Resigning your job to start a business can be suicidal

I have received a lot of questions about what they should do if they want to quit their Jobs to start their own business.

I graduated with a Bachelors of Civil Engineering in 2004. The plan was to work for three years to gain experience then resign to start my own entity. Its easier said than done. You got to plan properly. The easiest is to start the company while you are still employed (insurance) just in-case things don’t go well I will still have my monthly check. But this one also has a huge challenge.

Your pay check demands you 9-5 everyday, so you do not have a lot of time for your own business. From experience, your company will not grow at the speed it should have if you had  a lot of time for it. Many times you will inject money for the workers. They will benefit from the company profits more than you the owner. 

In 2007, I decided to take the suicide mission. Drop employment and start your own. You got to have a thick skin. I remember we used to be paid on 28th of every month. The first month into self employment was when I knew I was finished. There was no longer the month pay check. This makes you know you are on your own. This opens your capabilities and you start working on overdrive and full throttle. 

However, the suicide mission was a planned mission. What we call calculated risks.

Two years before starting on my own, I started planning. Every month I would buy something for the office. Chair, desk, printer, photocopier, etc etc. So by the end of the two years, I had all the tools, furniture and equipments i needed to set up an office.

Then as the final month was approaching, I decided to pay for one year office Rent, Medical Insurance for one year for two, Food for one year for two in a local restaurant (one plate per day per person). With the three in place, I knew I was ready for the suicide mission.

With that calculated risk, I knew at least one year is sorted. The second year will sort itself along the way. 

One easy calculated risk one can do is to set up rental units which can raise revenue equivalent to their monthly salary, then you hit out. 

It is always advisable to start your own business when you have time for it. Otherwise, you may not go far with it. You will inject a lot of money only to be eaten by the workers. But in trying to execute your suicide mission, calculate the risks very well.

Joel Aita is the CEO of Joadah Consult and author of  An Entreprenuer’s Mind