feet:)

I have no advice for you, except to say, anything is possible, and wish you the best.

Can't wait to hear what kind of business are you starting.

[matdwyer]

Thats fantastic, and good luck - just remember that establishing your business may take YEARS and you need to keep with it!

[M.D.]

must be damn good :D

[slavka012]

My entire life I was told by parents and mentors that having a job is what I should aspire towards. I now face much cynicism and doubt from everyone I trust. The people around me don't understand entrepreneurial spirit and why I choose to leave a good job behind.

That is to be expected. When I started my business 6 years ago I've met the same perception from pretty much everybody I knew. Except for my ex-wife, but then again, she did not have a clue, so that was not a qualified opinion :)

Good luck, but be prepared to a rough ride. First year and a half I worked like I never worked before. I had my work in my dreams at night, I kid you not :)

[matdwyer]

That is to be expected. When I started my business 6 years ago I've met the same perception from pretty much everybody I knew. Except for my ex-wife, but then again, she did not have a clue, so that was not a qualified opinion :)

Good luck, but be prepared to a rough ride. First year and a half I worked like I never worked before. I had my work in my dreams at night, I kid you not :)

LOL I had a dream about mine last night - it was a horror too, woke up in cold sweats - glad to know others have it too!

[watching]

Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life. - Confucius

[jdmkidd]

wish you all the best in your new ventures always good to see someone burst the bubble, I myself am not ready to leave the day job but I hope I'll be where you are in the near future!:razz:

[Just Confused]

I'll add my voice to the chorus of the previous eight posters by wishing you good luck in your new venture.

The second last paragraph of your post is quite telling and probably indicates you've already got what it takes. We all had to go through that... it's normal.
I now face much cynicism and doubt from everyone I trust. The people around me don't understand entrepreneurial spirit and why I choose to leave a good job behind.

You'll find the vast majority of people are happy living in their comfort zone. They are the ones trying to convince you of the "error" of your ways. They live by the credo "I'll believe it when I see it." But entrepreneurs (the minority of the population) can visualize their goals and believe in them before they become real enough to be seen by others. Entrepreneurs operate under the opposite credo "I can see it so I believe in it".

If it makes you feel any better... in a few years when you're are leading a successful life, all those people you trust will be coming back and saying "I knew you could do it." There's a motivational speaker Jerry Clark (www.clubrhino.com) that talks about this very thing.

[nfnx]

i envy you.. and one day hope to be in your position...

[slavka012]

I myself am not ready to leave the day job but I hope I'll be where you are in the near future!:razz:
I was not ready too... But I was fired from a job and could not find another one :)

[sexpuppet6000]

best of luck mate.

[lagonis]

Thanks for the great support and advise. I am always impressed when strangers are so willing to take time and share knowledge on these forums.

As I get started, I will have many questions that I will post on this forum and try to do my best to give back information that I learn. This will be a great ride either way and I am looking forward to where it may take me.

[Bincent]

You are 28, there is still tons of time to learn and grow. Good thing is that your at an age where you can take a chance and still recover. Also, since you've had a few years of work experience, people are more apt to take you seriously vs. a new grad attempting to start up their business immediately upon graduating.

There are a couple of things that I'd like to ask and comment on:
1) You never mentioned whether or not you're attached/married/etc., but the only reason why I bring this up is to determine if you have a "plan B" or someone to fall back on if you need help. If thing go really sour and you don't have enough money to pay for rent, what then? I know that entrepreneurial spirits usually grow the most in adverse times, it's what sets a lot of them apart from the failures.

2) What is your plan? You mentioned that you want to start up your own business, but I'm making a big assumption that you've put a lot of thought into what you are going to be doing once you're done at your current job. I'm a believer that it doesn't really matter what your business is in or what you are doing, if you have a good business mind, you can pretty much succeed in any arena that you're thrown into.

I'd agree with your friends and family however if you're just doing this without a plan... I'd be pretty skeptical as well.

3) As Just Confused mentioned in his/her post:
You'll find the vast majority of people are happy living in their comfort zone. They are the ones trying to convince you of the "error" of your ways. They live by the credo "I'll believe it when I see it." But entrepreneurs (the minority of the population) can visualize their goals and believe in them before they become real enough to be seen by others. Entrepreneurs operate under the opposite credo "I can see it so I believe in it".

We need both types of people on this earth. The comfortable people stay where they are and like the stability (ie. CSRs, Bank Tellers, McDonalds employee's, etc.). Entrepreneurs like to continually challenge and change and are most likely those who make an impact in the world.


As with all the other comments already on here, best of luck and stick with it. You've already shown to have the heart of an entrepreneur... now just implement intelligently and you'll be a success. :cheesygri

[ullyeus]

Go for it! and make sure to update here often...in fact....msg me personally or email me somtimes and tell me how it's going.

I recently quit my job to become incorporated and start my own job (though really I am contractor now...)

I know here in Edmonton there is a fantastic resource called "Business Link" that has a huge library of resources and allows you to talk to other business entrepreneurs...I've spent all afternoon there talking one on one with a free accountant about my business...really neat stuff.

[toalan]

Not enough people in this world that have a big enough set of balls to go at it alone. You come into this world with nothing and you leave this world with nothing, you might as well blaze you own path and f*ck it up big time before you turn old and ultimately into a p*ssy.

[baz5]

Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life. - Confucius

+1
A quote I repeat often.
I made a big mistake and didn't realize how lucky I was.

[olympic]

I hope you secured financing for this or have alot of money saved up prior to quitting. All the banks will see is an umnemployed individual applying for a loan for a business that doesn't even exist yet. It happened to me. I ended up getting my start-up capital from family and credit cards...lol! And working 100+ hours a week for the first year for $0 isn't alot of fun.

Anyways, enough with the negativity! Good luck with your busness venture! :)

[shawn99]

I think once you start associating with people that are like-minded as you - that want to learn, grow and be better at whatever they do, it will certainly rub off to you

[cOmAtOaSt]

Find a good government job and you'll never work a day in your life. - Confucius
Corrected.

[baz5]

rofl

[Vascilli]

PERSEVERE. That is key. I'm starting my own business too, maybe we can have a race. :lol: You're much older and you have a lot more money to invest in yourself. (I'm 15..... :o)

Good luck, maybe we can make each other some deals. ;)

[ali123]

PERSEVERE. That is key. I'm starting my own business too, maybe we can have a race. :lol: You're much older and you have a lot more money to invest in yourself. (I'm 15..... :o)

Good luck, maybe we can make each other some deals. ;)

Haha maby we can race :D, what kind of business?

[enlighten_me]

Do it. You will never regret trying.

"Better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life."

[van]

I have recently decided to change my life drastically and quit a very high paying job. I have given 5 weeks notice and I have 4 weeks to go.

Not to sound negative, but usually it's a good idea to start something on the side while employed, then quit your day job as soon as it starts making enough profit. Hopefully you have enough bank to sustain your living expenses for a while, incase your business goes awry.

Anyhow, I wish you nothing but success with your venture.

[lagonis]

Just out of curiosity, what type of business are you starting up?

The business will be consulting initially. Primarily in the area I have been working at (outsourcing and procurement), this will require very little upfront capital investment and I already have some contacts to start working with. However, this is not what I want to do in the long run, so I will hopefully be able to change direction at some point and take on new opportunities.

[Just Confused]

However, this is not what I want to do in the long run, so I will hopefully be able to change direction at some point and take on new opportunities.

You're absolutely right about the low startup cost of a consulting business. You'll certainly get to learn about most business related activities; taxes, finance & accounting, networking, advertising, office administration, HR & benefits, personal relationships etc. You'll start to think like a business person (a good thing). It will also bring in more revenue. So when you have other passions you want to explore, you'll have a source of seed capital.

Consulting will keep your interest until you realize that while it is better than wages, it is still trading time for money and is only a single revenue stream. That's when you can "change direction" and leverage a consulting business into something that is really your passion and start adding new pillars to your revenue structure.

Again, good luck, you're going down a very satisfying road that encourages the ultimate goal of "Living a Good Life"

[discountcouponcode]

Lagonis, both you and I have that "entrepreneurial spirit" somebody spoke of. I quit my day job about a year ago and it's been one hell of a rollercoaster ride to say the least ... everything is slowly coming together and success is right around the corner :)

Treat your business as if you were working for someone else and I guarantee you sucess!

Let me know if I can do anything to help to you!