Why I’m No Longer Advocating That You Should Quit Your Job

My truth:

After nine months of being self-employed full-time, I’m now looking for a remote job.

This comes after I enthusiastically wrote about quitting a “good job” back in September.  This comes after living off a sizable savings while having clients. This comes after building my side-hustle for four years beforequitting my job. This comes after hitting $10,000 months in contracts. This even comes after drastically down-sizing my expenses, with the exception of keeping my car.

Entrepreneurship is not meant to be glamourized.

And if I made this mistake and mislead you to believe you can just quit your job and travel the world, I apologize. I also apologize on behalf of those who are feeding you the same information and are not giving you a real insight into what entrepreneurship really is and the grit that it takes to stay there. We live in an Instagramesque world that paints this pretty picture of a good-looking person running a business from their laptop on a remote island. And while that maybe their reality, you don’t know the struggles behind it.

Like when a client doesn’t pay you on time or at all. And it’s not your fault.

Listen, it happens. Even with contracts involved, it happens. And when it does, will you be prepared to wait until they do? Do you know how to attract new clients or opportunities in the meantime? And do you have processes in line for when a client refuses to pay you at all? If you answered NO to any of these questions, you’re not ready to run your business full-time.

Or when you’ve never had a client, don’t have any savings but quit your job anyway.

No further comment on that. *blank stare*

What about stepping out on faith?

Sure, it takes faith to even want to pursue being a business owner. And it takes a special kind of faith to travel while running and building a business, but have some common sense! Don’t be silly and think you can just jump without a plan. Have a plan and be willing to adjust the plan when necessary. Don’t listen to people on the Internet telling you can “just do it” like Nike. You can, but do it with a plan.

Why am I tell you this now?

Because I’m speaking from experience. I’m also speaking as a woman with no children at the moment. I’m not responsible for anyone, not even a dog (lol) and that’s all for a reason right now. I make the decisions I make because I don’t have anyone depending on me for survival.

What steps can you take if you really do want to quit your job, run your business full-time and travel?

First, start with something that can be done 100% online. Whatever you’re great at, figure out how to package it up, whether it’s a product or service, and start a side-hustle. Plant your seeds. Build your network. Know that it may take at least a year to start seeing results. Create a plan that is aligned with where you want to travel to. Look up the cost of living of places and revise your plan, but don’t stay in “plan mode” forever, either.

Any regrets?

No regrets! I don’t regret my decision because again, I don’t have anyone depending on me for survival. But when you know better, you do better.