When To Leave The 9-5

[Jessica J]

Him 1: You shouldn't leave your job yet...you should at LEAST have 100k in the bankMe: Damn REALLY? Did YOU?Him 1: No I was actually 80k in debt...which is why I'm telling you to be smart about it!Me: So...I shouldn't leave until...I have a shit ton saved up...Him 1: Right...cuz what if you leave...you don't make sales...and then you're F*cked. Then you need to go back to the 9-5 ANYWAY so you may as well just stay and stack!Him 2: You shouldn't leave until you're at least making money off your stuffMe: OK...yet in order to start making money off my stuff I need to dedicate more of my time and attention...TO MY STUFF, no?Him 2: Well just keep at it while you're at the job...then when you're making the same amount off your stuff...THEN leave...you don't wanna jump ship too early.While these 2 men are highly revered people in my own life, I couldn't help but feel the pang of doubt in their words.I wanna leave now!I've got my plan...I've got my roadmap....got my product and website and all that stuff I HEARD I'm supposed to have...
MJ DID IT!Or did he?I've been holding onto excuses and safety nets for too long...and just when I get the AHA! and balls to finally leave...I'm highly cautioned against it.I tend to believe that I'm alone in this and, clearly, I don't have full confidence in the people in my life...which is why I'm posing this question to YOU wonderful people who have been so helpful thus far! So my question...when are we SUPPOSED TO leave the 9-5?

 

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[jockinbox]

work on your business on your time off (5-9) when that starts making sales then quit

 

[Coalission]

I've got my plan...I've got my roadmap....got my product and website and all that stuff I HEARD I'm supposed to have

If you have the roadmap, the product and the website, why not just run it first and see if it's successful before dropping your only source of cash flow right now?

 

[NerdAtCoolTable]

Ask yourself, is the risk worth the reward?

I plan on saving as much as I can while I'm working. Using that money to fund my business adventures.

I work a 6pm -4am shift. Doing hard labor. I feel like quitting every day. I'm a using this pain to stay motivated.

 

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[curran]

I wouldn't say there ever is a right time to go, whenever you feel its right for you, by staying when you want to leave your not really doing your job 100% so your wasting your time and your employers.

I handed notice to leave my own job with no money saved! don't wait for something that might not come.

 

[vinylawesome]

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/my-1000th-post-lose-the-job-now.45141/
Via: @JackEdwards



"Let me tell you a story, This is 1989 early 1990..

I was working two jobs, throwing newspapers in the morning starting at 330 AM. and working at a warehouse during the day getting off at 7PM.. Worked my a$$ off and sadly had obligations to keep working, My dad died and left us in a ton of debt, so I had to carry the house, support my mother and brother, that is why the two jobs, had to keep them, had to make the money. No choice.

All the while business ideas were going through my head like crazy, everyday another idea, another thought, another angle, Said to myself, I should start this, I should start that. How could I though, I had bills. I can't quit. No way.

Maybe I can work some of them on the side, which I did, got friends to do their part, never worked, Why? Cause I was working and could not be there and friends doing your biz on the side. Failure after failure.

One day A friend of mine said we should go to Cali and check out the scene. Try taking a week off from Newspapers. It's a 7 day a week job, everyday. 3 years straight I had not taken a day off.. 3 years.. think about that. Now the manager was all upset I wanted to take a week off. wow..

Went to Cali, Came across something I really wanted to start, a great idea, an industry I knew 0 about. I just smelled money.. But for all my excitement, After the week was over, went back to work. had to, had no choice, getting up at 3 am, getting off at 7PM. Went on for like a month or two, realized this is my life, and this will be my life forever.

That moment, Decided I was going to quit, move to Cali and pursue the idea. Had no money to start it. Nothing.

When I told my Managers they were like, your going to start your own business... it will never work, (like they knew) told my mom, she basically cried and yelled at me for a week on how she was going to be living on the street in a few months, she even was nice enough to have every relative call me and tell me I was a bum for leaving her with nothing.

I lied , told her don't worry I will make enough money to cover the bills in a month.. Did I know if that was true, I had no idea, I had barely enough gas to Get to Hollywood.

Turns out, My idea actually worked, and I made a lot of money.. Millions in fact, Bought my mom a nice house, Paid for trips for her to go around the world on cruises and vacations.

The reality is though. I could still be that guy working, thinking of ideas... Planning for the day... that will never come..

Don't be that guy.. Lose the job, Fight to make it work.. and it will. Do it today."

 

[Rcaraway1989]

Trust your gut. Your situation is unique to you and nobody but you can make the ultimate call.

My perspective: I think just like anything else, entrepreneurism take 10,000ish hours to become a pro at. Because of this, I've chosen to live frugally and poor so that I could have more hours under my belt. Nearly 4 years since I've started, and I'm really starting to figure this game out. I've had other friends doing the same thing that are lagging behind me in skill because they stuck with their jobs and didn't go all in.

That being said, 9-5 can give you extra capital to work with, and important parts of entrepreneurism -- like hiring people -- can only be done with money. But I'm only able to know how to use that money effectively because of my previous experience.

Something to think about.

 

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[Jakeeck]

I had a 50k job lined up and I'm pretty poor. I pre-quit the job a couple months before it started. I've got about $3,000 in cash and a car worth 4k that I will sell if I need the money. My monthly expenses are $1100 for my lifestyle. Honestly I should have been a little smarter about my living arrangements to save money. I'm freelancing articles on textbroker for $20 a day just to have SOMETHING coming in, plus becoming a good writer is a valuable skill.

Basically I've got about 6 months to launch my website and have some money coming in or I'm homeless.

I just moved to Arizona from Wisconsin and my whole family thinks I'm job searching for a normal job down here because I've been lying to them. I'm going to tell them the next time they ask about how the job search is going, the lies can't go on for very long. They will think I'm absolutely crazy, but I don't give a shit anymore. If I'm close to losing all my money I'll get a job or hustle when the time comes, and then I'll try a new business all over again. Right now I'm putting 100% of my time and efforts into my business.

It feels very liberating and exciting.

If you think you can have money coming in from your business before you run out of money then why not quit? There's a bigger risk involved, sure. However, you can always go back to a job when money is getting low if the business isn't bringing in money or it's taking too long.

I prefer to take the risk and put all my time into what I believe is more valuable. Otherwise, I'm wasting 40 hours a week.

 

[Yury]

Jessica it's easy for people to give advices - the ones around you advice you against doing it maybe because it's easier than to cover your back and support your struggle for a long time, and/or they don't want to see you hurt because of falling and getting up and falling again and working 24x7 to get up once again (which is a usual thing in a startup), etc.

It's easy for people here to give advice to go for it - as that's what they're here for and that's what they do for living (or wish to do).

But its your life and your choice so you don't really need all that.

It's your life, don't let random people decide for you (besides, most of these won't remember your tomorrow and won't be too upset if their advice is good for them but bad for you... they do their best but it's up to you to do your best).

So all this noise around you, it's all blah blah and emotions.
Try leaving emotions aside for a while and check the facts and make the decision based on your facts.

Okay, so you will do it, you will start your project - stop questioning it and wasting time and energy on being torn between pros and cons.

You will do it. Start finding the best way of how exactly to do it.

Can you cut your expenses like Rcaraway1989 proposes? How long you'll be able to do it if you fail? What exit strategy will do use if you fail? (will you be able to get another job before you try again, etc) In short, calculate your runway and prepare the emergency plans. Imagine that a quarter/year/decade later you fail and have to use these plans. You'll likely have to, are you willing to? Will you be ready to raise and try again? Explorer this route.

Explore another route as well. I know that not leaving the 9-5 job sucks as you don't have as much time and energy and opportunities for your project. So personally me, I took the 1st route, like Rcaraway1989. But who cares? You surely should not. Because only you know if you actually can take the other route which has many good examples as well - people working 9-5 and then saving all their time and money to pursue their dream at night etc.

Forget shopping, cinemas, forums (and maybe even this one as well? for a while), everything - and use every second of your free time to run your project, or at least to prepare it as much as possible and save some money to increase your future runway.

Many very successful businesses started this way, please don't let some "hardcore entrepreneurs" fool you into thinking that it does not work this way.
Sometimes it does not. Sometimes it does.

Most businesses fail anyway, so maybe these that failed "because of 9-5" actually failed because nobody needed them in the first place, not because founders did not have enough time.

Also, who knows, maybe you even DON'T HAVE to quit your job at all and still can run your business - for example, maybe you'll be able to build processes and arrange people and operations so it all will work without your involvement! I personally know a few people who've managed to pull this trick.

So don't make your project overdependent on this obstacle. You'll have dozens of other obstacles which will seem horrible but that's exactly what en entrepreneur does, finds a way around or above or through these obstacles when others say that it's impossible or way too hard.

If you KNOW that people need and will use what you're gonna propose (and much better if you've tested it already), and you know that you'll go for it no matter what, just cut out the worst enemy - undecidedness. Don't waste your time and energy on it, on arguments, on doubts.

With job, without job - it's not about your job at all, it's about how you use your resources, which well might be your time and energy that are left after work. Maybe that will be enough for you to succeed, or maybe you won't arrange your resources properly and then 24 free hours per day won't be enough.

I don't know. Nobody here knows. People around you don't know it.

And probably you don't know it yet - so why don't you go and find out?
Calculate your routes, choose the best looking one, prepare the safety measures and go execute

 

[RoadTrip]

I would try to do as much as possible before leaving your job. There's lots of time left after the 9-5 and the weekends. On a weekly basis, you can easily work for 40 hours on your fastlane if you're motivated enough. If you feel you lack motivation to work for 40 hours in your spare time, then I think it's a good thing to really consider working full time on your project. I know that the day job is also a motivation killer so for that reason alone I would love to quit.

As I am looking for needs in the B2B market I need to call companies to talk to the owners. So it bothers me a lot to have a full time job. Because when the owners are working, I am working for my boss and can't contact them (I'm in a country with only 1 time zone unfortunately). But I do need the money so will try to keep the job as long as possible. Obviously, it takes way longer this way :-(

So if you're not having this problem, I would try to keep the job as long as possible. The money you get from your job can go straight into your project!

 

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[Kyle Tully]

So my question...when are we SUPPOSED TO leave the 9-5?

You're never supposed to leave

There's no right or wrong time to go.

What's right for a single guy in his 20's with no responsibilities might be wrong for a 40-something with a family, kids, and a mortgage.

But I will say this...

A "plan" and a "roadmap" don't put food on the table.

Replacing your income is generally a good place to start.

 

[Andy Black]

Can you go to 4 day weeks?

 

[biophase]

You leave when you absolutely hate going into work and hate waking up every morning to do so. I left with $100k in the bank, but I also hated going into work. It wasn't that I hated my job, I just hated the routine. It took me 4 months after I decided to quit, to finally give my notice. Sometimes it's easier to just get fired.

 

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[theag]

Charles Ngo has a great article on this: http://www.charlesngo.com/leaving-job/

Focussed on affiliate marketing, but if you switch out "affiliate marketing" for "business" its the same message..

 

[Jessica J]

Quick random update considering this post has somehow revamped on my radar...

I left the 9-5 because as @biophase mentioned above, I just hated waking up and knowing what I was gonna do, hated putting in work for something I didn't enjoy, and even FURTHER hated myself for half-assing these jobs I was "supposed" to do.

I even HATED payday just KNOWING that I was being compensated for something I didn't give 110% percent to.

With that being said, I built up my own client-base on the side before leaving and am currently trudging along busting my a$$ to break out of earth's atmosphere in my lil 'ol spaceship...

Can't wait to bust out and tell ground control (all you guys!) that "the earth looks very different today" =)

THANKS FOR EVERYONE'S HELP AND WISE WORDS!!! =D

 

[LTE]

Quick random update considering this post has somehow revamped on my radar...

I left the 9-5 because as @biophase mentioned above, I just hated waking up and knowing what I was gonna do, hated putting in work for something I didn't enjoy, and even FURTHER hated myself for half-assing these jobs I was "supposed" to do.

I even HATED payday just KNOWING that I was being compensated for something I didn't give 110% percent to.

With that being said, I built up my own client-base on the side before leaving and am currently trudging along busting my a$$ to break out of earth's atmosphere in my lil 'ol spaceship...

Can't wait to bust out and tell ground control (all you guys!) that "the earth looks very different today" =)

THANKS FOR EVERYONE'S HELP AND WISE WORDS!!! =D

Hi jessica ,

Its been a while now. Did it all work out at the end ? I do hope so...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

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[JAJT]

I quit my job too early, so I guess I'm qualified to answer

Here's the bottom line:

1. To live, you need to pay the bills
2. To grow your business, you need to reinvest profits

A job solves #1 without sacrificing #2.
A job also helps #2 if you can funnel excess job income into growth.
Quitting your job too early means you are doing #1 AT THE COST OF #2.
Every dollar used to pay your bills is a dollar not going to grow your company.

Therefore, you should logically quit your job when you are able to pay the bills while maintaining maximum (or acceptable-to-you) levels of growth.

Bonus thought - businesses are sold as multiples of profit, and often an upward growth trend is a requirement for exciting a buyer to even consider you.

If we (overly simplistically) equate reinvestment of profit to growth in profits, look at these examples for 0% growth (living on 100% of your profits), up to 100% growth (living on 0% of profits), on a measly 10k in profits:



Again, overly simple but the end result is so blatantly obvious. Reinvesting profits for growth equates to bigger profits in later years and awesome exits. Also worth mentioning that there is an excellent chance the first 2 columns would not be getting a 3x multiple (hell they might be fighting to get 1x) while the last two would be able to patiently wait as long as it takes to get perhaps a deal even better than 3x.

 

[Roli]

Trust your gut. Your situation is unique to you and nobody but you can make the ultimate call.
.

^^^^^^
This.

For me it took having just over £3k in savings, about 1-2 month's living, I have a family, I knew that would force me into finding some other way.

I left, I was fine; I'm me, you are you.