Quote:
|
Does anyone have experience of how either worked out for them? If so, I'd love to hear.
|
In the late 90's I was working at place that was making me sick from the amount of dust in the air. Laser surgery temporarily cured the problem but it re-surfaced two years afterwards and it was worse than before. Since I knew I would eventually have to leave the job, I decided my next move would be to start my own business and turn my hobby of web development into a business. I dreaded the thought of taking an entry level job someplace else, because I had a family to help support.
It was rough for awhile. During the summer of 98 I was working 12 hour shifts for the man 6 days per week. I was pretty sick for the first couple of hours when I came home. I would roll around in pain until it would subside enough for me to sit at the computer and work on my business. I was averaging about 4 hours of sleep per night, and my wife had kicked me out of our house, because I was so obsessed in getting my business up and running. I had to... it wasn't too long before I wouldn't be able to work.
Besides all of these problems the bill collectors became my worst enemies. We were on the brink of losing everything. The additional strain of us living apart and maintaining separate dwellings was breaking us. Then my business started to take off...
By February off 99 I was making more money on my business than I was at work. But, I was unable to work a full week anymore, so I had to quit my job. Still I was able to save the house and new vehicle we had bought and managed to pay off our creditors. Since I now had extra time on my hands, I was able to repair my relationship with the wife and move back home.
I've been self employed, more or less, ever since then, although it doesn't mean I don't have to still face the odd challenge once in a while. In 2000 after the dot com bubble burst, businesses were afraid to spend money on the web, and I had to take a job for a little while. Three months after I took the other job, my income was once again exceeding what my employer paid me, because I was able to build it back up.
My advice wouldn't be to quit your job without building up your business income so it surpasses what you get paid from your employer. Yes, surpasses... when you work at your own business, your income can vary from month to month so you have to be able to bank some of your income for leaner times.
Hopefully, many people will never have to experience the troubles I did. I didn't even mention how friends and family were ragging on me constantly to give it up. Some of them even dis-owned me...
I'm a very stubborn man. I just won't quit.
Best Regards,
Steve MacLellan