You’ll Never be Ready…

…to walk out of employment.

This post will be more personal than the previous ones  because I feel the need to share a journey I have been and still am walking.

When is the best time to walk out of employment?

This is a question that has haunted me for the past 6 months or so, even as it becomes glaringly obvious that as much as employment is cushy and comfortable, I need to make a choice between going big time corporate (or going big in an SME), or heading out into my own thing (whatever that may be).

I know what I want to do if I’m to choose the ‘out by myself’ route, so the question is when is it good? Here’s what I think:

• Mentors will always tell you that it’s good to do the corporate thing for sometime, so as to gain managerial and business experience and exposure. They’re right. What I have realised though is if you have the heart for running a business, you’re better off working in small businesses because first, you get to work very closely with the owner, hence learning from their mistakes, secondly, you tend to get thrown into the deep and as such in 2 years, you’re equivalent to a senoir manager in a corporation in terms of decisions you have had to take, and thirdly, the struggle and lack of structure build character for enterprenuership. You learn to survive on the bare minimum.

• The higher you go, the cooler it becomes. The higher you go in terms of rank and salary levels, the harder it is to walk away. See, it’s easier to live without a Kshs 70k salary than a 200k one. The longer one stays employed, the more they cannot live without pay.

• When to quit? Traditionally, people quit their jobs at post 40s when retirement is beckoning and the panic has begun. In my Very Humble Opinion, this is just wrong. See, entreprenuership is a game of chances, you don’t want to be taking chances with your livelihood in your 40s. The earlier you’re able to immunise yourself from the paycheck, the better off you are. For example, quitting at 29, you have 6 years to try and if you fail, you’re not too old to go back into the job market at 35. Younger people have less responsibilities, and are more likely to hang in through the hard times that are a sure thing in business. That said, there’s no better time than now, even for the not so young ones.

• When to quit part B? You’ve been moonlighting for quite sometime, you have a small income stream that is half what you’re taking home in your paid gig, when should you jump? From experience, this is the hardest part. However, it’s important to realise you will not grow either gigs (moonlight and day job), if you keep straddling both like the proverbial hyena who walked two paths at the same time. You need to set objectives, which once achieved, you will let go of your paycheck. No, saying that you’ll quit when you reach a networth of 10 million Kenya shillings doesn’t do. For example, you can say you’ll make the jump when you’re able to meet your basic expenditure from the side gig, or when you’re debt free and actually work towards it.

• If you plan to live on decreased income, start doing so today, while you’re still on salary. It helps evaluate how realistic your new living standards actually are, and will help you meet your quitting goal sooner. It makes the transition easier too

• Edit: As told by a reader (I’m honoured to have you reading my BTW). It’s easier to try business before you get a family. I have seen so many people who would do well in business but are afraid because if it doesn’t work, their spouse and children suffer. It’s even better when one spouse can support the family through the start up phase, but sometimes this could strain the family.

That’s my 2 cents on the matter. Hope to make the leap soon, but what are your thoughts / experiences on this?