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Should I or Should I Not - Quit My Job...

actionmonk

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I find myself in a bit of a dilemma, and would appreciate advise from the fastlaners here.

I've been working for a co. for a little over 12 years now, as a project manager. Decent job, rather a comfortable one and a decent paycheque along with a great relationship with the owners of the co.

But then there is a problem...

I am still in the slow lane, have been aspiring to get into the fast lane from perhaps a decade now. I've failed at an attempt in business at least twice. ( serious yet amateur attempt, involved debts etc, which thankfully I am out of now.) Yes I did learn in the process so no regrets.

At this very moment I am making an attempt to build an online business while I do my full time job, but the amount of effort I am able to put in here is not much, my job consumes about 12 hours (including the commute)

I am thinking of continuing it this way for another 6 months, and then quit my job, even if I haven't gained lot of traction in the business and intend to do it full time and live off savings - good to keep me going for at least a year.

Another thought, tells me to keep the job use the money I am making there and let that fund the business expenses like advertising and only quit when I am atleast matching my income from my job.

But to build a business you need consistent effort, I am trading a significant amount of time in the slow lane and very less towards the fast lane.

I am not sure if I am just afraid of letting go of a job that's comfortable and trying to give myself reasons why quitting may not be the right thing to do?

What are your thoughts, any body who has been in the same situation? how did it go for you?

Would love to hear from you.

Thank you
 
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Harti

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What about the bills you have to pay, how much money do you need per month?

Can you afford to live your current lifestyle when you switch to a part-time job?
If not, are you willing to lower your standards until you've made it?
 

IGSKnox

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The Way i switched from being an employee to being a business owner was, when the dog growls at you cause you spend too much time away from working, and your "side" thing creates more revenue then your hourly job on a consistant basis, then its time to say goodbye...
 

actionmonk

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What about the bills you have to pay, how much money do you need per month?

Can you afford to live your current lifestyle when you switch to a part-time job?
If not, are you willing to lower your standards until you've made it?

I need $500/month - includes monthly business expense if I do advertising on a budget.

I have no rent to pay. I have right now $7000 in savings. By end of the year I am sure it will be atleast $10,000. ( I am in India )

I am willing to compromise, life style is not a problem I am not a big spender. Also, I am not married, so as such I only have my mother to care for (she also gets a pension.)

What bothers me is, I worked hard to get to the stage I am in the job, so the only question is, does it make sense to compromise and let go of all of that and take a risk, or continue to play it safe, keep attempting fast lane part time. (which makes me think I am being a chicken, but another thought tells me I am being rational.)

Thank you!
 
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wade1mil

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I would keep the job, create a solid plan, and hire people to handle the not vitally important, time-consuming tasks like compiling research, creating websites and graphics, etc. Then spend the few hours a day you may have handling important aspects of the business. I would do this until my business is profiting enough that I felt comfortable with the direction my business is going.

As much as members here encourage people to quit their jobs, the reasonably realistic alternative of not having an income or seeing profit for 6-12 months is not so much fun either. I went through that, and am glad that I was single during that time. I couldn't imagine the issues that could cause. A job can be stressful, but most are a piece of cake compared to doing it on your own.
 

actionmonk

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So far 2 votes to keep the job and go fastlane gradually, this is getting interesting...thanks to all who commented.
 

Kevin Peter

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Are you allowed to own a business parallel to you're day to day job in your country? If yes, then amazing! Please do not let go of this opportunity to cash in to the maximum. Back here in India, it is a crime for us to run a business if working full time in a company :( We do not have the liberty to implement our ideas until we quit the day job, and then run around.
 

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There is no right answer I'm afraid.

Many people keep the day job until they grow their business to a point where quitting is the obvious choice.
Others will grow the business to a point where quitting would hurt a bit in the short term but they are confident in their ability to use the extra free time to propel them forward.
Still others will jump out of the plane with no parachute, flapping their arms like a bird, and hoping they think of something before they find the ground.

There are great arguments for and against all of these choices. You have to choose what feels right to you and your situation in life.
 

SteveO

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I had a great job with a great company and made decent money. But, I wanted more. I actually quit when the business was bringing in enough money for me to survive.

It went on to bring in so much money that I did not know what to do with it. Then it all collapsed and the money went away. But the knowledge gained did not disappear. I built the business back up to a very profitable place again.

The point is that building a business has risks to it. If you can make one profitable, you can repeat the process. Thus, there is no reason to fear the risks.

The real question is, can you build a profitable business?
 
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Andy Black

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Can you become a contractor to your current employer?

Can you drop down to a 4 day week with them?



Personally, I would keep the job, and use the constraint on the hours you can put into your business as a positive force.

It's less about having more resources (time in this case), and more about being *resourceful*.


EDIT: You've got great savings behind you, and you're obviously saving each month. Can you start using that money to get subcontractors to do work for you, either related to your current j.o.b. or doing something completely different? So then your evening 1-2 hours is managing contractors to get work done, and learning lots in the process.
 
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exclusives88

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I'd rather spend full time on working on a fast lane business. I'm also in this position and am planning on leaving my day job by end of this year. My thought is that my day job will always be in demand and that after 1 or 2 years, I can always go back if I needed money. I do however have 2 years of savings that I can live of. If you are young and have no family, now it is the opportunity :)
 

actionmonk

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Can you become a contractor to your current employer?

Can you drop down to a 4 day week with them?



Personally, I would keep the job, and use the constraint on the hours you can put into your business as a positive force.

It's less about having more resources (time in this case), and more about being *resourceful*.


EDIT: You've got great savings behind you, and you're obviously saving each month. Can you start using that money to get subcontractors to do work for you, either related to your current j.o.b. or doing something completely different? So then your evening 1-2 hours is managing contractors to get work done, and learning lots in the process.

The suggestion to drop to a 4 day week is quite unique and considerable. I will keep this in mind.

At this point I am still developing the business model - I am following a blueprint, that's a thought worth considering once I have things rolling.

Thank you for your inputs. Appreciate it.
 
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actionmonk

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I'd rather spend full time on working on a fast lane business. I'm also in this position and am planning on leaving my day job by end of this year. My thought is that my day job will always be in demand and that after 1 or 2 years, I can always go back if I needed money. I do however have 2 years of savings that I can live of. If you are young and have no family, now it is the opportunity :)

The thought of being able to say goodbye does appear golden, but the suggestions here are surprisingly refreshing and contrary to what I had expected. Thanks for your input.
 

actionmonk

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There is no right answer I'm afraid.

Many people keep the day job until they grow their business to a point where quitting is the obvious choice.
Others will grow the business to a point where quitting would hurt a bit in the short term but they are confident in their ability to use the extra free time to propel them forward.
Still others will jump out of the plane with no parachute, flapping their arms like a bird, and hoping they think of something before they find the ground.

There are great arguments for and against all of these choices. You have to choose what feels right to you and your situation in life.
Great input, my concern is the "opportunity cost" of staying vs "risk of leaving".
 

actionmonk

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Can you become a contractor to your current employer?

Can you drop down to a 4 day week with them?



Personally, I would keep the job, and use the constraint on the hours you can put into your business as a positive force.

It's less about having more resources (time in this case), and more about being *resourceful*.


EDIT: You've got great savings behind you, and you're obviously saving each month. Can you start using that money to get subcontractors to do work for you, either related to your current j.o.b. or doing something completely different? So then your evening 1-2 hours is managing contractors to get work done, and learning lots in the process.

On a deeper thought, you have opened my mind to a new possibility, a possibility where I may not necessarily need to terminate my relationship completely with my employer but rather convert it to one that will be mutually beneficial to both of us. Since I have acquired enough value and expertise, it only makes sense, that when the time comes, I can tell them I can still be available to them and the conditions - which chances are they will take me up on, because they can still continue to benefit from my services.

This also gives me the peace of mind, that perhaps, I can start by being neither in the slow lane nor in the fast lane, but in the mid lane, and gradually accelerate to the fast lane. So brilliant suggestion. Thank you! Looks like MidLane is the way to go in this situation.
 
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mws87

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Like others have said, there is no "right" answer for this being that everyone's situation is different. You shouldn't use the responses to make your decision but better help understand your situation to guide you in what you should do. Only you know what would be best for you.
Your situation sounds a little similar to the one I was in - I recently quit a great paying job to try something different.
Is what I'm doing Fastlane? No, not by any means.
Is it something that can generate income? Yes, with a lot of work.
Am I generating enough income now to live comfortably? lolz, not by any means (yet)
So why in the world did I quit!? This can turn into a humongous response, but I'll keep it in TL;DR form - To wake myself up, to preserve my sanity.

The Long Answer
I was in an extremely toxic environment, I worked 12 hours a day, my health began to suffer, my relationships suffered but worst of all my sanity suffered.
I actually quit to help myself grow and teach myself a few things. I had to do something different, I had to break the cycle. I was always one of the "I'm going to quit next week" or "oh if _____ or _____ happens I'm so quitting" type of people - a talker. Finally, I had it, and I left.
How Am I Paying Bills? Obvious, I saved up enough money to cover bills for a while and I have several opportunities to become employed when I have to (duh).

This may seem careless/reckless to some, but for me personally it was all about showing myself I had a choice, much like MJ mentions in TMF . It's taking that first step that's always the hardest. I can't tell you how eye-opening it is once you realize you have the choice to create your destiny. It was also to get over that fear, the "what if" barrier. It was probably one of the best decisions I've made as far as personal growth goes. I learn more everyday, my mind isn't numb from the long, exhausting, redundant days.

You would be surprised at what you can accomplish when you're in a "have to" situation, when you don't have that safety net. I have read that if you release a domestic pig into the wild, there are 2 things that can happen: 1) it will die 2) if it learns to adapt properly, it will grow fur and tusks, similar to a boar. You're either going to give up and fail, or you're going to adapt and grow because you have to.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Do what you think would benefit you the most. Use the answers here as insight, but not as a solution. We all want the one answer, the magic bullet, but what we often fail to realize is there is no magic-bullet, there is no one answer for everyone.

You're going to learn a lot for sure if you take the risk. You're going to see how many people in your life are really supportive of you and how many aren't for the simple fact that it's something they wouldn't do. I think we (humans) all like to believe our opinion is the right opinion, I remember a bunch of friends and family calling me crazy, "OMG! You're going to lose everything!!!" Oh gawd; spare me.

Whatever you decide, don't be deterred by the difficulty. It's going to be hard, but remember - it's supposed to be hard.
 

actionmonk

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Like others have said, there is no "right" answer for this being that everyone's situation is different. You shouldn't use the responses to make your decision but better help understand your situation to guide you in what you should do. Only you know what would be best for you.
Your situation sounds a little similar to the one I was in - I recently quit a great paying job to try something different.
Is what I'm doing Fastlane? No, not by any means.
Is it something that can generate income? Yes, with a lot of work.
Am I generating enough income now to live comfortably? lolz, not by any means (yet)
So why in the world did I quit!? This can turn into a humongous response, but I'll keep it in TL;DR form - To wake myself up, to preserve my sanity.

The Long Answer
I was in an extremely toxic environment, I worked 12 hours a day, my health began to suffer, my relationships suffered but worst of all my sanity suffered.
I actually quit to help myself grow and teach myself a few things. I had to do something different, I had to break the cycle. I was always one of the "I'm going to quit next week" or "oh if _____ or _____ happens I'm so quitting" type of people - a talker. Finally, I had it, and I left.
How Am I Paying Bills? Obvious, I saved up enough money to cover bills for a while and I have several opportunities to become employed when I have to (duh).

This may seem careless/reckless to some, but for me personally it was all about showing myself I had a choice, much like MJ mentions in TMF . It's taking that first step that's always the hardest. I can't tell you how eye-opening it is once you realize you have the choice to create your destiny. It was also to get over that fear, the "what if" barrier. It was probably one of the best decisions I've made as far as personal growth goes. I learn more everyday, my mind isn't numb from the long, exhausting, redundant days.

You would be surprised at what you can accomplish when you're in a "have to" situation, when you don't have that safety net. I have read that if you release a domestic pig into the wild, there are 2 things that can happen: 1) it will die 2) if it learns to adapt properly, it will grow fur and tusks, similar to a boar. You're either going to give up and fail, or you're going to adapt and grow because you have to.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Do what you think would benefit you the most. Use the answers here as insight, but not as a solution. We all want the one answer, the magic bullet, but what we often fail to realize is there is no magic-bullet, there is no one answer for everyone.

You're going to learn a lot for sure if you take the risk. You're going to see how many people in your life are really supportive of you and how many aren't for the simple fact that it's something they wouldn't do. I think we (humans) all like to believe our opinion is the right opinion, I remember a bunch of friends and family calling me crazy, "OMG! You're going to lose everything!!!" Oh gawd; spare me.

Whatever you decide, don't be deterred by the difficulty. It's going to be hard, but remember - it's supposed to be hard.

Thank you for taking the time and sharing your experience. I wish you the best! I will update on what I eventually did in about 3-6 months from now. For now, it's just time to hustle.
 

mws87

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Thank you for taking the time and sharing your experience. I wish you the best! I will update on what I eventually did in about 3-6 months from now. For now, it's just time to hustle.
Sorry about that, didn't mean to hijack the thread, just wanted to give you an example of a similar situation. Looking forward to your progress, man. Keep us updated for sure!
 
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actionmonk

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Sorry about that, didn't mean to hijack the thread, just wanted to give you an example of a similar situation. Looking forward to your progress, man. Keep us updated for sure!
Hey that was a welcome post, I sure will keep you posted.
 

MJ DeMarco

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actionmonk

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Ok just a short update, I am currently in the research stage of my business, utilising whatever time I have after my job and weekends, I've even decided to take periodic leaves - (paid time off). *No, I am not working until I burn out, I take adequate rest etc.*

Currently I am on one, and while I am busy working on the backend portion of the business, it gives me peace of mind to know that I am not loosing any income while I do this.

So for someone in a situation like mine, it might make sense to first get done with the theory part of business, get to the stage of implementation and test waters, test market response and once you see a more clear picture, then you will know what your next step should be.

In my situation, this is working and gives me the peace of mind, just my 2 cents, will keep this thread updated with further progress.

Thanks and Wish you the best.
 
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James Thornton

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Good replies here. Definitely validate your idea! The market is brutally honest (w/ their action, not their words)

Also think of any possible sacrifices to lower expenses. Then less hours in the slow lane may be an option.
 

actionmonk

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Ok so it's about 3 months since I last posted an update. I did 1 small service launch in this period and see how the market responds to it, and guess what it tanked! mainly because the monetisation strategy wasn't going to be effective. I failed and I failed fast so am glad.

While I am not really back to square one, and have still enough room to change the strategy, I dislike the pace at which I am moving forward.

Keeping a job and building a business, do not appear to be the ideal situation. I realise that at some point I WILL have to take the plunge.

Now it's just about when I do it. I am just hanging in there to taste at least a bit of success before I dive in.

I will update this thread again.
 

Jon L

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Ok so it's about 3 months since I last posted an update. I did 1 small service launch in this period and see how the market responds to it, and guess what it tanked! mainly because the monetisation strategy wasn't going to be effective. I failed and I failed fast so am glad.

While I am not really back to square one, and have still enough room to change the strategy, I dislike the pace at which I am moving forward.

Keeping a job and building a business, do not appear to be the ideal situation. I realise that at some point I WILL have to take the plunge.

Now it's just about when I do it. I am just hanging in there to taste at least a bit of success before I dive in.

I will update this thread again.
so what did you learn from your 'failure?'
 
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actionmonk

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#1. Fail fast.
#2. Try to not base your model at the mercy of a third party as far as possible.
#3. They say if people don't trust you, they won't buy from you. No matter how sweet the deal is. I find this to be true.

Oh and one more thing, Keep moving forward. No matter what.

Thanks!
 

Rachel Akito

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As I see it, you are very much into success. And who's not? But I have not heard that you asked for your family's advice. They will be affected with your decision and you are doing all these for them. Are they happy not seeing you so often because you are busy working hard to raise good future for them?

Enjoy life! :)
 

actionmonk

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As I see it, you are very much into success. And who's not? But I have not heard that you asked for your family's advice. They will be affected with your decision and you are doing all these for them. Are they happy not seeing you so often because you are busy working hard to raise good future for them?

Enjoy life! :)

I see where you are coming from, but trading 5 days for 2 days of freedom is not for me, and it is common sense, any one can see it, it's not a good deal. Only good for a while, until you can't get a better deal for yourself.

Thanks for caring to share your thoughts though.
 
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Exuberant

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The thing you need to be careful of is to ensure you have enough things to do and are disciplined enough when you do quit your job.

If you quit and end up wasting too much time and not generating the income you need, you could end up regretting it.

Sometimes it's actually better to have a job while starting a business as it allows you to really focus knowing that you only have a certain amount of time every day to do things for the business.
 

actionmonk

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The thing you need to be careful of is to ensure you have enough things to do and are disciplined enough when you do quit your job.

If you quit and end up wasting too much time and not generating the income you need, you could end up regretting it.

Sometimes it's actually better to have a job while starting a business as it allows you to really focus knowing that you only have a certain amount of time every day to do things for the business.

If someone is quitting their job, because they are lazy, well yeah, that will be a problem. For the doers, it's gold.My strategy is to keep the job until I have a blueprint mapped out to follow and once I reach a certain amount in my savings. I am off the job. Doing my own thing. Will it be hard? may be, I don't care. It's harder to stay in a job for the rest of your life.

Failures will be a part of the journey but the triumph that follows it will be ultimate.
 

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