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gberardi · 11-09-2006, 05:14 PM

I can't speak as someone who has made the transition, but I can talk about how stuck things have been. Maybe my errors can serve as a lesson.

I decided to start my business over a year ago. In October 2005 I created a simple business plan. I updated it a few times over the next few months. This past March I officially formed an LLC in Illinois.

I kept my day job, since I didn't expect to start making any income from my own business for possibly a year. I was being "realistic".

In the past few months, I've been in crunch mode at the day job, which meant that everything else in my life had been pretty much put on hold. My business was already suffering due to the small amount of time I dedicate to it.

I also realized that I didn't have the skills I thought I did, which meant that it would be even longer before I could create the product I would be selling.

A few weeks ago, I finally updated my business plan after leaving it stagnant for about six months. I had learned a lot in that time, and I knew that the plan needed some data filled in or updated.

I've basically reassessed my situation, and I hope to be on a better path towards independence from a day job. What I think I've learned:

- I need to start making income sooner. I am sure I can be a bit more creative about leveraging existing products (not necessarily my own) to create some income. Meanwhile I can still work on my own product.

- I need to do a better job of making the time for my business. I haven't done an official time log, but I know that there are plenty of opportunities to improve my use of time as a resource. For instance, I can do laundry while getting ready in the morning, which leaves me more time in the evening (and also has the benefit of almost always having the laundry room to myself since it seems that no one else is up as early as I am).

- I need more clarity. I want to be independent of a job, but I still don't have a clear idea of what it means in terms of income and expenses.

It's been six months since I started my first real job, and I know more than ever that independence is more important to me than the "stability" of having a job that dictates what I do for so much of my time. Wish me luck!

11-09-2006, 05:14 PM	#4 (permalink)
gberardi Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Chicago, IL, USA Posts: 229	I can't speak as someone who has made the transition, but I can talk about how stuck things have been. Maybe my errors can serve as a lesson. I decided to start my business over a year ago. In October 2005 I created a simple business plan. I updated it a few times over the next few months. This past March I officially formed an LLC in Illinois. I kept my day job, since I didn't expect to start making any income from my own business for possibly a year. I was being "realistic". In the past few months, I've been in crunch mode at the day job, which meant that everything else in my life had been pretty much put on hold. My business was already suffering due to the small amount of time I dedicate to it. I also realized that I didn't have the skills I thought I did, which meant that it would be even longer before I could create the product I would be selling. A few weeks ago, I finally updated my business plan after leaving it stagnant for about six months. I had learned a lot in that time, and I knew that the plan needed some data filled in or updated. I've basically reassessed my situation, and I hope to be on a better path towards independence from a day job. What I think I've learned: - I need to start making income sooner. I am sure I can be a bit more creative about leveraging existing products (not necessarily my own) to create some income. Meanwhile I can still work on my own product. - I need to do a better job of making the time for my business. I haven't done an official time log, but I know that there are plenty of opportunities to improve my use of time as a resource. For instance, I can do laundry while getting ready in the morning, which leaves me more time in the evening (and also has the benefit of almost always having the laundry room to myself since it seems that no one else is up as early as I am). - I need more clarity. I want to be independent of a job, but I still don't have a clear idea of what it means in terms of income and expenses. It's been six months since I started my first real job, and I know more than ever that independence is more important to me than the "stability" of having a job that dictates what I do for so much of my time. Wish me luck!