Jul. 13
2007
Don’t Quit Your Day Job
- Comments: 7
Recently I have been contemplating quitting my job as a banker at Chase. If you read my about page, you will find out that I have only been about six months.
Business is getting very serious and I feel like I am wasting my time with something I really would rather not peruse.
I am reaching out to my readers to give me their experiences and advice. I truly respect the opinions of you guys and need some advice to make a tough decision.
Here is the situation:
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1. I want the experience for what I have termed as my “backup plan,” for at least one year.
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2. If I don’t finish the year at chase, I have to pay back $3500 for getting my licenses.
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3. If I don’t quit, I will be sacrificing the amount of time I can be spend on what I really want to do.
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4. Limited income in the short term.
What would you guys do?
Definately dont quit! Its worthwhile to get the experience first and then start doing your own thing. The network of contacts and business experience gained will serve you well later on when you want to pursue your own oppurtunities.
I was in a very similar situation before when I was in financial services.
Can you recoup the lose of the $3500? Maybe but I would suggest that you continue to stay until that is taken care of. I too agree that the networking you do should be of prime importance and your main focus. Do your job but network. You can leverage your contacts to open doors. Develop it into a system. Learn to leverage your time by paying people to do the things you hate. Groceries, lawn cutting, dishes, food etc. But make sure you can make more money than what your paying out to get those services done. You can probably free up another 5 hours a week if not more. 5 hours into your business with Nate and your off to the races.
I trust that you are building passive income streams? If so I would suggest doubling the amount you earn from your job until you decide to leave. Get up earlier and stay later. Get a 12 month plan together and have someone like Nate or me hold you accountable to it.
Thanks for the comments guys. Even though both of you are giving great advice, I am still pretty set on quitting. I already show up early and leave late and I don’t even take a lunch break most of the time. I am also spending probably 10 hours a week working on the business. This is simply not cutting it. Also, I start back at ASU August 20th. Which will cut into the effort and time I will be able to put into either of these activites. The recoup of the loss 3500 should not take too long. Let me know if this changes anything.
To quit or not to quit . . . That’s a tough. I’m sure it’s difficult putting that many hours into a full time job, knowing that you could be using that time to focus on your business. On one hand, staying at the job is less risky, and it provides you with needed experience, not just in your field but in working with others as well. On the other, you’ve got this beautiful little baby business that you see great potential for, and you want so badly to be there to nourish it and help it grow.
Whatever decision you make will definitely have some good and some undesirable consequences, but whatever decision you make, make it confidently. If you decide to stay with the full time job for a few more months so you don’t have to give up the $3500, then stay there, and continue giving it everything you’ve got. You’ve got a network of people there that just might come in handy someday.
I look forward to hearing what your final decision will be!
I would stay for a year and avoid all the hassle you’ve mentioned. You never know, within the 6 months you can gain even more significant experiences from the company.
Mainly though, staying for a year, as opposed to 6 months, shows some consistency in your work for the new employer. No one wants to here people who leave their jobs within a very short amount of time.
Josh,
I think the comments about staying at least a year have merit. As someone who looks over resumes on occasion I look at short stints as an indication that a person either causes trouble or cannot learn to fit in. I don’t want to spend time training someone who will just move on when they get to a place where they are not feeling fulfilled. Perhaps you can do something that helps you get more out of what you do.
Also, having a job takes some of the pressure off of getting started with no cash. Eventually you will have to make the jump. Just make sure you have a place to land if things don’t work out. Build up as many contacts as you can and try to burn as few bridges as possible.
well, sounds like pretty good incentive to stay till you don’t have to pay back the $3,500. Also In my opinion the best way to leave one thing and transition to another would be to NOT take a step backwards from a money stand point. Most don’t really want to go backwards in lifestyle even if its temporary. I say stay disciplined, Make and Bank some cash, build clientele, and then flush that job like a stinky turd!