Taking the leap from highly remunerated role to start up business

[rchad]

Hi

I have made the decision to give myself the gift of taking proactive steps to fulfil the one aspect of my life to reclaim full autonomy over my life and time (time being a scarce commodity I can never get back) - to take the leap from a highly remunerated role to a start up business.

Would love to hear from SS's who have taken the leap. The part I am keen to hear about is the tipping point from preparation to moving from an income to nothing...I have put a launch date down - March 2015 to place urgency and expectation on the process. Have designed the logo, next month the website, working on a short 5 page succinct business plan focusing on points of difference of what I can offer and cashflow etc Presently getting educated on MYOP software and systems to support a start up.

Incidentally I made the decision that instead of spending $'s on a big 50 party in November this year to instead invest in myself and the business - I am hugely passionate and focused in any work I undertake and welcome problem solving.

Cheers

Renee

 

[Nikoletta]

Well done Renee!

I did the same this year and it is so worth it! So refreshing and rewarding.
Being financially independent makes it hard to give up full-time income but whenever I would have worried about that, I focused on the long-term goal and the overall improvement in my life.

Saying that, I found it extremely important to have a proper plan, a back-up plan and to stick with your budget.

If you have any question, feel free to email/message.

Good luck!

 

[Mr. Fabulous]

Hi Renee, my advice to you is not to quit your job and do the business on the side until such time as your business has built a stable income.

That way, it has a much higher chance of succeeding.

 

[Salvatore1]

Hi Renee, I was like you and had high paying good jobs work for companies that looked after me but they were well rewarded. All debts. paid off in my 40's. At the age of 51 my employer at the time was selling so I re mortgaged myself and bought part of the business. Three years later I am my own boss, business increased by 60% and I have 3 part timers working for me. GO FOR IT!!! but make sure you put a personal and financial plan together to ensure you succeed. Do your sums on the worst scenario. Good luck and best wishes!!

 

[Mr. Fabulous]

Three years later I am my own boss, business increased by 60% and I have 3 part timers working for me.

Congratulations Salvatore, that's fantastic!

 

[MIW]

Hi Renee, my advice to you is not to quit your job and do the business on the side until such time as your business has built a stable income.

That way, it has a much higher chance of succeeding.

Hi Renee, did the same in 1995 and never looked back....but yes I worked for 1 year and ran the business at the same time. Eventually the accountant advised to leave the job.
Unfortunately there's lots to learn in starting a business so it was great to have the backup job just in-case. And yes, all that paperwork, how to store it save it enter it, etc.... took some time to get it right.
Now MYOB is still in use but a bookkeeper certainly helps. Just remember what your role is, whether you bring in the income, as to balance out the administration costs. Sometimes we wish to do it all, but learning from hubby to delegate to others where our weakness lie, or where we could utilise our time better, is the way to go....
Good luck and I wish you your earned success!

 

[rchad]

Dear Nikoletta

It was so refreshing to get up this morning to read your supportive post - thank you

Well done Renee!

I did the same this year and it is so worth it! So refreshing and rewarding.
Being financially independent makes it hard to give up full-time income but whenever I would have worried about that, I focused on the long-term goal and the overall improvement in my life.

Saying that, I found it extremely important to have a proper plan, a back-up plan and to stick with your budget.

If you have any question, feel free to email/message.

Good luck!

 

[rchad]

Taking the leap from a highly remunerated role to starting my own business

Thank you to all the helpful posts - I am taking on board every bit of feedback that you have kindly offered me

I am presently doing all the back end set up operations prior to leaving my role and working on a marketing strategy to build leads for my new business

Keen to have a formal launching party in March too - this is definately a great forum to receive courageous yet informed recommendations - many thanks

 

[MichaelGilbert]

Go for it Renee.

4 years ago my brother and I decided to start our business. Initially we worked 2 days a week on the business and 4 days in our paying jobs. Slowly but surely we increased the days we spent on the business. It took about 3.5 years to finally go full time on the business but I can tell you it's worth it! We now have 8 full time staff, No investors, no one looking over our shoulder.

But....we still have a long way to go.

My advice is to stick to a strict routine.

 

[techie]

Congrats on taking the leap, its something most people are too scared to do!

I'd have to agree that keeping the job while running the biz on the side is a good move. Is it possible for you to change it to a part-time role? Even if its 3-4 days a week? That being said, some business can't be run on the side as it involves day time commitment.

Unless you've done thorough market research, I'd say triple your marketing budget. Having strong network connections really counts if its B2B. It took me over a year to build those relationships.

Also make sure you are properly insured. All it takes is one bully of a client to destroy your start-up business... and your morale.

MYOB is my opinion was a pain. I used Quickbooks which was so easy. I did a one-day course advertised from Quickbooks and that was enough for me to do my bookkeeping. Even my accountant loved my work but because I was serviced based and invoiced monthly, it wasn't consuming much of my time. I've heard great things about Xero, an accountant will be able to resell you a better subscription price than by you directly going to Xero.

Depending on your business, you may want to look at getting funding. Doesn't need to be from a bank. Plenty of investors out there looking to fund ventures. Having a business partner helps if you're taking this path.

PM me if you want some suggestions, particularly on the IT side of it.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Hi Renee, my advice to you is not to quit your job and do the business on the side until such time as your business has built a stable income.

That way, it has a much higher chance of succeeding.

I strongly agree with this.
When starting, you need to be under the least amount of pressure as possible.
By keeping a stable income and starting biz slowly on the side this can alleviate the pressure required to perform and you will be able to make better decisions.

When I started biz from home almost 10 years ago, it was only a few hours a week outside of my normal full time job. After just a few weeks profits were around 5k a week with zero overheads to worry about and I pretty much quit my job quit my job right away. If I had gone into the biz knowing I had to rely on profits from day 1 and cover fixed business expenses, I highly doubt it would have done as well due to the pressure to perform and would have been more conservative with business decisions to stay safe.

 

[oracle]

Wish you all the best rchad!

I have also decided to go down the route of starting my own business. But have taken the more conservative approach of continuing my day job. I work in the IT field and my startup company is also in the same field. I feel confident to operate my side business online and don't need to be present during working hours.

Cheers,
Oracle.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Wish you all the best rchad!

I have also decided to go down the route of starting my own business. But have taken the more conservative approach of continuing my day job. I work in the IT field and my startup company is also in the same field. I feel confident to operate my side business online and don't need to be present during working hours.

Cheers,
Oracle.

This may be a more conservative approach, but you can make more aggressive decisions and take a higher risk than if you went the other route of starting a biz and relying on results from day one.

Of course, once one has considerable successful business experience, then you can almost be assured of success when starting a new or another business provided you have done your research or have experience in the industry.

 

[oracle]

This may be a more conservative approach, but you can make more aggressive decisions and take a higher risk than if you went the other route of starting a biz and relying on results from day one.

Of course, once one has considerable successful business experience, then you can almost be assured of success when starting a new or another business provided you have done your research or have experience in the industry.

Yes I agree.

The other reason for being more conservative is I need to make sure my other investments (property and shares) which are leveraged are not at risk of potential fire sale if things go pear shape with the business. It has been a lot of hard work and sacrifice accumulating these assets.

Cheers,
Oracle.

 

[rchad]

I am very happy with the work of a young graphic designer on my Logo and business card design...please PM me any recommendations for a great local web designer that I can meet and discuss my page layout with including a recommended web hosting service - many thanks!

Congrats on taking the leap, its something most people are too scared to do!

I'd have to agree that keeping the job while running the biz on the side is a good move. Is it possible for you to change it to a part-time role? Even if its 3-4 days a week? That being said, some business can't be run on the side as it involves day time commitment.

Unless you've done thorough market research, I'd say triple your marketing budget. Having strong network connections really counts if its B2B. It took me over a year to build those relationships.

Also make sure you are properly insured. All it takes is one bully of a client to destroy your start-up business... and your morale.

MYOB is my opinion was a pain. I used Quickbooks which was so easy. I did a one-day course advertised from Quickbooks and that was enough for me to do my bookkeeping. Even my accountant loved my work but because I was serviced based and invoiced monthly, it wasn't consuming much of my time. I've heard great things about Xero, an accountant will be able to resell you a better subscription price than by you directly going to Xero.

Depending on your business, you may want to look at getting funding. Doesn't need to be from a bank. Plenty of investors out there looking to fund ventures. Having a business partner helps if you're taking this path.

PM me if you want some suggestions, particularly on the IT side of it.

 

[Kinnon Bell]

It's something I have done myself too. Ideally I would have liked to have kept working while the business gained momentum but as I was working at a bank I would have been in breach of my employment contract so in order to start the business I had to leave my reasonably well paid and mostly enjoyable job. Haven't looked back though.

Care to share what type of business you're going in to? There may be some on this forum in the same industry that can give you some pointers.

Like the others, if you want to have a chat to someone who has 'been there and done/doing that' more than happy for you to PM me

 

[Jen_PFR]

Good luck Renee!

We have two businesses on the side of our 2x full time jobs - one being our fully furnished rentals (which we completely manage & service ourselves) and the other being my flute teaching. I would definitely recommend starting up while still holding down a full time job - it's not like the day you start you will be inundated with work. It just gives a bit of security, in the event you have a few quiet months to start with.

 

[antistar]

Hi

I have made the decision to give myself the gift of taking proactive steps to fulfil the one aspect of my life to reclaim full autonomy over my life and time (time being a scarce commodity I can never get back) - to take the leap from a highly remunerated role to a start up business.

Would love to hear from SS's who have taken the leap. The part I am keen to hear about is the tipping point from preparation to moving from an income to nothing...

Good luck with it, def a brave and exciting move

I did a similar thing but rather than start a new bus from scratch I bought into the company I was working for. All the ups and downs of running a business aside - financially it has been one of the best decisions I have made.

 

[TMNT]

congrats on our first step,

you dont want to be on your deathbed and saying "I wish I had taken the rsik when I was younger"

That being said, if you are comparing your existing salary and comparing your hourly rate while you have your own business, id suggest you will realistically fail

you dont do your own business (especially a small one) for security/better hourly rate/easier job/less hours/sunbaking by the pool/less stress/ego

I hear all too many people say things like "oh, ive been working for my cushy governement job for 10 years now, and IM getting bored, I want to start my own business, I have no idea what though and want to be like Jane who seems to be making big $$$ and seems to work a few hours per day, and an easy life, where do i sign up!"

 

[sanj]

"You don't do your own business for better hourly rate" - why not TMNT???