Greetings fellas!
Today is a good day. Why you ask?
You will probably make one of the most important and lucrative decisions of your life today.
Ermmm….???
Read on to find out.
So you clicked to read this little over 2k words article of mine because your mind is in the process of thinking about becoming
an entrepreneur
a fempreneur most prolly
run your own business
be your own boss
finally, feel financial freedom
without a 9-5 grind
and all the good stuff…
The only major problem is you are stuck in the 9-5 grind. You need the paycheck and you don’t know how to quit…
I get you and so I have a secret recipe for you, just go and cook. (Pst! we all don’t love to cook) But who doesn’t love great food? Gotta do something to fill that plate.
So you need to get out of the grind and start something of your own.
Here is what you need to do. Precisely.
- Know: Why are you even doing a job?
- Find: Your ideal monthly income.
- Find: Your monthly survival income.
- Plan: Your way to your monthly survival income.
- Quit: The grind (9 – 5 job of course)
- Plan: Your way to your ideal monthly income.
- Enjoy: Life. (Because you only live once, at least on Planet Earth)
You have a right to live a life you desire, do the work you actually love and enjoy the perks as a financially happy woman/man! Yay!
Let me explain all that madness.
So, first things first.
Why are you doing a job?
For most of us, it’s mostly about a paycheck. You need the job because you need the money on the table. Well, technically you need the food on the table but the job will give you the money to get that food on the table. And not to forget, a good paycheck can bring in a lot more than just food.
You might be into this job because you always wanted to build a career. You love your field. You love your specialized knowledge gained in 4-6 very consuming years at college/university.
You are doing it out of love of becoming a self-sustaining independent person who can handle themselves and their unexpected material demands. You love to learn and grow. This job helps you do that. It helps you keep up with the current knowledge in your industry.
Or you got the time. You got to invest it somewhere. Investing it into something lucrative is, of course, the only option. Because binging Netflix all day will only make you feel miserable.
You’ve never had a life without a job. You don’t know what you’d be doing if this job wasn’t there.
Whatever your reason is, just take a paper and a pen and write it down.
Next, if money is a reason why you are doing this job keep going. If not skip to the planning phase.
What is your ideal monthly goal?
Your ideal monthly number could be
- your current salary
- your ideal monthly salary
You need to know this because when quitting a job and starting your own business you need to maintain your lifestyle. This is your starting point. A number that if you are able to make will never make you regret leaving your job. Of course, it’s just a starting point. Your business can make much more than that. Let’s say this number is $4,000.
Your Survival Number
There is an ideal number and then there is a survival number. The survival number is the least amount of money you need in order to sustain a month. This is the amount of money you need to make ends meet just in case you lose your job today. Let’s say this number is $1,000/mo.
Your ideal monthly number and your survival number give you a clear idea of what you need to be making out of your business so that you can quit your job. Your earnings from your side hustle should be lying somewhere in this range.
Planning! Plan Plan Plan!
You need to get out of the 9-5 grind. You need to be your own boss. You know what you need to be making but the problem is how?
The answer is via a plan. The more robust your plan is the more likely you are to get there (to the point of finally quitting your job) sooner.
So, how do you plan?
Get a clear idea of what your business is going to be about. Is it going to be an online business or a typical brick-and-mortar store? Is it going to be based on a product or on selling some service?
Start working on a business plan as soon as you know what you want to do.
I’ve worked on this 6-step system I read in Napolean Hill’s Think and Grow Rich which I will share with you.
Step 1: Define an exact number. This is the amount of money you want. Give yourself a number.
Step 2: Determine what you will give in return for that money. (you can’t get something for nothing)
Step 3: Give yourself a date by. By this date you want this money goal done and dusted.
Step 4: Create a definite plan and start quick and dirty. There is no such thing as a ‘perfect timing’ to start.
Step 5: Document everything from step 1 to 4 in a neat sheet.
Step 6: Look at this document twice a day once when you wake up and once before you retire to bed.
Once you reach those goals it’s time to quit.
How do we quit a job safely?
If you are in it for the money you don’t just quit your job and start working on your business full on. While that is an option, of course, it is not an option for everybody. Why so?
Not everyone has the consistency and motivation to survive the first few years of establishing a business. There are pitfalls, there are good days and bad days and days you are just shooting in the blind. Making effort after effort to see results in the foreseeable future.
There are hardly any get-rich-quick formulas that work for everyone. Hard work pays off but it doesn’t tell you when.
There are a few things you need to do before you quit your job.
Save 12 months of your survival money
You need to have saved at least 6 – 12 months of money that remain untouched in your bank. This is your survival money in case you don’t have a job or any side income. You should be only spending anything that is beyond this number. Why is this important? You don’t want to fall into debt once you leave your job and start your business. Your first few years might not serve you that well. While you are making your survival income on a monthly basis out of your business you still need this sum to feel that financial independence.
Get clear of any debts or at least have a plan
If you are in debt consider getting rid of it before you plan on quitting your job. Even if you decide otherwise, consider, at least, planning on a clearing debt plan. Consider monthly plans to get rid of the debt. You can not expect to lead a financially independent life if you are in a debt.
Have $X as emergency money
Save at least $1,000 as emergency money. This is the money you will use in dire situations. It could be anything. A friend gets into trouble or the family needs medical assistance, and so on. Keep this money with you in cash or in a bank account. It needs to be available at all times. This is not a part of your savings or your 12-month survival money. This is emergency money meant for emergencies only.
Plan your way to your ideal monthly income
Now that you have a sound business plan that gives you at least your survival income goals and you have quit your 9-5 job, you have the time and the capacity to expand on your business.
This is the most important stage in your journey as a successful entrepreneur. Now is the time to fully realize that time is money. The best investment in your business now is your time. But here’s the good news: we’ve got a little turbulence in our flight.
Now that you have quit your day job your family might expect you to give more of your time to them. Your partner or your kids might want to give some duties to you that they were previously doing on their own because of your job. It’s your job to make them realize that yes you have quit your job but time is still an investment you are making in your business.
Bear in mind quality time >> a lot of time. Your kids need a few good hours of your quality time. In case you never realized, kids are more harmed when they experience your frustration after your 9-5 grind. Parents who give their kids quality time win. After all, your business, once set, will let you give a lot more quality time to your family. For now, learn to strike a balance. Don’t go overboard with any.
Your unemployed friends and family members might also find this opportunity to dig into your life more. It’s important you keep your job-quitting news to yourself for as long as you can manage.
You have successfully taken off and since now you are the pilot you decide how high you fly. Such a feel-good!
At last, don’t forget to enjoy life!
You did all this to escape the grind and start your dream business. Dreams are meant to make you happy, feel content with life and enjoy little moments without fretting over some office politics or workload.
A few things to avoid:
The Shiney Product Syndrome
Today I woke up to an article in which the author finally realized how good his 25-year career as a programmer was. He had 25 good years of experience coding but had no product to show as his own. Just a resume. That’s it. 25 years of making tons of useful pieces of software and nothing to show as his own. If you’ve got a skill. Don’t just use it to get a monthly paycheck. Think smart. Get some passive income out of your skills. Build a product side by side.
The author also mentioned why he failed to launch any of his own products in those 25 years. It was this ‘shiny product syndrome’. He won’t launch a product only because it wasn’t perfect in his eyes.
Remember, it’s important to start. Don’t wait for a perfect moment to start because there ain’t any. Start quick, start dirty and then keep improving as you go.
Don’t just Dream
You have an idea worth bringing to life. Don’t just keep thinking about it. Just go out and start working on it. After all dreams and goals define you. They are a part of your purpose on earth. Make it worth it. Do something that actually makes you happy and rewards you enough as well. If you are lucky enough to have a dream get off the bed and start working on it. Plans don’t work unless you do.
You have the roadmap and you are the boss.
Remember why you started
If at any point you feel like quitting just go back to the day you were all excited about your business. Just sit down and feel yourself again. If you don’t think you can make it remember the struggle of many before you. If they had quit things would be so different. If you quit today you might never be able to make a difference in anyone’s life. You might not be able to make any difference in your own life.
Just stand up again and seek God’s help. May He guide us and may He guide us well. Amen!
Much Love!
