My last day in a 9 to 5 job was on the 31st January 2017.
It took nearly 2 years to go through the journey of employee to business owner…
When I tell my friends this, they usually say something like: “wow”, “that’s so inspiring” or “congratulations”.
Yet, I don’t feel connected to those words.
Because my friends don’t know about the stress and anxiety that follows when…
I decided to quit a normal life or
I lose an existing client or
I don’t sign up a new client I just poured my heart and soul into
That’s why my friends also don’t know I’m not accepting their “congratulations” until the business is fully stable with a thriving customer base.
As you can see, growing a business can be painful.
I bet you’ve not come across that statement often online.
Let’s google this sentence and see how many articles contain this phrase.
Only 9 results. 🙂
But it’s the truth.
When I used to dream about leaving my job and running my own business, I’d picture having a large desk with a few Mac screens, travelling around the world meeting different people and managing lovely staff.
If I had to pick a location to summarise the image in my head, it would be Phu Quoc, Vietnam.
The reality however is more like Cairo. Long hours. Hard work. Family sacrifices. Not being able to switch off from business easily. (sorry if you’re from Cairo, I didn’t enjoy my visit). 🙁
…and it has become even worse after having our first daughter back in June 2017.
Talk about pressure?!?!
However I had no choice but to quit my job.
Because I wanted to stop delaying my success in business and spend more time with my family.
Plus, there was enough validation for me to have made this decision and I believe I’ve earned the right to make this choice.
How do you earn the right to quit your job and run your business?
1. Savings In The Bank
It’s important to figure out how much you need to save to quit your job and work towards that goal to give yourself a cushion when you’ve taken the plunge.
Not only that, knowing you have enough savings will help you charge what you’re worth and not work with any client.
For instance, last week I spoke to someone who wanted a new website but didn’t want to spend more than £3,000. I made it clear I wasn’t a good fit for his budget, and explained the difference between a standard website and a website worthy of sales. As he realised my value he began to negotiate with me but during this time I got an insight into the type of client I might be working with. Long story short, I’m glad he couldn’t meet the price I was asking. 🙂
2. Paying Clients
If you want to leave your job and run your own business, then get paying clients for your business first.
No excuses.
If you don’t have time, make time.
Don’t know how to sell, get a sales coach.
Don’t know how to start a business, get a business coach.
Don’t have the discipline to take consistent action, get an accountability partner.
Don’t know enough about the business you want to create, start reading now.
Feeling too tired after work, change your schedule or even your diet.
I’m not just giving you the above advice, I was living it for 2 years.
I was working and growing my business at maximum capacity. Whenever I had more work that I could handle I would either take some days off work, work additional hours or if it got really bad, sacrifice my personal life.
Put it this way, my personal life during the time took a bit of a hit.
It was a good problem to have – a growing business!
If you reach this point, you know it’s time to call it a day at your 9 to 5 job.
3. Confident About The Future
I feel excited about my business in 2018 and beyond.
I quit my job with a plan.
See, knowing exactly how you’re going to grow your business, will give you the confidence to step out of the rat race.
There’s loads of things I’m still unsure of, like putting together a solid client proposal but I know if I can get in front of enough potential customers, I’ll figure out what works and what doesn’t.
My first ever job was selling windows on the phone. I had no clue how to do it and was super nervous.
100 cold calls later, I was teaching other people.
As Nike says, “just do it”.
I’m confident I can help clients get the results they want and that’s what matters.
When you get this inner confidence (you’ll just know when you get it), you’re close to going all in.
Looking for help with starting and growing your business? Checkout my business coaching service.
“No Pain, No Gain”
I used to hear this phrase when I started going to the gym at university.
It was true.
In business, it’s no different.
The pain is only going to rise when you quit, but as long your business muscles get ripped in the future (i.e. gain), it doesn’t matter. 🙂