[dropcap]A[/dropcap] good number of us get bitten by the entrepreneurial bug when working as employees on a 9-5 job, and we get that zeal to start a business venture of our own. While this can be a great and extremely rewarding decision, it can also be tasking one, it is therefore important to keep some vital things in mind before quitting your job to start a business. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 4 vital steps to take before quitting your job to start a business.
Prepare for the Realities of Entrepreneurship
Becoming an entrepreneur has its good and glamorous sides, like becoming your own boss, making your own rules, building things up from the ground etc., but it also has its difficult sides. For one, most entrepreneurial ventures fail and the entrepreneurs end up having to go back to work as employees. Also, most of the successful entrepreneurs of today have had to deal with a lot of setbacks sometimes becoming broke in the process, coming to the brink of failure, or even eventually failing and having to pick up the pieces and get back up multiple times. Entrepreneurship is definitely not for the fainthearted and as rewarding as it can be, it can also be hard and extremely tasking.
Have a Solid Personal Financial Plan
Quitting your job to start a business means that you have to come to terms with the fact that your line of sustainable income is gone, and you will thus have to prepare for the hit your personal finance is going to take through the period of you trying to build up your business into one that you can draw reasonable revenue or income from. You first should consider how much money you need to continue your current lifestyle and compare it with how much money you actually have (savings included). If what you have can’t sustain your lifestyle, then it’s best you make more prudent adjustments to your current lifestyle. Also, you should have backup options to explore if you do run out of money in the meantime.
Don’t Burn Bridges
A good number of people quit their 9-5 jobs to start a business on very bad terms with their employers. They damn their employers and tell them off, exiting the job in an anything but smooth process. This should not be so. You should never burn your bridges in the professional world, especially with former employers, because you might need them in the future as clients, as partners to your business in a mutually beneficial relationship, or to even come back to work for them if your business idea doesn’t pan out as well as expected. Whatever the reason, you should never end things with your employer on bitter terms, and when you decide to leave, try as much as possible to make your exit from the company as smooth as possible to preserve important relationships.
Get Advice
As viable and brilliant you think your business idea or business plan is, you should talk to others and get advice before you quit your job to start a business, don’t just rush into it. Talk to trusted friends and mentors about what they think of your business idea and how promising they believe it is. Reach out to people that have experience in building entrepreneurial ventures and those that have quit their jobs for it, ask them for practical advice and guidance on how to go about yours. Most importantly, talk to your spouse, children or close family members (especially those that you are financially responsible for), and explain to them the financial implications of what you are about to do, so they can prepare for it the best way they can.
