More are starting to ask: “What would it take for me to leave my job?” This is what today’s podcast is all about as I wanted to share everything that I did before I quit my job.
While I love to work with people who are anxious to quit their job and want to establish a plan to make that happen, I personally don’t think everyone should quit their job (that’s not my goal in this episode). I think entrepreneurship is AMAZING and such a joy in my life, but it isn’t that for everyone. It can be hard to compartmentalize, and life and business often meld together. Again, it can be amazing, but sometimes it’s also a lot.
For me, entrepreneurship is really fulfilling, and I personally can understand getting to the point of feeling like you either have to double down with your day job and start climbing the ladder, or quit and give it your all with your own business. Doing half and half just isn’t fair to anyone and doesn’t usually work great.
Maybe right now you are feeling that way. If you are thinking of taking your business full-time and wondering what to do before leaving your job, this episode is for you! I am diving into everything I did before I quit my job. One important thing to remember is that our stories may not look the same! I personally have always had jobs that I’ve loved, so it wasn’t that I was in a toxic situation I needed to get out of. If that is your situation or your work is running you dry or giving you anxiety, your quitting situation is going to look different than mine (and it should). I also had a lot of time with my situation to figure everything out before making the leap. You may not have time. Our paths may not look the same, so keep that in mind as you listen, but I hope you can still find my story helpful in some way!
Here are some of the things I discuss in this episode:
- Making paying off debt a priority
- Contributing to retirement
- Setting my income goal (to match my income but also considering things like health insurance, future children, etc.)
- Getting to the point of feeling spread way too thin between my day job and photography business
- Creating a savings runway
- Looking into options for health insurance
- Feeling anxious about quitting
- Setting boundaries when giving your notice
- The internal conversation of “should I or shouldn’t I?”
- Making the jump
A few highlights from this episode:
[14:05] When you are making a full-time income from another job, you have a lot of flexibility with your side hustle to price things in a way to make sure that you’re making a full-time income, or more, before you quit your day job.
[16:10] Everyone said you want a runway. You need a runway. And a runway is about 3-6 months of expenses for your family, so if you don’t book a single project in 6 months, you’re okay for 6 months.
[23:10] Ultimately what I want you to think about if you’re wanting to quit your job is to simply decide what your boundaries are.
[26:11] I think the reality is this move is scary. It doesn’t matter if you have $20,000 or $50,000 in a savings account or you’re making 3x as much at your side hustle than you are at your day job. None of that matters! It helps, but it doesn’t matter when it comes to the emotional side of quitting your job.
[28:09] – They want to do it, but they haven’t. And there just comes a point where you have to jump. And I don’t say that lightly or flippantly because in my opinion, I think it’s a lot better to jump with like 67 safety nets (backup plans, if you will) like I did. I want you to have that safety net, but you still have to jump. Even with the 67 safety nets, you still have to decide to jump and to take the risk.
I can tell you confidently from the other side of that big scary jump that it’s totally worth it! I love what I do, the people that I get to help, the flexibility it affords my family, the money it affords my family, the people that I’ve met, the other entrepreneurs I’ve connected with, and so much more.
I love it all, but it only happened because of the risk I took and the risks I continue to take. Everything in business comes with some level of risk, so you can prepare all you want and need to before you make the leap, but some day, you have to decide to just DO IT. And I’m here cheering you on!
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