By Omoruyi Edoigiawerie, Esq
Don’t quit your job! A lot of us must have heard the phrase, “Quit your job and go all-in on your business,” however, this may not be the best advice in many cases.

The safest, most reasonable way to eventually become your boss may be to start and build your side hustle while you still have the safety and security that your 9-5 offers.

The excitement of being your boss comes with its pros and cons. There are instances where side hustles have padded several people’s income, while also creating job opportunities for other unemployed individuals. However, building a side hustle to become a profitable venture while still in paid employment is not an easy feat to achieve.

It takes brutal dedication, relentless efforts, and the willingness to do more than you did the previous day. Justin Kan, a serial entrepreneur, had this to say to those who were thinking of quitting their job to go all-in on their start-up: “Stop glorifying titles like ‘founder’ or CEO and letting them lure you into taking big impulsive leaps.

“While these steps will not guarantee success, not hitting them at all will almost certainly fail…Before you quit your job, don’t be fooled by self-proclaimed entrepreneur ‘gurus’ on social media – the ugly truth is that founders seldom find success early on.”

To become an entrepreneur, you must not only recognise the importance of starting small but also appreciate the beauty of being able to build from almost nothing. Many successful entrepreneurs have stories of how they started, and it is more often than not, a story of building from the scratch. This is even more pronounced by the fact that research has shown that about nine out of every ten new businesses are doomed to fail.

Don’t be fooled by motivational speakers who have at least three jobs, and act as paid influencers to various brands in concurrence with their business. These people will tell you to follow your heart when they are following the money.

Obi’s movement: Political agitation against APC led government – Iduoriyekemwen

If you’re planning to start a side hustle, here are five steps that’ll help you gain more traction, while you keep your day job:

1. Be prepared:

To start a business, you must be psychologically prepared for the long haul. This simply connotes that to be successful in your business venture, you need a combination of grit, determination, and genuine interest in the service you are offering as well as the solution you are trying to solve by creating that business. So, before you start a side hustle, you need to have a frank self-review on how badly you want that business to succeed. If you’re just toying with a business idea don’t expect success to happen overnight.

Your side hustle will begin to demand several hours every day from your time. A side hustle also requires phenomenal effort to succeed, especially because your full-time job already takes all your time. If you are willing to make that sacrifice, then you have the psychological foundation to build a successful business.

2. Get at least one paying customer:

Your business idea may appear awesome and a winning one to you, but that may just be your opinion. Are there people who buy into your idea? Do they see a need that your business is solving?

Many people have started businesses thinking that their ideas are “brilliant” and many people will buy into them. But, unfortunately, their businesses are one of the nine in every ten businesses that have failed.

Before you venture into that business, what you want to do is to make sure you’re not creating a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. If people do not want your product or service, the resources you have invested in building it will be futile.

To prevent this from happening, ensure that you validate your product or service and seek an opinion from potential customers on whether you will gain traction in the business world. Ask them if they would buy into something like that.

Their answer may most likely be correct. Be ready to receive both negative and positive feedback as this gives you room to improve your products or services. Be ready to take feedback.

3. Set S-M-A-R-T goals and milestones

SMART is the acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound, developed by management icon Peter Drucker. While it is important to always dream big and go all out, you must start with very small, incremental goals. For instance, if you already have two loyal customers who believe in your product or services, take a step ahead and get one more and keep at it till you have an immeasurable customer base. Set practical goals that are attainable on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

Asides from setting SMART goals, you also need to set milestones for your business. Milestones are long-term plans. The question “where do you see yourself in 12 months, five years, etc.” helps you answer the question of setting Milestones. Draw up a simple action plan that lays out key milestones and deadlines that’ll guide you from start and always stick to your deadlines. Hold yourself accountable and don’t make excuses for yourself. Then perform the actions needed to move from one milestone to the next. Remember, you may make mistakes, always learn from them. There is no perfect business anywhere.

4. Learn to delegate work

You can’t be good at everything all the time and you can’t do everything alone, otherwise, you may burn out. This means you have to own up to your weaknesses. To free up your time to continue doing only what you’re best at within your business, you need to delegate some tasks. Get someone better than you in some aspects and let them do it. Outsourcing your weaknesses is a more effective and easily implemented alternative than carrying the entire burden. It’s also more affordable in the long run as the value of your time increases significantly.

5. Know when to quit your day job

While it is important to state that you shouldn’t work on your side hustle during company hours, neither should you use company resources to advance your side hustle. Make it a point of duty to abide by the terms of your employment contracts. When you realise that you are beginning to compromise your quality of work and reputation in your day job, it may be time to quit. However, make sure you have checked all the boxes from 1 to 4 before quitting your job.

*Only in these kinds of exceptional circumstances should you quit your job:

1. You have a better offer or you have structured your side business well enough to be profitable and sustainable.
2. Your workplace has become toxic and does not allow for any productivity.
3. If you don’t quit, you will probably be fired because your role has lost its relevance in the organisation.
4. You have at least three sources of income – two of which are steady and reliable.

*Conclusion

There is no harm in keeping your job while starting your new business. You most likely would be unable to set your own rules in your 9-5 job but you have a safety net with constant income and benefits. This is not about escaping the comfort zone; this is about exposing you and all those who depend on you to economic instability.

As Dorie Clark succinctly put it in the Harvard Business Review, “the best course of action for entrepreneurs is to do both – start a business while not quitting your day job.”

Omoruyi Edoigiawerie is the Founder and Lead Partner at Edoigiawerie & Company LP. The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances. His firm can be reached by email at hello@uyilaw.com.