Should you quit your job to start a business? Should you give your 2 weeks notice right now? Check out the video or read along to find out more.
Hey guys, this is Nick from Mobile Code Media. So today I want to talk about whether or not you should quit your job to start a business. First off, I want to say that I can only speak in general terms, because I don’t know you personally. I don’t know what your strengths and weaknesses are, I don’t know your past success rate, and I don’t know what motivates you. That being said, you should NOT quit your job to start a business.
Starting a business is like working a new muscle, so it largely depends on your experience level. Getting a client or customer to pay you via your own business is a lot harder initially than collecting a paycheck as a W2 worker. Remember, as a business owner, you are the salesman. You need to be able to convey to your potential customers that you are going to be adding considerably more value to their lives or their own business operations than the cost of your product or service. Having a great service that nobody knows about isn’t going to work, so you need to be able to convince people of that value.
The biggest hurdle that a business will face is getting people to know that you even exist. Why does Coke or Apple advertise at all? I mean, people already know who they are, right? It’s because you might forget about them if they were to stop. Potential customers need to know that you exist, and then they need to remember that you exist so future sales can be made.
When you release your product, you shouldn’t be surprised to hear crickets. This is why A/B testing (look it up) and other marketing methods exist. You have to figure out what actually appeals to your potential customers and gets them to open their wallet. Getting them to see your product, open their wallet, and actually give you money is the ultimate test of whether you’ve got a good product or service.
So I’ve given you a few things that you need to be mindful of when starting a business. So what should you do then, since I started off by telling you that you should NOT quit your job first? How long am I saying that you should stay in your job then? Assuming that your job isn’t directly competing with your business, you should keep that job until it ends up costing you money. You should keep your job until working those 9-5 hours is less money than you’d be making from your business. That job needs to be a fire under your butt to make sure that you’re being productive. Don’t waste time making business cards (unless you absolutely need to) or getting logos made or doing extra paperwork. Focus on making that first sale. Once you’ve gotten somebody to actually open their wallet and pay you, then you just might be onto a good idea.
Now I mentioned earlier that you shouldn’t quit your job if it doesn’t compete with your business, but what if it does compete? Or what if that job requires you to work 80 hours a week and you don’t have time to even start your business? Then you should probably find a job that doesn’t conflict with your business idea or suck up all of your time, and take that job.
There really isn’t a better way around this and this rings extra true if you’ve never started a business before. Remember, W2 work pays you so long as you do what you’re told. Unless you’re a salesman, you’re getting an expected amount for showing up and doing the work, every pay period. You are trading rapid income growth for predictability. It’s a whole different thing to be paid sporadically, based on how well you’re able to sell your product or service.
I hope you found this video useful. If you want to see more of these kinds of videos, then please give this video a LIKE and leave a comment below.
Now I know that we’re all developers or developers in training and it’s easy to sit at your desk all day and not get up, so make sure that you stand up, stretch and walk around a little bit. Go outside and get some fresh air every now and then. Life is short so enjoy it. This is Nick from Mobile Code Media, and I’ll see you next time.