|
Recently a "Personal Development Guru" or Twit, as I prefer, posted an article on his Blog called "10 reasons you should never get a job", encouraging people to quit their day jobs and become creative.
Someone then posted on his forums "Hey Steve I took your advice and quit my job!" then later in the post he said he was really excited but that now he had no money and no income and did not know what to do next. Steve then went on to congratulate him on breaking the chains and gaining freedom, then said go and be creative.
Wow such sagely advice, here's some much better advice:
10 reasons you should not give up your day job...
... that guy should have kept his job because it was the only thing going for him. I mean if you have no side business, or profitable pursuit then what are you going to do all day? Try to think up a magic business you don't have to work in and pays tons of money (see my previous article on wishful thinking).
I would suggest keeping the job for the time being and working out your next step and then implementing it before you even consider quitting your job.
10 Reasons You Should Not Give Up Your Day Job
- Some Income Is Better Than None, OK, trading time for money (wage) is not the best way to earn an income but it is a viable way, easy to get into and relatively easy to advance. Add that if you are to start a new business it is much easier if you have capital. Without a job where is capital going to come from for your 1st business - positive thinking?
- Gain Experience. Work in a job to learn how to run a business in your chosen field, study it in detail from the inside, learn the systems and procedures to run a successful business. Stay there, become a manager, learn everything you are going to need. Somebody else has already paved the way, why should you go out on your own and try to discover it all again?
- Learn what you don't want to do. Have an idea about an industry, work
in the field for a while and see if that industry is all you thought it
would be. Changing jobs is a lot easier than changing businesses. There is an old saying "It is easy starting a business, it's the getting out that is hard."
- Less paperwork, no responsibility. This gives you plenty of time for thinking, planning and design time to organise your side income. At knock off time you finish your job. This also gives you a nice regular schedule to run your start up side business around.
- Learning and making mistakes as an employee is a lot less risky and a lot less financially painful than making those same mistakes in your own new start up business
- Make contacts, if your side income is related to your current job field (and it should be) then the contacts you make today may be the contracts you make tomorrow
- Regular income. You can plan expenditure and growth for your new side business. Every week you know how much you can afford and you can plan effectively. Compare this with the uneven, when and if returns a new business gives. Believe me it is no fun getting into your 3rd week with no pay sitting behind your office desk praying that someone walks in with a job before they cut the phones off.
- Freedom, as a wage slave you get a whole ton of free time that a business owner can only dream about, just make sure you use it productively - turn your TV off
- Get out on your own and pay your own way - this is the biggest learning experience many people can have. OR you could follow Steve's advice and live at home with your Mum and never work
- Learn a work ethic. Many unemployed people are unemployed because they lack a decent work ethic. Learning some basic disipline is an essential step towards running your own business, if you have no self disipline who is going to get you to work on time each morning when you are the boss
Lastly I would like to say that I do believe that there are better ways (for me) to earn a living (and plan for retirement) than working in a regular job. Though when I originally made the plan to be a professional actor I thought it would be easy money and an easy job. Wrong. It is a continual struggle.
"Take a job for what you can learn, not what you earn" - Robert Kyosaki
Robert also recommends keeping a job while you start your other businesses, even just a part time job to keep you financial through the initial building period when money is tight and unpredictable.
"There are only two reasons to be an employee.... #1 reason: To build knowledge.... #2 reason is to build capital.. " - Brad Sugars
"Your first job is to buy back your time and work a way to get passive income so you never have to work again" - Brad Sugars
You can be 'creative' and you can 'fight the system' but it makes good sense to use the system to get on your feet first. Starting a business with no money, no idea, no procedures, and no contacts is a long painful process add in 3 to 5 years of hard slog before you can see yourself becoming decently profitable. Learn it all first and have some available capital (and credit), contacts, and procedures from your previous place of employment will make your life a lot easier.
Just having a regular income will make you life easier. Knowing you can both pay your bills and eat takes a great worrisome burden off a new start up business owner.
Think about the 10 reasons you should not give up your day job before you take any idiots advice online - or in real life. Make a plan and gain your financial freedom
I also feel if you have a readership on your website it is your social responsibility to give good advice and think through the things that you tell them.
|
