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The right time to quit a JOB

Anything related to matters of the mind

seomatic

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I have 4-5 years of savings in the bank but still I don't feel ready to leave my Job. Ok it's not a real job, I'm working as freelancer. But it feels like it, because after work I lack focus and energy to work on my fastlane project. Am I procrastinating or is it right to wait till economy rebounds?
 
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SoftwareEducator

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I have 4-5 years of savings in the bank but still I don't feel ready to leave my Job. Ok it's not a real job, I'm working as freelancer. But it feels like it, because after work I lack focus and energy to work on my fastlane project. Am I procrastinating or is it right to wait till economy rebounds?
If you have that much savings and you're financially comfortable with quitting freelancing for the meantime, I think now while the (real) economy isn't doing as well would probably be a good time to try fastlaning. There will never be a perfect time to begin, so if you're sick of freelancing and you have some cushion to make things happen, now is as good of a time as any to start. At least, that's my opinion. Good luck!
 

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I have 4-5 years of savings in the bank but still I don't feel ready to leave my Job. Ok it's not a real job, I'm working as freelancer. But it feels like it, because after work I lack focus and energy to work on my fastlane project. Am I procrastinating or is it right to wait till economy rebounds?
Cut back on the freelance, but keep revenue stream, and start a side hustle?
 
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Choate

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I have 4-5 years of savings in the bank but still I don't feel ready to leave my Job. Ok it's not a real job, I'm working as freelancer. But it feels like it, because after work I lack focus and energy to work on my fastlane project. Am I procrastinating or is it right to wait till economy rebounds?

You could work on your fastlane project before work when you are fresh.

The other option is, with the amount of savings you have, you can continue freelancing but being more selective with the work and clients you take on. That way, you continue to have an income, building relationships and staying on track, while affording yourself much more time to work on your fastlane.
 

mattierocks

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I think that, with that much savings, you could at least cut down your freelance work to focus on your Fastlane business.

The beauty of being a freelancer is that if you need additional funds, you can just pick up another client.

You should go for it.
 

Ronak

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Do you know what your fastlane is already? Have you started?
 

trylks

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The "theory" says: keep the 20% of your customers that only require 20% of your time and energy but give you 80% of your income.

YMMV

"Common sense" says: do not quit freelancing 100%, spend less time on it, and possibly charge more by hour.
 
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alexkuzmov

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I have 4-5 years of savings in the bank but still I don't feel ready to leave my Job
So how many years worth of savings do you need?
Most businesses fail within their first year.
So essentially, you can fail 3 times and still be OK.
Why are you scared?
 

seomatic

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So how many years worth of savings do you need?
Most businesses fail within their first year.
So essentially, you can fail 3 times and still be OK.
Why are you scared?

Well it's scary to lose money every single day. But you're right I should take the risk. I'm pretty much in the best situation I've ever been and I don't get younger.
 

alexkuzmov

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Well it's scary to lose money every single day. But you're right I should take the risk. I'm pretty much in the best situation I've ever been and I don't get younger.
Yup.
5 years is more than enough.
 
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WJK

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I have 4-5 years of savings in the bank but still I don't feel ready to leave my Job. Ok it's not a real job, I'm working as freelancer. But it feels like it, because after work I lack focus and energy to work on my fastlane project. Am I procrastinating or is it right to wait till economy rebounds?
It sounds like you are comfortable where you are and unsure about your fastlane project. There is no right time to step out there -- so this is probably not a timing issue (unless you are starting a steak house restaurant). Re-evaluated your plans for your fastlane business. Something in your heart is holding you back. Before you jump off the cliff, find out what it is.
 
G

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What is your fastlane path, idea, or business? Is it related to what you currently do for freelancing?
 

MJ DeMarco

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I just wrote about this in my next book... will copy here...

My recommendation? Don’t quit your job unless you’ve got the following four guidelines flashing green.

1. Existing sales with adequate profit margins.
2. At least a six-month runway (cash flow) to support an owner paycheck.
3. Scale and growth potential. (Can revenue 10X within the next twelve months?)
4. Evidence of a productocracy.
 
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Cyberthal

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Yes! No more wantrepreneurs diving into the shallow end of the pool headfirst, then spamming their endless resulting emotional upheaval as they convince themselves they are making epic progress instead of perpetuating a self-inflicted injury.

MJ's pronouncement more than satisfies the prudence I've been counter-preaching. In fact it strikes me as overly conservative. It would be more gradual to transition into freelancing, to learn the habits of self-employment without trying to build a new business from scratch at the same time. Often people see an huge income increase from that small increase in independence alone.

It boils down to negotiation. Freelancing demonstrates the independence and balls to walk away that a "loyal" longtime employee at a company is assumed to lack. This determines whether wages are set monopolistically or competitively.
 

ECLS18

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I just wrote about this in my next book... will copy here...

My recommendation? Don’t quit your job unless you’ve got the following four guidelines flashing green.

1. Existing sales with adequate profit margins.
2. At least a six-month runway (cash flow) to support an owner paycheck.
3. Scale and growth potential. (Can revenue 10X within the next twelve months?)
4. Evidence of a productocracy.
@MJ - Digressing a bit from OPs post. I wanted to let you know that I bought 10 copies of the Millionaire Fastlane and gifted to my team.
 

MJ DeMarco

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Johnny boy

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It’s not based on your financials, it’s based on your goals and risk tolerance.

I quit my job and focused on my business full time when I had gotten about $2000 of sales and had a couple grand in the bank.

I think if you really believe in your dream you’ll do it right away. I would feel like I was doing myself a disservice and sabotaging my dream by waiting until I had YEARS of runway.

I’m balls to the wall, reinvesting right back into the business, financing whatever I can and using as much leverage as possible.

What’s the worst that could happen? The chance of losing it all? If I don’t have my dream I have nothing at all to lose anyways, so there’s no risk.

I fully believe that almost everyone, with very few exceptions, is cutting their success short by a huge margin, and about 70% of that opportunity cost comes from not going all in hard enough and always playing it safe.

But oh well, if they just want “financial independence” they can have that. Fastlane and slowlane is a bit of a spectrum but I try to stay the furthest from slowlane as I can be. Don’t forget the entire idea of the slowlane is the people who save save save, invest in some mutual funds and have their fun when they retire. Don’t be one of those people.
 

livetrue

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With 4-5 years of financing, you're ready. Quit, work full-time on your hustle, and then see.

Within 3-6 months you'll know if this hustle was the right one to be working on, at which point you can go back to freelancing, or otherwise keep charging forward.

It's difficult to forecast a decision without having more information. And a good way to get more information is to do a 'low-risk' approach as you're suggesting.

I largely agree with @MJ DeMarco 's "green light" checklist, but at the same time I don't believe you always need proven sales if all you want to do is test the entrepreneurial waters, especially when they have 4-5 years of runway.
 

seomatic

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I just wrote about this in my next book... will copy here...

My recommendation? Don’t quit your job unless you’ve got the following four guidelines flashing green.

1. Existing sales with adequate profit margins.
2. At least a six-month runway (cash flow) to support an owner paycheck.
3. Scale and growth potential. (Can revenue 10X within the next twelve months?)
4. Evidence of a productocracy.

Solid advice, thanks. So I understand the principle of a productocracy. However whats the best way to get the initial traction. I mean if no one knows your product to begin with, no one can recommend it, right?
 
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Juke

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I just wrote about this in my next book... will copy here...

My recommendation? Don’t quit your job unless you’ve got the following four guidelines flashing green.

1. Existing sales with adequate profit margins.
2. At least a six-month runway (cash flow) to support an owner paycheck.
3. Scale and growth potential. (Can revenue 10X within the next twelve months?)
4. Evidence of a productocracy.

This all makes sense, however I actually find myself in a scenario where I cannot launch my business until I quit my job as there would be a direct conflict with my employer. To deal with this I am ensuring I have more than 6 months runway and making sure the product is ready to go as close to the quitting date as possible.

If I had 4 or 5 years runway now then I would definitely quit and go all in. What is there to lose?
 

Thinh

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Lots of good advice here, let me add mine as a "Quit-his-job-many-times-to-start-a-business" expert (I did 5-6 times).

I believe the real factor when deciding to quit your job or not to start a business does not depend on the amount of money you have in your bank account. It depends on the mindset you'll have once you'll be engaging in your venture.

If you truly are able to keep an "abundance mindset" (i.e. truly believe things will work out ok for you), you can quit your job with just 6 months of savings.
It's mandatory to run a business. To maximize your chances of success, you need to be open-minded, creative, ready to take risks and willing to say no to a lot of things.

But honestly... if you're like most of us—that are humans and have emotions—you'll have to deal with the scarcity mindset. It's almost inevitable.
When there's the slightest doubt in your mind that you'll make ends meet, you start losing the "spark" of entrepreneurship, which value-creating, and insidiously start sliding toward the money-chasing mentality.
Even with 5 years of savings in the bank, if your business doesn't take off after a year, FUD will start creeping. This in turn will make you less creative, less open-minded. It's a vicious cycle, feeding on itself.

I'm not saying everyone will fall prey to this. It's just my own experience. I fare a hundred times better when I'm not "needy". I get better ideas, I make better decisions, I have more fun.
But every time I started a business upon which my food at the end of the month depended, I ended up cutting corners, hasting things, just trying to make money.

In the end I advise not to quit your job. Besides, there's really few businesses that need full-time dedication right at the onset, and until a more than comfortable revenue.
If you think you need to quit your job to start a business, chances are you're deluding yourself.
 

Kevin88660

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I have 4-5 years of savings in the bank but still I don't feel ready to leave my Job. Ok it's not a real job, I'm working as freelancer. But it feels like it, because after work I lack focus and energy to work on my fastlane project. Am I procrastinating or is it right to wait till economy rebounds?
Taking less orders in your freelancing job? That is supposed to the flexibility versus a job because you do not get that option in job.

At least it gives you the energy to give the fastlane project a shot.

But I will be curious if your freelancing job is profitable why wont your fastlane project be a natural extension of it. Maybe you can share more on what you are doing.
 
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seomatic

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Taking less orders in your freelancing job? That is supposed to the flexibility versus a job because you do not get that option in job.

At least it gives you the energy to give the fastlane project a shot.

But I will be curious if your freelancing job is profitable why wont your fastlane project be a natural extension of it. Maybe you can share more on what you are doing.

Well it's hard to say "no" to money :D
You can either hunt small fish or go for the big one, and so far I have focused on the small ones to build a safety net. It is related to my freelancing but still requires more time and energy than expected. But I will commit to it.
 

Kevin88660

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Well it's hard to say "no" to money :D
You can either hunt small fish or go for the big one, and so far I have focused on the small ones to build a safety net. It is related to my freelancing but still requires more time and energy than expected. But I will commit to it.
Well it is mainly psychological then.

I think it is a “good problem” to have because your freelancing hustle is a success and your opportunity cost is rather high.

I think your fastlane project has to offer a lot of potential to justify your time or else you will not convince yourself to do it. Maybe you just need a bigger goal to get it start moving.
 

seomatic

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Well it is mainly psychological then.

I think it is a “good problem” to have because your freelancing hustle is a success and your opportunity cost is rather high.

I think your fastlane project has to offer a lot of potential to justify your time or else you will not convince yourself to do it. Maybe you just need a bigger goal to get it start moving.

It might be a success in terms of generating a solid income. But overall it's not worth the time, it still feels like wasting all my hours of the day to make someone else rich. It's true you can't get rich from income but from owning assets, so I'm going to build assets.
 
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Kid

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I would go into "switch if you have something worth of switching to" camp.

If you'll just leave and start eating into your savings then how do you know when that
one opportunity will come? In year 1? What if it will come in year 5.

Anyway, wishing you good luck.
 

Process

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The "theory" says: keep the 20% of your customers that only require 20% of your time and energy but give you 80% of your income.

YMMV

"Common sense" says: do not quit freelancing 100%, spend less time on it, and possibly charge more by hour.
Exactly, plus they may always be helpful connections later on. I’ve done the exact thing with far less savings.
 

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