Beyond the exceptions of those who have fallen from the faculty banks directly at the helm of a successful company, even now I think that in order to have a minimal chance of succeeding, you also need work experience. Often, the level of performance you get at work will also be reflected in your entrepreneurial evolution.
To make a parallel with sport, I see the employee status as a training you do for official games. You will rarely see a footballer, for example, who will be the right-holder of the team but who will treat the training superficially. There is a close link between how you train and the result you get in "matches."
Regarding the reasons why you want to resign, they can be multiple:
- you do not like what you are doing and want to change the field in which you work
- no longer feel challenged
- do not feel appreciated
- you have a precarious balance between professional life and your personal life (you want more time for you, less stress, etc.)
- there is a contradiction of values between you and the employer and you do not believe in what you are doing
- you are dissatisfied with the salary you receive
- you want to start something on your own
By what I do, I have "inspired" (it could be said) hundreds of people so far, if not thousands, to resign with the thought of professional reconversion or hope that they can do something on their own. No matter how weird, I do not urge people to give up their jobs.
I really think this is a step you need to think a little before, so you will not be caught off-side and not risk too much. I go on a very simplistic question at first glance when a person resigns:
"What's the worst thing that can happen?"
If you do not risk any money you do not have or do not allow them to lose, the answer should be "to hire again".
This is actually the "sensor" that you are balanced in the decision you make. If you risk lending to the bank, home, car, life savings - then you are probably impulsive.
You will be prepared only when you can simply answer: "If I resign, the worst thing that can happen is to hire me again over a period of time?"
Personally, I resigned when I did not have a penny in my pocket to start a business (and not just once). Every time I rate with my business plan, I hire myself again.
It's funny that every time I was saying, "It's the last time I hire myself." By the fourth attempt ... I was right. It was the last time I hired someone else.
Resignation is an experience that can change your perception of life, values, plans. Unfortunately, more than 50% of those with whom I worked in coaching and who wanted to resign saw this resignation as a personal defeat as a failure. With your hand on your heart, say that when you stay in a job that does not satisfy you - it's really defeat. Resignation can be a personal victory and an experience that can lead you (or not) to another level.
If you're thinking about dropping out of work for a freelance job or a start-up, ask yourself the question right now:
"What's the worst thing that can happen after I resign?"
If the answer is NOT "to hire again", then first make a plan to get this answer.
What to expect when you resign?
Nothing good at first and at first glance:
the feeling of constant hunger (if you do not do something, you have nothing to eat)
the feeling of insecurity (no one guarantees you, you do not have the salary that comes at the end of the month, you can give the rate anytime)
the impression that the whole environment is allied against you (starting from the first client who does not pay you, to the partners who do not get as much as you, from the employees who take the money for nothing, the bureaucracy that prevents you from making a profit, and your activity)
This feeling of insecurity may be the most powerful release for you, but at the same time it can also be a millstone. I have seen people paralyzed by this insecurity, unable to move in one direction or another.
Always say, safety-related: "If you want safety, you're still hired. Entrepreneurship does not have the job for sure. You're never sure of anything. "
We have seen people with a huge self-esteem as highly committed and extremely positive employees who, in the face of the fact, have turned into some victims who have been constantly struggling with how hard it is.
Also, the lack of a program imposed externally by the "system" causes the most disciplined people to turn into the lazy ones.
Things you should be aware of when planning a resignation and after you've given it:
1 - From the moment you think you resign, you become toxic to the company that pays you
That's what I tell you from both roles, both the employee and the employer. It's like a small worm that produces you on the inside, causing you negative emotions, depressed states, lack of productivity. You also risk becoming a destabilizing factor for other colleagues and in relationships with other employees and clients.
As an employer, you prefer to tell me that you want to go and help you leave as quickly as possible, rather than trying to keep you against your will.
Once this thought has grown, sooner or later you will leave. The difference does - what you leave behind. So, from the moment you become aware of this desire, make a plan, work with the same intensity as much as possible, and give your time to get to the point where you say "the biggest risk is that if I fail, I hire myself again ".
The higher the "toxicity" rate without doing anything in this respect, the more you will be prone to make impulse decisions that will not benefit you in the long run.
2 - Do not wait until your family and close ones are ok with your decision
It's one of the mental traps we fall into. Man, in essence, is an emotional animal that scares the unknown. To resign yourself and to start something on your own, it creates a sense of irritability in the family most of the time.
You will not be able to match your husband, children, parents, close friends with your decision. There will always be someone who will say, "Are you crazy? You'll go bankrupt "or" You'll die of hunger. "
If you want to wait for them to agree with you, you will spend a lot of time as a "toxic" employee (see point 1).
3 - Strange a "subsistence" capital
If you do not have investment money, then you will most likely start a small, service-based (where there is no high cost) / brokerage business, a business that relies on your ability to network (to sell among those which you know in the first phase) and your ability to promote in the online environment.
The most common excuse for those who go bankrupt is - "I did not have any investment money." There is a fear that is not based on anything real, the origin of bankruptcy is the level of education of the entrepreneur back.
Any wrong step is a lesson that can lead you to the "worst case scenario", which means, in fact, to commit yourself once to the next "attempt".
Do not make credits, do not make apartments, do not borrow for your business. Most of the successful start-ups I have documented have gone without investments.
When I refer to "raising a capital" - I refer strictly to subsistence capital, which helps you to survive for a period of 6-12 months. If you do not have an entrepreneurial experience, it is not advisable to give you money on your hand to start a business.
4 - What an employer wants from you when you resign
I see a lot of people who, when they resign, make it out of impulse, leaving behind "fire and para", breaking relationships and firing boats. In reality, things are much more humane than that.
An employer puts a face to face with one's decision to leave, just wants to:
- be notified in advance to be able to find a replacement
- finish the job you started so it will not be taken over by someone else who does not know what you did
- Be an example of conduct during the notice period (not to destabilize the team)
- do not become emotional and impulsive, in the negative sense, point to "guilty" (feedback is appreciated, but at mature, honest and authentic level)
- keep in touch with him in the long run, let him know about you (leave the door open)
5 - Those who resign, tend to take a break (which is wrong!)
I've seen this scenario many times. Immediately after resignation, with the intention of starting a business, the first activity undertaken is to plan a trip to an exotic country or excessive laziness in front of the TV.
At first, the days, then the weeks, maybe the months. And then you will look for another job without even trying something.
On your own, you have to be twice as responsible and harder than before, because now you do not have a fixed schedule and no rigid system that will allow you to get results.
All those who resign, and give it hope that they will win "freedom". At first you will only get the freedom to work twice as hard and twice as much, hoping that at one point the business will stand up and will no longer depend on you.
So go straight into the bread and leave the rest aside.
6 - Learn about marketing and sales!
With talent dying of hunger! Any professional result you have and employee, entrepreneur status requires you to have whom to deliver this result. There are two totally different mentalities.
In the start-up period, whether we are talking about freelancing or entrepreneurial activity, your effort should go to 80% of your working time, customer engagement and sales. Only 20% of the time should you deal with "production".
Sales bring you money, so sell it - daily!
7 - Do not sell cheap (do not rely on discounts and low prices)
The worst approach you can take is to fight for prices on a competitive market (which gives the lowest price). I have seen this scenario thousands of times and it does not lead to a happy future.
Price-based marketing is not marketing, it's the milo! There will always be someone who offers a lower price than you, so you will have to constantly reduce costs, quality, profit margin - just in the idea of
being able to stay on the market.
The beat is so pricey that it's not a smart move to sell you cheaply.
8 - Do not keep customers you do not want
Because of the lack of sales, at first, you will tend to accept compromises. But these compromises will lead you to the edge of the abyss. Customers who pay you hard, do not respect what you are doing, they are constantly negotiating to the minimum price you can offer, which causes constant negative emotions - forget them.
Look for that customer ideal you want and serve it. By concentrating on stupid clients, you will quickly get into the situation where you have no more energy to go on, hating your business and feeling that the whole market is "so." You will not trust people any more, you will not trust your customers, you will forget why you have gone.
Every freelancer or entrepreneur goes with the idea of
bringing value to society through what he does. Secondary - to live well out of this.
Stay true to your ideal customer and treat it as it deserves. Give up any client who does not get into this ideal without blinking.
9 - Do not be afraid to think "big"
Even if you go out on the road as a freelancer or a trader (for example), allow yourself to always dream of a superior level of your business: becoming the best in the country, in Europe, in the world (whatever that means ).
You never enjoy the level at which your business is, because self-sufficiency only leads to bankruptcy, in the absence of an ideal to aspire to.
Do not forget that businesses can not grow more than the level of education of the back entrepreneur. Any hindrance encountered on this journey is given by the level at which you are and your level of understanding the market and what it means for entrepreneurship.
10 - The Blackest Scenario 🙂
Do not forget the basic idea. If it does not work, just engage again. Suggest to get the most out of your new job, look for the "lesson" you have been given last year and plan a new try.
Most of us learn from failures. Victories do not teach us anything, just give us arrogance, a false sense of invincibility, give us self-sufficiency, and prevent us from dreaming further.