Should I Quit My Job And Do Something New? Part 2. The Startup Route

Some people are beginning to realise that ‘normal’ jobs don’t quite do it for them. If you’re got that entrepreneurial spirit and ambition, traditional jobs can feel limiting, boring and joyless. If you have permanantly itchy feet and feel frustration within your current and previous jobs then you may be the kind of personality type that would thrive in the startup space. 

Maybe you want the adventure of going out on your own, trusting yourself in the real world, learning at the same time as doing. Maybe you have an idea that keeps popping into your head when you’re doing your day job that you’re desperate to see come to fruition. Maybe you just want to set your own hours and live a more unconventional working life. 

For those of you tempted by going out on your own or joining something in it’s earliest and most exciting phase, then these are for you. 

Joining a start-up

Startups are the sexy option right now. They’re leaning on the bar wearing fashionable glasses, listening intently to your story and whispering all sorts of promises about your future, but should you be listening?

Startups conjure up a lot of excitement, working on the cutting edge, finding exciting solutions to urgent problems and building tight relationships with colleagues. However, for other people, it conjures up fears around working 90-hour weeks, bad conditions, higher chances for failure, and suffering under demanding bosses.

If you know what you want and are selective about what you look for in a startup it can be an exciting new chapter. Startups conjure vivid images so it's important to weigh up the likely realities, and consider what about your preconceptions are un/attractive to you.

Startups provide an intense and wide-ranging experience which may be valuable later in your career. If you’re thinking about starting something yourself one day but want some real experience first, they can be invaluable. The small teams provide an incredible opportunity to set a culture and give you a lot of responsibility and the ability to create lasting systems. This can be hugely exciting, but it can also be a big transition for anyone coming from more structured workplaces that already have processes in place. Embracing chaos and being able to work towards structure is a necessary ability.

Ultimately, if you’re sick of traditional businesses, hierarchies, limited progression, promotion politics and the like, then startups may offer you the escape to that. Startups reject business as usual, they disrupt marketplaces and discard ordinary business norms. If that is attractive to you, it’s definitely worth considering our checklist below. 

• Doing your homework and understanding your biases is crucial. The culture in startups can differ. Put some research into finding their mission statements, business model, who their investors are, research the founders, any interviews they may have done or previous roles.
• Check out our article on whether jumping into a purpose-driven startup is right for you
• Ensure that the mission of the startup aligns with your own goals
• Check out our jobs board for purpose-driven startups
• Check out our collections such as exciting food & drink startups or small and unique companies

Starting a business

Here we will consider 3 paths to launching your own startup (for an in-depth analysis see here). Maybe you’re fed up with having a boss, or have an idea that no one else is doing (or doing well enough), maybe you just want to try something big and have an experience. Creating a startup is a big challenge, and with big challenges come potentially enormous rewards. However, all big decisions like this need very careful planning. 

Firstly, let’s define what we believe a startup to be using a definition by Steve Blank, ‘“a startup is a temporary organisation formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model.”

Startups are not small versions of big companies. They are a collection of people united by a clear problem with a vision for how they can profitably build a solution. All of your ideas are hypotheses until reality proves them right/wrong.

The side project

Side projects are much more than just hobbies, they are indicators of what you are capable of building. In an age where so many people are talkers and so few are doers, side projects can be the factor that sets you apart from the rest of the pack. A side project is a great way of a) testing out an idea you think might someday become a full-time business, and b) building skills that will be valuable in any future career should you decide not to start up. The benefits of a side project are clear: you can keep your job so you don't need to worry about money, you'll be able to build something you're excited about, and you'll develop new skills that will help you in future entrepreneurial endeavours or in a new career.

PRO: By working on side projects you'll be able to test out many business ideas to see which one fits best for you, this will keep your business agile and is low risk. Additionally, there are many unseen career direction benefits. By trying out something you're curious about, you'll explore whether or not it is something you'd really like to do as a full-time job. Finding out that actually, it isn't something you really enjoy in practice is just as valuable as finding out that it is something you'd like to continue. 

CON: It might feel too slow, or not ambitious enough. This is a big barrier, most of us think in all or nothing terms, either "I'm quitting my job and starting a business now or I'll wait to start until I'm ready to do so". The problem with this thinking is that the time is rarely perfect, and you can use the time working on a side project to test out business ideas and build up a business so that you already have a load of the work done by the time you decide to quit. Another con is that the success of your side project will depend on the amount of time and energy you invest into it, which isn't easy when you have full-time employment.

Build a business from your job

Using your job as a platform from which to build a new business is a safe and smart route to entrepreneurship, as long as you can dedicate the time to work on it. Lack of time is the biggest challenge you'll find when building a business alongside full-time employment. It's easy to sideline unpaid work when you're so busy doing your paid work.

PRO: The financial pressure will be lower, as your job is your funding strategy. By reducing the pressure of making money from the outset, you'll hopefully be able to spend more time on the building than the selling. 

CON: Having a full-time job means you'll have less time & energy for you to work on your startup. It's difficult to carve out the time to work on a business when you're working in full-time employment, but if you can negotiate part-time hours, a freelance contract or a sabbatical you'll be able to test out your business idea and feel a bit more secure about things should your business struggle to generate money immediately.

All or nothing

Quitting your job to work full-time on your business is always a temptation when we are ready to launch an idea. If you're seriously considering taking this route, be sure to consider your financial runway and what needs to happen before you take the leap. 

PRO: You'll have lots of time to work on your business without having to worry about your day job. Having all of your time to dedicate to the business should mean that you'll make progress and generate the first revenue more quickly. 

CON: You'll have to deal with the fear and pressure. When you quit your job to go solo you're putting a lot of pressure on yourself to make it work very quickly. Unless you're able to raise investment and pay yourself a salary, you should be prepared to feel the intensity.

For further reading check out:

• The Virgin Startup Business Plan Template
• Check out How Do I Pick The Right Startup Idea?
• Read Antonio's Escape Story: Launching A Product Startup
• 10 Spending Mistakes Startups Make and How To Avoid Them
• And finally for the most adventurous of you, Launch A Startup While Travelling The World - Why Not?