Have you ever considered if you should quit your job and start a business?
It is perfectly normal and you are not alone.
Business ownership has become the new badge of honor in our society.
Breaking away from the rat race and making your own way in life has become the quintessential dream for so many people, yet people are more hesitant than ever to go their own way and start a business.
And with good reason: the economies of the world are hurting.
Many people are already living pay cheque to pay cheque and can’t imagine how starting from scratch could be a good idea.
And the uncertainty of entrepreneurship alone is enough to give someone a heart attack on the spot.
So why do so many others choose to go that route instead of working for the man?
There are a hundred good reasons to start a business – may be even more – but let’s look at just ten of the reasons you should quit your job and start a business.
10 Sane Reasons to Quit Your Job and Start a Business
Reason Number 1: You’re already stressed out and worried about work.
If you are like most people, you are already stressed to the max about your job.
Did you know that about 80 percent of people hate their jobs?
That’s a lot of people to be walking through life miserable.
If you are going to be sick and tired of being sick and tired, you might as well be sick and tired in your own company.
Being a business owner is stressful stuff, and if you can hack it for your boss, you can hack it for yourself.
Reason Number 2: You can work from anywhere.
The idea of picking up your life and moving it to a sunny beach might sound crazy, but it’s not.
When you have the whole world in front of you and an internet connection to boot, there’s no reason to stay stuck in cold, dark, and snow-filled places all year round.
When you run your own business, you don’t have to hunker down in your basement and hope for the best, you can get out there and make things happen in warmer climates.
Find yourself a good co-working space and set up shop if you need some structure in your life. The beach will be waiting when you are ready to clock out.
Reason Number 3: You get to determine how much you get paid.
Sure, it sounds like an infomercial, but being able to determine how much money you make is one of the top reasons people leave their 9-5 jobs.
Consider how your salary is not changing at any great velocity, but one great consulting gig on the side could add thousands of dollars to your bottom line.
A lot of people are afraid to make that leap but they don’t realize that the leap is what is going to save them.
Reason Number 4: You can spend more time with your family.
Despite the upswing in productivity over the last number of years, people are busier than ever and family ties are the first to be severed when fires start at work.
When you run your own business, you get to decide how much time you want to work and you can use the rest of your time to actually spend it with the family you work so hard to support.
Rather than see one another at 5 pm, you can check in at lunch, pick the kids up from school, and even volunteer with some of your extra time.
Sure, running a business is hard work, but it doesn’t have to take all your time.
Reason Number 5: You can choose the clients you want to work with.
If you work in the services industry already, you know that clients can be a nightmare sometimes.
If your boss forces you to work with rude or ignorant clients because they are paying the company a lot of money, it can make a bad situation even worse.
When you run the show, you get to decide which clients you take on and which ones are left swinging in the wind.
Reason Number 6: You can do something else at any moment.
The beautiful thing about running a business is that it can become anything you want it to be.
You don’t have to follow anyone’s vision but your own.
And while that might seem overwhelming to take on that kind of responsibility, you’ve no doubt that to yourself, “if I ran this place…” and wondered what it would be like to call the shots.
So why not go for it?
You can always get another job if things don’t work out.
Reason Number 7: You can bring on people to help you.
Nobody said that you have to start and run your business by yourself.
You can hire all the help you want and need.
If you can’t afford to bring someone on at first, enlist the help of your family.
They’ll love to pitch in and you’ll be able to trust their work since you know them so well.
There are no rules when it comes to running a business. You can do it the way you want.
Reason Number 8: You’ll be contributing to your economy.
As a business owner, you’ll have a lot of opportunities to contribute to your economy in a meaningful way.
If you are hiring employees or building products that will create jobs, you’ll see the extent of your contributions in no time.
If you work in the services industry, you can help other businesses grow and relish in the fact that your work has had such an impact.
It’s hard to see the fruits of your labor when you work for someone else. If you crave that satisfaction for yourself, being an entrepreneur is for you.
So whether you just took on your first job and realize that being an employee is not for you, or you’ve been grinding away for years at a job you hate, consider how quitting your job and betting on yourself could change everything for the better.
Don’t focus on the negative parts because you can’t control those.
You can control the outcome of your life, and retire well. But it all starts with one decision.
Is it worth it?
John Packham writes about business and entrepreneurship.
