MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICES

They say life is about making the right choices.

You choose what you want to wear to work today, what to eat for breakfast, where to eat for lunch, which movie to watch this weekend and even the person that you wish to marry etc. You choose your own to-do actions and make decisions every seconds, minute and every single day.

Now quickly, ask yourself this question. And I want you to answer it within split seconds, don’t even stop to think!

"… If you have a choice to work for people or work for yourself, which one will you go for?..."

While the latter sounds more appealing because you get to control your own time and how much money you want to make, in reality, many people actually chose the road less travelled path so they went for employment.

If you’re asking yourself this “How will I know when it’s safe to quit my job and become a full-time entrepreneur?”, then its’ time for you to look at others who have made the great leap for inspirations and insights.

Learning from their first hand experiences about what worked and what didn't is a great way to start in determining how to tackle this life-changing decision yourself. Hence the very reason why this blog exist. I hope to bring insights and inspiration from successful icons all over the world and translate them into this blog. Honestly, some humbly agreed and don't mind to share, some even asked if I am from some famous media publication (and then I never hear from them again - hello, some courtesy please?) and some prefer to be paid to share. 

To me, success is meaningless if you don't share with others on how did you do it. It doesn't mean that when you share your methods / secrets it means that it suits everybody and they start to copy you. We are all different in our approach and we learn from one another and later tweak it to suit our pace & preference. No two persons have identical experiences, some similarity yes but never an exact one.

I learnt a lot from those who have responded to my interview request. These successful icons are REAL. They are simply fearless and they work really hard!

Now, about leaving your job.

Leaving your job simply means that you will be leaving behind  paid vacations, health & medical benefits and a steady pay check. In fact, this is what most of us (employees) are struggling with. It eventually boils down to personal choice and good planning.

There is always a risk in anything that we do, with or without job. But if we put the same amount of dedication and time of trying to make it work, working for yourself may actually be the best thing ever happened to you.

Here’s how you can tell IF you are ready to move on.

1. You always have a burning desire to start your own business.
2. You have enough income to cover your essentials, at least for a year.
3. You have done thorough research/have tested the market on the business that you are planning to run and found that it receives good response.
4.  You are mentally prepared to let go of self-employment and condition your mind to withstand business challenges
5.   Your family backs you up with your decision.
6.   You make Plan A, B, C for every stages of your business, just in case.

Do all the above and you will go far.

However, there is also another way to SLOWLY let go of your job without going totally broke!

Do all the above except for item No 2 and replace it “…Work on your side business WHILE you are still on the JOB…”.  This is perfect for those who are not too sure about their decision or the amount of income they will be making once they go as a full time business person. Bottom line, you still need that money to pay your monthly essentials and to fund your new business. I know...I know how much you hated job and you can’t wait to move on, but sometimes you just need to grit your teeth and persevere until you are ready to fly.

As I mentioned earlier, having a job isn’t necessarily all that bad.

So, how do you know if things will go WELL?

You DON’T. Nobody can tell you what will happen tomorrow or the day after.

What you can definitely do is to make plans to ensure things are covered just in case you go busted. Without plans, you may as well stay on employment until your business shows promising numbers.

I knew some entrepreneurs who started out without a plan. It’s okay if you are single, hardly have any commitment and still staying with your parents. You can take your time building your business while chilling out. There are also entrepreneurs that has no choice BUT to step up the game, work much harder than before to ensure they bring food to the table. No time should go wasted.

Ultimately you need to weigh all pros and cons and make PLANS if you have decided to move on and leave employment. No one I know have died or suffered without a job yet, painful phase yes, but in the end they manage to tie lose ends though it may take some time.

Have faith with your decision, focus and be humble enough to learn from those who have been there and done that. You’ll be surprised how their situation was much tougher than yours before they attained success.