Has anyone ended up regretting quitting a good job for their own business?

#1

Post by nycer2030 » Mon, Jul 05, 2010, 11:49 PM UTC

There are a lot of questions here with people that hate their jobs-- but that's not my situation.

Has anyone here regretted their decision to quit a good, well-paying job to pursue their own business?

I have a great job that pays very well, offers excellent benefits, and has a good work-life balance. That said, my partner and I have spent the last few years building our business and have, for a while now, been at the point where it really deserves our full attention. Quitting would cut my income by a little more than half.

Have you been in a similar situation, taken the leap, and then wished you hadn't? Why?

Re: Has anyone ended up regretting quitting a good job for their own business?

#2

Post by pwim » Tue, Jul 06, 2010, 12:21 AM UTC

If you take the leap and regret it, what is to prevent you from getting another good job? You'll probably regret it if you don't take the chance, so I'd go for it.

Re: Has anyone ended up regretting quitting a good job for their own business?

#3

Post by neovive » Tue, Jul 06, 2010, 1:53 AM UTC

The answer typically depends on the circumstances and how much is at risk. If you have a family to support and your startup does not succeed (especially in this difficult job market) then regret will likely set in.

Re: Has anyone ended up regretting quitting a good job for their own business?

#4

Post by yankeeracer73 » Tue, Jul 06, 2010, 2:02 AM UTC

I haven't regretted quitting a good job to start a business, but I miss certain things about that job: being on a large team, office camaraderie, a dependence on a nice salary and not worrying at all about money (we're bootstrapped so we're constantly worried about money both for the business and personally,) people always taking my calls and responding because i was from a name-brand company. All that said, I was just remarking to my wife today that I wouldn't trade anything for the flexibility I have now running my own business.

Re: Has anyone ended up regretting quitting a good job for their own business?

#5

Post by kareemm » Tue, Jul 06, 2010, 2:08 AM UTC

What are you optimizing for? Income? Learning? Benefits? Status? Long-term family stability?

In a quest to optimize for learning and connections, I quit my cushy corp gig to found a startup. I cut my income from 120k w/ benefits to 54k w/ no benefits.

I didn't regret it for a second because I learned a ton and I met a slew of new and fascinating people (aside from launching a product, building a team, raising money, getting customers, etc.)

The world is full of well-paying gigs for smart people. Go do your startup.

Re: Has anyone ended up regretting quitting a good job for their own business?

#6

Post by naner » Tue, Jul 06, 2010, 2:43 AM UTC

> I have a great job that pays very well, offers excellent benefits, and has a good work-life balance. That said, my partner and I have spent the last few years building our business and have, for a while now, been at the point where it really deserves our full attention. Quitting would cut my income by a little more than half.

Imagine you're working full time on your own business and you get an offer for [your current job] at twice your current income with excellent benefits. Do you take it?

Re: Has anyone ended up regretting quitting a good job for their own business?

#7

Post by ufomuffin » Tue, Jul 06, 2010, 2:51 AM UTC

kareemm wrote: post #5

What are you optimizing for? Income? Learning? Benefits? Status? Long-term family stability? In a quest to optimize for learning and connections, I quit my cushy corp gig to found a startup. I cut my income from 120k w/ benefits to 54k w/ no benefits. I didn't regret it for a second because I learned a ton and I met a slew of new and fascinating people (aside from launching a product, building a team, raising money,…

That's right, in my case, the first time I tried to do my own business I didn't plan it well, I had to look for a job offer and I learned that as long as you have good skills you'll always find good pay. Building your own business IS the way to go.

Re: Has anyone ended up regretting quitting a good job for their own business?

#8

Post by dennisgorelik » Tue, Jul 06, 2010, 2:54 AM UTC

You may try to quit your job gradually -- talk to your boss and explain that you cannot dedicate as much time to your job anymore and can work only ~3 day per week (with reduction of pay of course). When (if) your new business really picks up -- you would be able to make safe transition to your full-time start-up involvement.

Re: Has anyone ended up regretting quitting a good job for their own business?

#9

Post by megablast » Tue, Jul 06, 2010, 3:18 AM UTC

yankeeracer73 wrote: post #4

I haven't regretted quitting a good job to start a business, but I miss certain things about that job: being on a large team, office camaraderie, a dependence on a nice salary and not worrying at all about money (we're bootstrapped so we're constantly worried about money both for the business and personally,) people always taking my calls and responding because i was from a name-brand company. All that said, I was ju…

The other thing I found was that I was more productive when I was working fulltime, than when I had more time to work on my own project. I worked better when I had less time, since I was more focused, would only work on the most important stuff, and only had a few hours to get something done.

You may miss this, but hey, go for it anyway. If you leave on a good note, then there is always a chance of going back.

Re: Has anyone ended up regretting quitting a good job for their own business?

#10

Post by kadavy » Tue, Jul 06, 2010, 3:24 AM UTC

I'll never forget what a wise entrepreneur once said to me as I was scared of going out on my own:

"You have nothing to lose. If you quit your job and start your own company, and fail, you'll be much better off than if you hadn't. If you go look for a new job, you will have run your own company. Would an employer rather hire someone who hasn't run their own company, or someone who has?"

Running your own company definitely brings with it valuable lessons. If I were to get a job today, I would have a completely new perspective on the concerns of my superiors, and what really matters in a company's day-to-day operations. Before working for myself, I didn't feel any motivation at my job because I often felt I could make better decisions than my superiors. If it came down to me needing to get a job, I would clearly know whether this was really true or not.