Valentine’s Day, 2011.
The day my life changed for good.
If you’ve got a side business… or an idea for a business… and you’re yearning to quit your regular job to work on it full-time… this essay is for you.
I did it. It wasn’t easy… but it was absolutely worth it.
70% of Americans want to be self-employed. But only 7% are. What does that tell you?
It tells me most people can’t or won’t sacrifice the security of employment and a regular paycheck for something potentially much better on the other side.
The day I took the leap, it was 1am on Valentine’s Day.
It was another late night in the New York City office of the Big 4 CPA firm I was working for, while my girlfriend (now wife) waited for me at home.
I’d been reading an investment newsletter and thinking: “I bet I would be a good investment writer.”
I decided to roll the dice. I emailed the writer, offering to work for him for free.
He hesitantly said yes. I worked for free for 6 months, in secret, while holding down a full-time job.
Then, after I earned his trust, he hired me full-time. Twelve years later, I’m his partner in a successful financial publishing business.
Aspiring entrepreneurs often ask me: how do I know it’s time to take the leap? To quit my job to build my own business full-time?
My advice: don’t take a leap. Instead, build a bridge.
Try to make your transition as low risk as possible. Maybe some people can deal with the extreme anxiety of not having a paycheck coming in. That was never an option for me.
Instead, I sacrificed all my free time to work for nothing on nights and weekends to prove myself, while holding down a full-time job. I preferred that to risking my financial security.
It let me bridge the gap between what I had to do with what I wanted to do.
1. Don’t quit your job until half of your current income is covered
Starting a business isn’t for everybody.
Forget all the hype and glamor you see online. Going into business means you’re now responsible for your paycheck. It’s on you to make that paycheck bigger
As a rule of thumb, don’t make the leap until half your current income is covered.
Hopefully, this is enough to cover your necessary expenses like rent, utilities, and food.
This might mean keeping your old job for longer than you’d like.
It might mean stretching yourself thin to build your business to a point where it generates sufficient cash before you quit your day job.
In any case, unless you’ve got a pile of savings, don’t leap from full paycheck to zero.
Build a bridge to get where you want to go.
2. Make sure you can clearly see big financial potential
By itself… “follow your passion” is terrible advice.
Instead… build your skills and become a master of something.
There’s a good chance you’ll then become passionate at that thing.
I’m telling you this because following your passion without a clear blueprint to turning it into a business and making money is rarely a good idea.
A rule of thumb: make sure there’s realistic potential to replace your whole current salary within the first 12 months of working for yourself.
If you don’t see that as possible, wait.
Focus on building your audience while your paycheck is covered. The bigger your audience, the more you’ll sell. It’s really that simple.
3. Get so good that your audience and subscribers are asking for more
You know your content is resonating when your readers are asking for more.
“Do you have a course for that?”
“Do you have a guide to explain that?”
Not only does this show your audience is engaged. It also shows there’s demand for what you do.
This is a high bar to reach… but it’s a worthy goal. When your readers are asking to buy from you, there’s pent-up demand.
That’s the single most reliable sign you’ll be able to grow fast once you make the leap cross the bridge you built.
Until next time.
Dan Steinhart, CPA
P.S. For when you do cross the bridge, subscribe to my weekly newsletter ‘Leverage Points’ and join other online business owners learning proven tactics for hitting 7-figures faster. Subscribe here.