What you must do before you quit your day job.

You've got a great business idea, aren't sure what to do next?

Often this is the time of year where many of us reflect on the year past, our goals, achievements and aspirations. And that can so naturally take us down the path of "where to from here?" or "what's next?". There's a small but important difference between knowing what you are capable of, and doing something about it.

This 'thing' has been percolating around in the back of your head for months (or perhaps years). And the burn to break free from your profession has been eating away at you for years.

At parties, you keep saying to people that 'one day', your are going to do 'that thing'. And so often, the response is "So why don't you?".

I know what that feels like. I faced this very same dilemma 10 years ago (almost to the very day). Before making that leap, I was 20 years into a corporate career (that regular pay cheque is like a heroin addiction), and 1 year into a Masters in Entrepreneurship. i had kids, mortgage, spouse & a 'reputation' to protect (some might call it status).

I knew what I wanted to achieve & why, but I didn't have a clue about the what (product), how or with whom. But eventually, after another 5 years in corporate life, I came to recognise that yearning that I had, just wasn't going to go away. And so I turned my back on both my professional career & traditional education paths, to invest in myself.

10 years ago, I made that leap. Whilst often financially less lucrative than many (though not all) of my peers who remain tied to their professions, after 11 subsequent ventures, I've never once regretted investing in, and backing myself.

And guess what? The world didn't end, the sky didn't come crashing down. I landed on my feet, just as you will. Not only do I really love what I do, & that I couldn't imagine doing anything else, and I get to work with a lot of clever & interesting people who are doing real & valued good in the world.

Ten years on, I can see that my true path was always there, just waiting to be uncovered.

Yes, I had a few mis-steps, and quite a lot of personal challenges and trauma (more than most people), but none of those were really about my choice of profession. If anything, those traumas reinforced my resilience and my faith in my ability to overcome, which are key characteristics of all successful entrepreneurs.

After much questioning and observing other entrepreneurs, I started looking for common character traits required for an entrepreneur to succeed, and I realised that there are common truths in the journeys many entrepreneurs, more than a few of which marry with my own experiences (so much so that I'm almost finished penning them together into a book entitled "Before you quit your day job").

I posted recently that there are 8 real reasons why startups fail, and they boil down to 2 indesputable truths as to why entrepreneurs fail.

So before you quit your day job, forget about logos & business cards, pitching for external investment, building websites and 50 page business plans.

Instead, map out your idea as a 1-page plan & go talk to some people who might be interested in supporting your idea, either as guidance, customers, partners or supporters. Go & test your idea, and find out whether there's an audience and a compelling need for 'that thing'.

2 critical things come to mind, be sure to get your partner on board, and what ever your idea is, make sure that you have fun doing it. My 1st rule of business, is "that it must be fun", and rule #2 is "if it isn't, make it so".

So first comes the vision; next, believe in yourself; then, get a plan, and then invest in your future self. Finally, back yourself by getting into motion. After all is said and done, if you aren't going to push yourself, who else will?

What have you got to lose, apart from another 10 years in corporate life?

A final thought about investing

Many investors say that they invest in team (or scalability, or traction etc). I look at founders; if they don't have what it takes 'in the tank', and are prepared to do whatever it takes, then the rest is just a pipe-dream - because its really the founder who creates everything.

Once you've backed yourself, then you just may have enough real experience to start backing others. Last week, I made my first angel investment, in a couple of founders, whom I believe have what it takes. And I know a number of others who are on the right track that I also like the look of.

Time will tell if my judgement is accurate.

About Daniel
Also traveling under the alias of 'That Startup Guy' , I am a co-founder of StartUp Foundation (The Startup Accelerator for Experienced Professionals) and am intensely, deeply, passionately dedicated to "The intersection between personal mastery & business entrepreneurship".

My goal is to help you, by guiding you through the steps, and past the challenges and pitfalls, to turn that 'Great Idea' into reality, whether it's a business, a product, an app or just finding an answer to a common problem.

At the same time, I'll share with you my own journey, from which you might just draw valuable lessons of your own. I spent 20 years in corporate life before catching the startup bug. (My first venture as an intrapreneur still generates over $10 million in per year). I've since designed, built & launched 14 startups across ecommerce, technology, hospitality, social networking, logistics, financial services and the not-for-profit sectors.

If you've got an experience about startup success (or failure), comment about it. If you've got a question, reach out to me via your preferred social media. Other posts can be found here on Linkedin.