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Lean startup: How can I smoothly transition from full time worker to self-employment?
AG
AG
Alex Gadd, Helping You Improve Your Life answered:

When it comes to transitioning from a full time job to running your own successful business, there are several ways to which you can go about doing this. The following is ranked in list from most risky to least risky.

Quit Your Job, Start Your Business
In the book 'The E-Myth' Michael Gerber mentions how many employees tired of working for someone else one day decide to just quit and start their own business. Usually they do so out of frustration at their work and imagine how much better life would be if they were their own boss.

Unfortunately they don't realise the hard work and risk involved. This approach can be summoned to jumping out of an aeroplane and building your parachute whilst in mid-air. Unfortunately for most of these people, they run through their savings, etc and never actually get to launch their business.

Save Up Some Money, Then Quit Your Job To Start Your Business
The second approach is to carry on working in your job for 6 months to a year where you build up your savings. Then when you have enough stored up in a bank, you quit your job.

Whilst this approach is a little less riskier as you will have savings keeping you going for longer to work on your business, don't get too complacent. For time will always tick away and if your business doesn't take off on time, you will have to get another job in order to keep yourself afloat.

Wait Until Retirement To Start Your Business
This approach may seem like the safest option of them all. Just keep working away at the job until you retire. Once you reach retirement, then you are free to build up your business.

The trouble with this approach is you will be waiting till your later years in life to get your business going. Hence delaying your dreams. And you will never unfortunately know what the future holds. Will you make it to retirement age in good health? If at all?

And in years to come when retirement does come around, will your business idea be financially viable by than.

Start Your Business On The Side - Grow It Until You Can Leave Your Job
In my opinion this is the best route to go. Yet I must say that it is the one which would probably require the most work. For not only will you be working in a full time job but also working on growing a business.

However I would strongly recommend you consider this approach for a few reasons. The first is that you will be learning whilst you grow your business: learning skills like accounting, sales, marketing, etc. All whilst having the comfort of a job.

Second of all, if your business reaches the right size, you can pack in your job and live off your business net profits. Now a question that may be going through your mind is "what if the business I plan to start is one which will initially require my full time presence: like opening a physical shop?"

Well in that scenario, I would recommend holding off from starting such a business. Instead work on a business which can be scaled up whilst it is worked on part time. And then once it is up and running, quit your job and use your spare time to start your other, more time intensive business.

If you would like help on taking the steps required to get this done, do feel free to book a 1-2-1 consultation with me.

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