If I had to pick only one piece of advice to give to someone who wants to start a business, it would be this: Be responsible and do whatever is necessary to take care of your basic needs while you are building your business, so desperation does not creep in.
Desperation kills opportunity.
You may dislike your current job, or you may currently be unemployed. Free yourself from the deadly emotional bind of feeling desperate by doing whatever is necessary to take care of your basic needs, while building a new business on the side.
Once you’ve built your business to a point where you can manage your financial commitments, then and only then can you responsibly walk away from your current job. Leaving your day job too soon may put you in “desperate” mode, and it’s difficult to build anything from a place of desperation. Desperation will drive your customers away.
If you love your work and you want to continue with it, great! Many people work part-time on their business while doing other work they love.
A friend of mine loves his performance career, but the gigs are sporadic, so there’s no security in his work as a musician. For a long time, he lived “on the edge” because if he did not perform, he did not get paid. He is passionate about his work as a musician, and he also needs consistent income. In just four years, he has been able to grow his part-time side business to a level that generates two times the income he earns as a musician. His business offers him the flexibility he needs with his schedule as a musician, while also supporting the comfortable lifestyle he desires. He has also created residual income so he can comfortably retire—not something he could have done before as a musician.
For those who do not enjoy your current work, you may wonder how soon you can give your two-week notice to your boss. I suggest that you keep your job until you are able to meet all four of these conditions:
- You are covering all of your business expenses.
- For at least six consecutive months, you have generated enough income from your business to meet the basic needs of you and your dependents. (Your business income may be combined with reliable income earned by other members of your household to meet your family budget.)
- You have paid off all debt (exception: affordable mortgage on your home).
- You have enough cash reserves to support you and your dependents for at least six months in the event that something unforeseen happened to your business income.
Without all of these conditions in place, you could be setting yourself up for financial disaster by quitting your job too soon. It’s critical that you avoid creating an environment where you feel desperate, since desperation becomes deadly when you want to build something!
Building my business from a place of abundance rather than a place of desperation has made it so much easier to grow, since a prospective client’s buying decisions do not determine my financial health and security.
Are you thinking of starting your own business? What did you learn from this article that you’ll put into practice? Please comment below.
If you are interested in starting your own business or growing an existing one, here are some resources you may find helpful.
If you are thinking of starting your own business or have already started one, what’s the next action you’ll take to ensure that you are operating from a place of abundance rather than from a place of desperation? Please comment below.
