6 Signs It Is Time to Quit Your 9-to-5 and Start a Business

So you are thinking about quitting your job and starting a business.

As a lifelong entrepreneur and an Accredited Small Business Consultant, I will be the first one to tell you it is not for everyone. But there are some real signs and signals I have seen in clients and in friends over the years that it is time to take the leap. So I am going to share what those are with you.

I want you to tell me which ones apply to you, and maybe even add your own in the comments so we can inspire others if they are considering the same leap.

Sign 1: Your Vision for Your Life Outstrips Your Employer's Budget

It is easier to stay in a life smaller than what you want in order to meet your needs for things like security. But what about your needs for growth, and joy, and freedom, and change?

Here is what you need to know as an entrepreneur. You can meet your needs for security AND your needs for purpose and fulfillment. It is just going to take some courage and a few really smart steps to get you going.

Sign 2: You Are Bored or Burning Out in Your Career

This is not to say that a person cannot burn out in their business. Burnout is just as much about our habits as it is our interests or passions. The first stage of burnout is actually called the honeymoon phase, so passion does not guarantee anything. But it does at least give you a fighting chance.

The energy, the excitement, and sometimes the abject terror that comes with having your own business keeps you from ever having a boring day.

There is always more to learn, and try, and have fun with, and do. If you love to be challenged and you love to make your own schedule and choose your own focuses, then it really might be time to call it quits on your job.

Sign 3: You Have a Solution to a Problem

Money follows value. You do not make it big by just doing anything. You make it big by finding a certain set of people who have a certain problem they cannot fix and require a certain set of skills.

Here is the thing about this sign: the problem you solve in the marketplace could be anything, as long as you know the audience that values that solution and is willing to pay for it. BUT, and be sure to write this down because it is a big old but, how big of a problem you solve, or how well or fast you solve it, is going to determine the extent of your financial success.

So my point is this: it is not enough to have a business idea or a passion. You have to have a market for it. And you determine that with really good market research into not just your industry but your ideal clients, which is something I teach inside my program.

Sign 4: You Have a Business and Marketing Plan Already Done

One of the biggest mistakes I see business owners make is confusing a business idea for a business plan.

It is not enough to have ideas. Those ideas need to be validated with market research and strong planning and decision-making at the onset.

In fact, it has been shown that a strong business plan makes you 152% more likely to even launch, and 260% more likely to be able to scale. So before you quit your job, follow the steps I teach inside Breakthrough Boss to conduct solid market research and design a strong business and marketing plan that works for you, not against you. Then you can call it quits with your first clients and customers already lining up.

Sign 5: You Are Financially Ready

Ready looks different for everybody. Some people are going to seek outside funding to give themselves startup capital, including their own salary, so that they have enough to live off of while they are getting their business off the ground.

Others might be living off a spouse's income while they get the business going. Or they might start their business part-time while holding down their job, socking away all their profits to build a nest egg or enough business runway to finally take the leap.

How much startup capital or financial runway is enough? That exact number depends on four things:

• Your industry
• Your goals
• Your expenses
• Your skills

Since these are the things that determine how quickly you are going to turn a profit.

A good rule of thumb that works for most people is anywhere between 3 to 12 months of business (and maybe personal) expenses tucked away. That can be a lot, maybe even unrealistic. This is why I teach and really recommend you start with a streamlined business model. One that will maximize sales within weeks, maybe months, and not the average 2 to 3 years it takes most businesses to become profitable.

But the most important thing to be aware of when it comes to being financially ready is your own psychology.

I have seen people who work better under financial pressure. You give them 12 months of startup capital and they will mess around and find out they did not do much with it. But you give them four weeks to get solvent and they will pull out all the stops.

Other people work very poorly under pressure. You give them four weeks and they will buckle, crawl under the covers, and stay there in paralysis. But give them a nice long runway and they make smart, calculated decisions that create real financial results.

So in the words of Socrates: know thyself. What is your risk tolerance? How do you work best?

Sign 6: You Are Ready to Challenge Yourself

I often say that business is a people-growing machine. In terms of how it will challenge you, it is right up there with marriage and parenting.

Most entrepreneurs get deep into personal development because they quickly figure out that their business only grows as much as they do. This means gaining business skills, but also changing your attitude, your mindset, your approach to problems, your success habits, taking better care of yourself, so that you can show up (as we say in Breakthrough Boss) as your best self, not your stressed self.

Because let's face it: life is messy, and business is going to be hard sometimes. Not necessarily because it is always complex. It is often really simple, just really difficult, too.

True entrepreneurs relish that challenge. But the best entrepreneurs learn to take impeccable care of themselves through it. Emphasis on learn.

To quote Zig Ziglar: "You do not need to be great at any of this stuff to start, but you have to start to be great."

This means two things: you need to start something, anything, just to get anywhere. But you also need to start practicing great things. Great habits. Great attitude. Great skills. Great willingness to keep learning.

The cool thing is, you can do that. It might be hard as hell, do not get me wrong, but so is your 9-to-5. As someone who has been on welfare, was a teen mom, struggled with addiction, was in abusive relationships, and lives with genetic conditions that can wear me down, trust me when I say I know what is hard. And I know you have probably done harder things than this.

What's Next?

Remind yourself often. And if you want to know where to start, check out my free class, Profits, Not Problems. You will learn which five mistakes to avoid, and the six skills you will want to master in order to plan, build, and scale a profitable business.

What business are you thinking of starting, or what signs are you experiencing that it is time to take that leap? Let me know in the comments. And remember: you are capable. You have got this.

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