Most people who start an online business either have a day job or just got fired and are looking for a different way to make a living.
If you have your day job and taking this online business as a side hustle, my recommendation is not to quit it just yet, in this article I am going to provide you with 3 reasons why you should not leave your day job and when it is a great time to do so.
You’ve had your side hustle going on for a few months now and you’re looking to quit your job and focus on your hustle. But, is it a good idea? Are you ready to take the plunge?
3 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Quit Your Day Job Just Yet
Most people like to quit their job and live the best life money can afford without having any boss on their backs.
Make no mistake, we’re all for entrepreneurship, but analyze your situation first and see if you’re making the right decision. Here are some reasons why you shouldn’t quit your day job just yet.
Your Side Hustle Income Hasn’t Replaced Your Day Job Income Yet
Let’s face it, most people have jobs because they need money to be able to pay bills and buy nice things for themselves, all these things need money.
If your side hustle does not make you enough money to cover those needs, you need to keep your day job at least for now.
You really shouldn’t quit your job if your side hustle isn’t even generating enough profit yet. You don’t want to lose your main source of income now, do you?
If you don’t have any money saved up, how are you going to put food on the table? It would be irresponsible of you if you quit without thinking your finances through, especially if you’ve got family depending on you.
You Still Enjoy And Love Your Day Job
Sometimes you have been doing something for some time and you became very good at it and enjoyed doing that job, for me, this is when I was teaching at an engineering school, I just loved it and it was very difficult to quit that job.
It’s going to be hard to leave your job behind if you know you’re going to miss it. You’ve probably built relationships with your co-workers and you’d feel sad if you don’t see them and get to hang out with them nearly every day.
If you’re not ready to say goodbye yet, then stay a bit longer. Your side hustle can wait.
Likewise, if you feel like you’ve got a good chance of moving up the ladder and it’s something you want to go for, then don’t leave just yet.
If you’ve got a stable job with good benefits, then you may want to think extra hard before quitting. Weigh the pros and cons so you can make an informed decision.
Do not feel the pressure online, most gurus will urge you to quit your day job so that you can buy their course, and some of them will even mock you, I do not say stay there forever, what I am saying is that just quit when you feel you are ready to do so.
You’re Not Sure If Your Side Hustle Will Remain Profitable For The Foreseeable Future
You love working on your side hustle, but you’re not sure if it’s going to be profitable for much longer.
Sure, you can look for other side hustles, but it’s going to mean starting from scratch. In that case, you will need to delay handing in your resignation letter.
Just remember that when you do decide to focus on your side hustle, you’re going to be your boss.
This means you’re going to pay your taxes, insurance, business expenses, etc. As you can see, it’s going to take a toll on your finances if you don’t think everything through.
When is the right time to quit your day job?
This depends on the person there is no general rule here, but from my experience, if you think about quitting your job at least you need to meet this one condition.
Make sure your side hustle makes at least 3 times your monthly expenses for at least 3 months. Remember I said your monthly expenses and not your monthly salary. Here is my reasoning behind this suggestion.
3 times your expenses for three months, means that you will have savings for at least 9 months of your expenses, this is your emergency fund, if your blog got hacked, your youtube channel gets deleted or anything happens to your business you have a cover for at least 9 months and in my opinion, this is enough time to build a new business from the scratch.
The reasoning for three consecutive months also will prove that the money you made was not a fluke, anyone can make 1000 USD today and not make it for the rest of the year, but if you can make it for three consecutive months that means there is something you’re doing right, and it is not that easy to go from that to making zero again.
Conclusion
Those were my reasons why you should not quit your day job just yet and my opinion when you should do it, my advice in this matter is that do not wait forever, sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and just all in, trust your gut feeling and go for it.