Should You Quit Your Day Job?

“The difference between a dreamer and an entrepreneur is the hustle.”

Or

“You can have anything that you want bad enough to earn…”

Or

“Insert any other mushy motivational one liner here.”

Entrepreneurship is more than a career path… it is a lifestyle choice. And speaking of choices, there comes a point where you are standing at the edge of a diving board above the deep unknown and you have to choose whether or not to take that plunge. In other words, should you quit the security and safety of your job in order to focus all your time and energy into starting and or growing your own business?

If you came here for the answer, please accept this apology because the decision is yours and yours alone to make. However, you’d be wise to make an informed decision which starts by…

Weighing out the pros and cons of quitting your job

Note that quitting your “job” might actually refer to dropping out of school, or any other rash decision that requires leaving one path to embark on another even though it involves sacrificing security. (Though this can be argued about dropping out of college.)

On one hand, you can put 100% of your energy into your business without the distractions. Let’s be honest… it’s not easy to come home from a long day of work and then start working on your business… and that may also mean that your business does not get the attention it needs to take off.

However, the decision to quit your job comes with the pressure to be successful. You may need to start living off somebody else because you can’t support yourself, and so it will be more than just yourself who is let down if—for any reason—your business is not a success.

It can take a very long time for a business to be successful, so consider your unique circumstances. How will you live? Does anybody depend on you? Who will be there to support you?

Have you looked at the situation from a different perspective?

In other words, it is possible to start—and grow—your own business without quitting your job. At least, for a while. If you can find any positive value in the work that pays your bills, it should remain an option that you consider your income an asset. Sure it takes away from the time you could spend on your business but also look at the benefits of keeping your job until your business is substantial enough to replace that guaranteed income.