Has anyone ended up regretting quitting a good job for their own business? • Hacker News Board

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

#21

Post by yankeeracer73 » Tue, Jul 06, 2010, 2:13 PM UTC

nycer2030 wrote: post #17

Thanks for the amazing feedback, everybody. I think the point that a lot of you have said-- essentially, "so what if you fail? You can find another job" -- really resonates with me. I'm leaning towards doing this now because I have no kids or mortgage at this point. I really appreciate all the good responses in this thread. It's definitely a scary, but exciting, time as we consider it. The one other factor is the dro…

You adjust. My income dropped enormously when I set out on my own, but you also just start to buy less stuff, treat going out to dinner as a rare present to yourself vs. a 3 times a week thing, drop to more economical ways of travel, etc. After awhile you don't even notice it and even look back on your old spending ways as a little ridiculous.

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

#22

Post by pfedor » Tue, Jul 06, 2010, 4:45 PM UTC

kadavy wrote: post #10

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 defin…

"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?"

Well, there's this little thing that you will be out of a few years worth of salary. You may think it's worth it, but that's hardly "nothing to lose".

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

#23

Post by staunch » Tue, Jul 06, 2010, 9:42 PM UTC

pwim wrote: post #2

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.

Many people work their way up a corporate ladder and end up getting paid more than they could by any other company. The company likes it because they know they have a "slave" and the employee likes it because he's getting paid more than he's worth on the open market.

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

#24

Post by jexe » Tue, Jul 06, 2010, 10:51 PM UTC

vincekrish wrote: post #19

jexe wrote: post #15

I took the leap a couple years ago, started a startup, ran out of cash, and got a day job again. Incinerating your savings at a startup only to end up back as a cube warrior is pretty sobering. Even so, I never looked back on the (great) job I had with regret. Aside from not seeing some good friends every day, I didn't miss it at all, and now I'm at a far better gig than I was at the last time I was a happy wage slav…

how tough was it to get a regular job? Was the company apprehensive about hiring somebody who left a good gig earlier to take the startup route?

Not tough at all - the company I joined is another (larger) startup, so I think that if anybody understands this kind of choice, it's them. :)

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

#25

Post by kadavy » Thu, Jul 08, 2010, 7:55 PM UTC

pfedor wrote: post #22

kadavy wrote: post #10

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 defin…

"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?" Well, there's this little thing that you will be out of a few years worth of salary. You may think it's worth it, but that's hard…

A detail I forgot to mention was that he reasoned I would be able to command a higher salary should I fail, which would presumably cancel out the lost wages.

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

#26

Post by keeptrying » Thu, Jul 08, 2010, 8:16 PM UTC

staunch wrote: post #23

pwim wrote: post #2

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.

Many people work their way up a corporate ladder and end up getting paid more than they could by any other company. The company likes it because they know they have a "slave" and the employee likes it because he's getting paid more than he's worth on the open market.

This is very very true. Golden handcuff.