That’s essentially what I ended up doing. After consulting for a while, I realized that my time spent at my day job was getting in the way of how much I could earn consulting; at that point, I went part-time at my day job while I ramped up my business, and a couple months later, quit my day job completely.

However, I didn’t start my consulting business thinking that it would eventually become my full-time gig. When I started consulting, I just liked having the extra money–which was wonderful.

Having run by business for nearly 5 years, growing it steadily during the worst economic downturn in decades, and being able to QUADRUPLE my former day-job salary, I’d offer the following advice to aspiring entrepreneurs:
–>Don’t overthink things; just start doing something, and be persistent. Your efforts will snowball over time.
–>Get your product/service offered to customers as soon as possible. This lets you test your idea quickly to see if it’s viable, and gives you valuable feedback from customers.
–>Research whether there’s a market for your product/service. Don’t spend a ton of time on this, but get enough info to make a decision. I have a couple articles on my blog where I show how to identify a profitable niche.
–>Make a BRIEF business plan. Don’t go all-out, just write down a handful of bullet points to clarify your business.
–>Start your business as a side hustle while keeping your day job. Once you’ve grown it to the point where you have a reliable minimum monthly income, then you can think about quitting your day job.
–>Don’t use debt to finance your business. Debt creates risk and stress, which can lead you to make poor decisions. Figure out how to bootstrap your business instead.

Following my dream and creating my own business has truly been life-changing, and has completely changed my worldview; I’m no longer dependent on a single employer, and I continually see new business opportunities.

As a result of my daily efforts to build my own business and make it succeed, I feel empowered and happier. I complain less, and when I find myself complaining, I try to refocus on how I can change the situation instead of just bellyaching about it. I’m modeling those behaviors for my kids as well, and teaching them about entrepreneurship and how it can lead to greater independence.

You can check out an interview I recently did where I talk about how I made the switch from employee to consultant, and where I talk about some of my initial fears & doubts, and give actual income & rate numbers:
http://www.startmyconsultingbusiness.com/how-i-made-the-switch-from-employee-to-consultant.

Greg Miliates
http://www.StartMyConsultingBusiness.com

Risky? Indeed. But life is sooo short and you can die anytime so you have to risk it all and chase your dream. There is nothing to fear but fear itself.

So it goes…

-dp

First, based on my clients, I have noticed that it is best to GROW INTO A BUSINESS instead of GO INTO A BUSINESS. I think this agrees with the spirit of your original post. I know many people who are making a ton of money on the side jobs – but they still have the “security” of a day job. One friend of mine quit his day job 6 months ago after seeing his part time business pull in over 4 times his “job” income for years. NOt many of us want to risk it all.

Second, the question of “what if it does not work” is one with a lot of assumptions. You assume that after giving it a go you will be the same person. You assume that you will not have uncovered other opportunities. One client of mine went for it in a VC funded business. It did not work, but the connections he made have given him a great deal of work in other areas since then. He has never gone back to his plan B (which was to return to his old job) since he keeps finding new paths.

A lot of these issues are strictly fear. And the fear is real. A great resource for logically dealing with fear is Pamela Slims book “Escape from Cubicle Nation”.

My wife (of two years) and I have been blessed beyond measure and have worked extremely hard to put ourselves in a debt-free position. We finally made our last mortgage payment in March and have almost rebuilt an appropriate emergency fund. Unfortunately, we have recently realized that a lifetime of working multiple jobs while scrimping and saving to pay off debt has led us into a sudden brick wall. We don’t know how to do anything other than scrimp and save! We have no hobbies, few friends at the same stage in life, and little real desire to change either of these things.

I know this is a problem that many GRS readers might like to have, but it is still a real problem. Our level of motivation has been so high up to this point, that the loss of a tangible goal is concerning. Work is still enjoyable, but available time is in short supply. Is there any help available? We knew how to be poor; we’re just having growing pains learning how to not be poor. What is the next goal? Where is the new fun?

I am a law student and I have racked up a lot of debt only to realize that I don’t want to go into the law at all. I too, and apparently many others here, want to be a writer and it’s all I can think about. So if things don’t work out for me before graduation, I’ll be in the odd position of having to find a day-job that I’ll simply be expecting to quit! Hopefully it won’t come to that!

And one thing I’d like to note about your article. If your dream was to be a civil rights lawyer, going to a law class would be more likely to turn you off of your dream than give you a good idea of what it’s about!

Like you said, some jobs can’t really be test-driven; in that case, I’d recommend doing something that connects you emotionally (sit in on a trial) or personally (interview someone who does it for a living) with the career you’re thinking about. That will give you better information and motivate you (or demotivate you!) down the line.

Thanks again!

Or rather – it is ALL good advice – except for the American Idol bit.

If you want to be a Professional musician – the LAST thing that you want to do is to enter contests, especially those in which you sign away an interest in the rest of your career in exchange for the “exposure” they are going to give you.

In fact, contests of all sorts should be avoided by professionals of all sorts.

The Graphic Artists’ Guild has a lot to say on the subject of contests & it is a worthwhile read.

In short, if you are a pro, you deserve to be paid for your work. Everyone who works for free or for too little hurts your entire industry – whatever that may be.

The 9 to 5 grind is soul-sucking and unnatural based on the community-based, hunter-gatherer/merchant societies of our past. It is a product of the Industrial Revolution. Man is not meant to be stuck in a cubicle…

PS I just want to say that I LOVE your writing, Sierra. Your articles absolutely capture my attention all the way through reading them and you have some fantastic advice/input.

The second one is really important. It’s tempting to go with the practical “what will sell; what can I do” ideas. But you’ll burn out if “what you can do” is not something you want to master. Mastery requires focused, dedicated, patient practice. A business based around what you want to master provides that setting. A writing career is great way to master writing. A sewing career is a great way to master sewing. A programming career is a great way programming. A business is a great way to master business.

When you show up to work with the mindset of a master, work is not a job. It’s a practice. When you treat work as a job, you do it because you have to. How you feel during and after is highly erratic. You may feel excited going in, realize you’re not feeling inspired, and grind your way through until you have something. When you treat work as a practice, you find as much value in going through the motions as you do with the end result. If you’re not feeing inspired, that’s OK. You practice. You play in the moment. In the end you feel relaxed, calm, happy.

So what I’m saying is the “A dream job is still a job” may be misleading. Doing what you love — what you want to master — won’t neccessarily kill the fire. It just depends on what kind of relationship you have with your “dream job”.

As someone who quit my day job a year ago to become freelancer, I can wholeheartedly recommend it… but only to people who are willing to take into account the risk, hard work and preparation required to make it a success. It’s not all “sunshine and rainbows” and I too have seen many businesses fail. Some are due to bad luck, but I believe that there are many steps you can take before making the jump to give yourself a running start.

As a bit of background, I am also a writer, specializing in marketing and corporate communications. I am single, with no children and living abroad far from my family. This comes with the advantage of only needing to support myself, but the disadvantage of having no one to lean on financially. Therefore it was crucial that I could support myself from the moment I started my business!

Beyond the great advice Sierra shared, here are a few things I did in preparation for quitting my day job.
– I picked a quitting date, and then spent two year laying the groundwork to make the move
– I saved 5 months of living expenses (factoring in increased healthcare payments, increased energy expenses from working at home, etc), plus enough to cover the costs running my business in the first year
– I maintained good relationships with all my former employers (which led to many current assignments, but also a network I could turn to in case I needed to return to full-time employment!)
– I told absolutely everyone I knew that I was planning to start my own business and what my specialties were
- I took a course at the local chamber of commerce to make sure I fully understood the costs, tax implications, and administration requirements of being my own boss
– I attending as many free networking events as I could within my sector
– I did small projects for free to build my portfolio and references
– Two months before I quit, I secured 2 major projects to ensure I would be generating income from the moment I went freelance

In my first year as a freelancer, I have worked harder than ever before in my life. But I have never felt more rewarded and in control of my own future.

Having started a successful a carpet cleaning business with my ex spouse, I can tell you that launching your own business is HARD, HARD work. Lots of hours, stress, networking, strategizing, etc. It can be highly rewarding, and it can also lead to exhaustion and burn out.

Several years ago I collected vintage collectibles and clothes/accessories and made a very good business selling them online while also working my regular job. My vintage side business became so successful that I found myself working 60 hrs a week between the 2 jobs. The side business, which had initially started out as a fun passion, became A JOB. I burned out after about 2 years – and I had to make a tough choice.

I closed the side business and I stayed at my day job, and I have no regrets. I now telecommute, I have great health insurance that really paid off when I was diagnosed with cancer, and I get fantastic benefits.
Now that I’m not commuting, I have more time and I plan to relaunch my vintage side business as a `hobby’. I’ll have the extra income but won’t ever let myself be so consumed again!

A high percentage of small businesses fail after the first few years, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ever try. Just be realistic about it, and if you’re not comfortable with a high degree of risk, don’t gamble everything including the kitchen sink for it.

I sure am glad that he started our company because I wouldn’t have this job if he never started it, and I like this job more than I’ve liked previous jobs. So not all businesses end in failure. Some risks and some businesses pay off.

Don’t be scared to start a business, but you have to know what you’re willing to risk, plus it helps if you go into it wisely and not with rose colored glasses. Some people are foolish when they start their own businesses, it helps to go into it with wisdom.

EDIT: btw companies aren’t always secure I mean look at what happened to Enron. I’m sure many people who used to work at Enron thought they had a job for life and a pension to go with it. Um it was April who got interviewed at I will teach you to be rich, not Sierra, the two blogs coincidentally had similar articles on the same day.

So those who long to do something else are actually quite unlucky.

She is just trying to give you general advice, and you’re supposed to figure it out as you go along in your business. I don’t think that Ms. Black was giving a backhanded compliment,because some talented people do want to go to work, come home and forget about work. Not everyone wants to make their passion their job.

My mom has a hairstyling business, where for many years she worked on her own, she finally wants to sell it and retire in in 2011. She is successful at it, but it is still a job. She financed it on her own, but she knew that she didn’t have a bunch of money to spend on it. She knew what her limits would be.

By the way, my mom started it when I was 16, and she had to support herself and me, because my mother raised me for the most part. My mom was divorced when she started her business, a lot of people get in over their heads, they get excited about going on business on their own, but its risky, you have to be prepared for the risks.

Not everyone fails, my mom made good money at it, its been slow lately because of the recession, but it provided us with a good income, my mom learned how to cut hair fast and cut it well.

My mom paid off most of her mortgage with her business,was able to pay half of my college, do remodeling on the house, she worked her butt off to make it a successful, sometimes she had rude customers but she put up with them because she wanted their money. There were times where she got frustrated with competition from Great Clips and other big companies that she had to compete with. She finally hired other hairstylists to work along with her to help her out because she was getting good word of mouth.

It wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine, it was work, there were some tears,sure it was her business, but she worked very hard to make it successful. Not everyone fails. When people post their “failure” stories, please remember that not everyone goes into the details of why they fail.

Some people borrow too much money from the bank,some people aren’t money savvy, others trust the wrong people, some don’t really think about long-term consequences, etc. There are so many things that can go wrong that a financial writer can’t cover everything that can go wrong.

Its possible to be successful but it takes a lot of sweat to get there. Even J.D. Roth said that he works on GRS 50-60 hours a week on the blog but he’s trying to cut down to spend more time with his wife and friends.

A lot of people are posting how they’re glad they have their day jobs, well okay, great, but the president of your companies, had to take a risk at some point and go off on their own and start their companies, then they retire and pass it on to their kids or a board of directors or whomever.

Where would you be if someone from your company hadn’t said to himself/herself, “gee I think I want to start a company, I’m going to see what it’ll be like having my own business.” Bill Gates wouldn’t be Bill Gates if he had worked for someone else.
Microsoft wouldn’t be here, and I know there’s controversy about Microsoft but cut me some slack, I’m trying to make a point that everyone, even big companies had to take a risk at some point and started out small.

Bill Gates had a dream to start his own company, he could have been scared and stuck to a regular job if he wanted to, but now his company employs hundreds of employees and in turn they make computer users lives better each day.

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/11/11/quitting-the-day-job-finding-the-guts-to-pursue-your-dreams/

JD got where he is — including being in the position to help several other writers and who knows how many others develop their self-employment plans — through a lot of hard work, careful planning, and honesty with himself and his readers. Congratulations on building a successful business, JD! I don’t think anyone who has followed you closely through this journey thinks you are being unrealistic. While I hope you won’t over-extend yourself again, I do look forward to the “build a blog” project, which will give people a real example and hopefully more hard data to consider as they weigh different options for starting or building their own business.

FWIW, I am also in the camp of those who have decided to keep a desk job for stability reasons. Eventually I will probably try something more entrepreneurial, but for now I am fine with working for a larger organization — gives my life a lot of stability and is relatively low-stress.

I hope this article encourages more people to take the plunge and start living a better life for themselves

Thanks for the back-handed compliment there. But actually, being happy and fulfilled in work that often comes home with me at the end of the day AND having a steady paycheck, benefits and job security is my idea of the best of both worlds. Good luck to you, though.

You may not be in your dream job, but most people can not afford to be out of work for an extended period of time.