Why I Quit My Job to Start a Business.

Whatever your job, wherever you work, at some point I bet you’ve thought about walking into the bosses office and handing in your resignation. Very few people act on that urge. One day, without a plan in place, I did just that. I quit my job and started a business.

You may have an amazing job, work hard and get paid well. But how much security do you really have? In a nutshell, it’s the duration of the notice period in your contract. All companies have ups and downs, If the company you work for hits a financial hurdle, they may start laying people off. If this happens and your made redundant what would you do?

You might be respected by your clients and have a great client network, but their not your clients, they are clients of the company that made you redundant. If you start approaching those clients and offering services after you leave you could find yourself in a legal battle with your old employer.

If however, your self employed running your own business online, or a freelancer selling your services your client list belongs to you. If you lose a client, you just have more time to devote to the next client on your list. I used to work in central London, working long hours, commuting around 90 minutes each way, leaving the house really early each day and getting home really late. I was always exhausted.

Although I loved what I did, I began to hate the job and where I worked. Each day, as I got off the underground and walked the short distance to the office, I felt dread at the day ahead, the urge to turn around and go home become stronger every day.I carried on like this for another two or three years, becoming more depressed at work, less engaged and less productive.

I considered going freelance, but this was a big step and I worried about financial security. The monthly paycheck was the only thing keeping me from leaving. I researched freelance agencies and spoke to people already working freelance, but the fear remained. I was unhappy and It must have shown in my work. One day my boss stopped me as I passed and asked me if I was OK, On the spur of the moment and without any discussion I resigned and walked away.

What happened next surprised me, I felt really good, relieved and back in control. I called my wife and told her I’d just quit my job, she was shocked, but pleased I’d made a decision. Being unhappy at work was spilling over into my home life and affecting our relationship. I rang one of the freelance agencies and they took me onto their books, within a few days they had work lined up for me as soon as I finished my notice period.

Freelancing worked really well for me for several years, I was happier working freelance and soon felt confident enough to turn down the odd job from clients I didn’t like or jobs I knew would be a nightmare. The only problem I found with being freelance, I was still trading my time for money. I was better off financially and I was my own boss, but if I didn’t work, I didn’t earn.

My daughter had just been born and I wanted to be at home more. I wanted more free time.
This is when I started to look into working at home, or anywhere I had a computer and an internet connection. I convinced some of my clients to let me work remotely, at first they weren’t sure but they soon realized I was online and available outside of normal office hours. Remote working took off for me and I now work 80% of my time this way.

I now started to look to the future, as a freelance working remotely I’d created myself a job. The only downside of this, it was still trading time for money, If I took time off I didn’t get paid and I didn’t have a business I could sell if I needed to. Recently I’ve added to the services I offer my clients, services they pay for monthly and importantly, services I can outsource. So I now have more time, a regular income and a business with value should I ever choose to retire.

I’m not suggesting you should walk into the office tomorrow and resign. I’m suggesting you start planning ahead, whatever you do for a living, start looking at what you would do if you were made redundant tomorrow. Start to think about your future and how you could create an income from home and spent more time with your family.

It’s never been easier to start a business, big or small. The internet has created so many opportunities with tools and resources online, yet many people don’t know they exist. The fact your reading this means you probably feel as I did just before I quit my job. Start looking at the options available to you, start investigating how to turn your hobbies or passions into an online business, take action.

Unless you dream big, set yourself goals and plan for the future lifestyle you want, your doomed to work for someone who does…..