Don't Quit Your Good Job For Entrepreneurship

We are in unprecedented times. Not only with trying to find a new normal during the pandemic, but the way of work has changed significantly. While there are countless articles discussing the “Great Resignation ,” I caution overwhelmed women in leadership who want to leave their jobs and start a business.

I get it. Entrepreneurship looks very alluring in the age of social media and overnight millionaires who tell you to quit your job and start an Airbnb, dropshipping business, multi-level marketing, real estate, or whatever they’re selling to promise quick riches.

You want to have freedom and work less. Again, I get it. Been there, done that. However, entrepreneurs work harder and longer hours in the background YEARS before a profit is realized or they’re seen driving a fancy car on Instagram (which is rented by many influencers by the way).

How do I know this so well? I DID IT.

While I don’t condone staying in a hostile work environment when you are about to snap, I do caution you about the unintended consequences of jumping out of a good job into entrepreneurship without a parachute.

Nine years ago, I resigned from a successful career to start a small business. I worked in a normalized hostile work environment for far too long and didn’t realize that it would have a significant impact on my performance as an entrepreneur.

My friends thought that I had lost my mind and honestly, they were right, but I wouldn’t admit it. After a series of events, and being on the brink of a breakdown, I resigned and ran away from my job, everything, and everyone I knew like Tina Turner ran from Ike in that white suit in, “What’s Love Got to Do With It.”

As an early entrepreneur with a network marketing company, I quickly learned it’s 90% mental and 10% action. I failed miserably and could no longer deny what was evident to everyone but me. I was in trouble physically and mentally.

Was resigning from my career the right thing to do? Well, that depends. I was 3.5 years away from retiring with a full pension, but I know for sure that I wouldn’t have lived another year without either having a heart attack, stroke, or just falling apart mentally.?

I was psychologically unemployable, so I didn’t want a job. But I was also a terrible entrepreneur because I didn’t have the mental capacity and brainpower to get my business off the ground. I failed epically and miserably for five years before I started to see the light in the tunnel.

True success as an entrepreneur cannot be obtained without fully healing.

I caution broken, overwhelmed, bitter, and distraught women against leaving their high-paying jobs for the glory of entrepreneurship without adequately addressing their mental capacity to succeed. These are three things to consider before you make the shift.

1. Admit That You Are Overwhelmed and Stressed Out

You can’t change what you refuse to acknowledge, and I was the Queen of Denial. Negative circumstances that are showing up in your life are red flags that you are in trouble – disease, divorce, depression, anxiety, and arguing with coworkers or leaders. You must ADMIT that you have something going on in your life and make a DECISION to change it before it’s too late.

Create a self-care plan and choose to get your health in order before making any drastic decisions. Don’t make a permanent decision based on a temporary circumstance. Check out the self-care insight offered in my recent?Forbes ?feature. If you make yourself a priority, you may not have to leave your job.

2. Save Your Money

Create a “break in case of emergency” fund, otherwise known as “go to hell money.” I was fortunate to have saved nearly $100k, but that was not enough. Do you have enough money to support your lifestyle for 2-3 years if you want to be an entrepreneur?

What are you willing to give up and sacrifice to work yourself out of your job with a strategic plan? Will you downsize your car, sell your house, turn off your cable, downsize your cell phone bill, stop shopping, and stop eating out?

Entrepreneurship is hard and if you quit your job thinking that you’ll be rich or able to match your income within a year, think again. It’s a whole new ball game, even for high achievers. The mental strain alone will bury you. Save your money.

3. Create an Exit Plan

Don’t run away or quit without a strategic plan for how you’re going to replace your income. This is especially important for people with families and mortgages. There’s nothing like losing assets to give you a wake-up call.

What kind of business do you want to create? Do you know how to market yourself or get the word out that you exist? Who are your customers? Do you have enough money to invest in somebody to show you the way?

There are plenty of people out here looking for wet behind the ear entrepreneurs who think they know everything, want to get rich quick, and have money to invest. You will have a bullseye on your forehead (as I did), and you’ll find that whatever money you saved will run through your fingers like sand. Be wise, prudent, and strategic.

By no means am I discouraging you from living your passion and starting a business. My goal is to ensure that you do it from a place of a rational and healthy mindset. Leaving in panic, bitterness, and brokenness will set you back years as an entrepreneur.

There are other options to consider. Get another job with HIGHER PAY, take medical leave, or work with someone that will assist you with creating a clear vision of your future. Many women underestimate how hard it is to create a successful small business. Doing it from a state of mental anguish creates an entirely different dynamic that will ensure extended failure.

I don’t have any regrets about resigning from my career and making the decisions that I did. It needed to happen for me to have credibility in this space of success and burnout. But if I had to do it all over again, I wish I would have taken the advice offered in this newsletter. I’m not for the struggle ladies. Free your mind and the rest will follow.

What advice do you have for women in leadership as they are considering leaving their jobs to start a business?

Christy Rutherford is an executive leadership advisor and high-level business consultant. Her clients have received +$10 million in raises and promotions since June 2020. Her work closes the promotion gap for exceptional women. A Harvard Business School Alumna and certified Executive Leadership Coach from Georgetown University, Christy is also a 6-time best-selling author.

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