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Diversify Your Income And Save Money

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What does it mean to diversify your income in order to save money? If you are new to the idea of multiple income streams or multiple revenue streams, you might wonder why it pays to have more than one job. At least that’s true until you establish a financial goal you want to reach in as short an amount of time possible.

A traditional American way of life involves having one “main job” and many choose to work a part-time gig to help make ends meet.

That’s the simplest version of multiple income streams and a pretty effective one, too–especially if you choose a side hustle that pays well. Many choose gig-based work such as freelance writing, content creation, social media management, etc. while others may choose jobs that pay tips and reward good customer service.

But no matter what you choose, the outcome is the same–you have more than one revenue stream and if you plan your budget carefully you could find the extra money has the potential to pile up.

How To Diversify Your Income To Save Money

It’s not that you need any special coaching to apply for a second job–far from it. But what some people don’t realize about working more than one gig or adding a side hustle to help them save money? Being proactive to avoid burnout, job fatigue, quitting because of stress, etc. How do people who work all day at one job turn right around and report to ANOTHER job for part of all of their evening?

One way is to be smart about the side gigs you choose. Some people try to avoid getting a second job that is too similar to their main work. Do you work on your feet all day? A side gig that does NOT require you to keep standing a few hours more makes a LOT of sense.

Do you spend all your time answering calls, performing support work, or processing orders? Chances are good that a side hustle to help you get your financial goals accomplished should not feature any of these things.

Finding An At-Home Gig

Sometimes being able to work from home is the best, but some people simply don’t think to give themselves permission to look for such work. There are many customer service jobs that allow you to answer calls from your own home provided you have the appropriate computer/internet equipment to handle the work.

Other types of stay-at-home jobs involve writing, proofreading, editing, writing whitepapers or doing research, or even acting as a personal assistant. Check these marketplaces for job openings.

PlatformsBest For: 
FiverrFinding Freelancers
BarkFinding Unique Freelancers
AppjobsGig Economy Professionals

The key to finding such work lies in your ability to research local job posts, national calls for applications, etc. online using resources such as LinkedIn, Indeed, etc. But you can also find job-specific support groups and job boards. Have you looked in your local Facebook Marketplace, as well?

Turn A Hobby Into Income

Musicians, photographers, artists, woodworkers, and people good at crafting all find additional income opportunities by selling their wares or their skills online via Etsy, Patreon, and other platforms. You can diversify your income in this way, but it takes getting to know the various platforms and building a following there using best practices (NO SPAM!!).

While “turn your hobby into a diverse revenue stream” is fairly generalized advice, here’s one very specific thing you can do to see if you can turn your skills into income locally–look into local farmer’s markets, artist collectives, event spaces, and annual maker fairs to see if other people are vending or selling in ways you’re tempted to try yourself.

Don’t let the presence of “competition” worry you–this simply means there’s a real market for what’s being sold and you have a shot at that, too!

Turn Spare Change to Savings

Try these savings apps to turn your spare change to savings. It is never too late to start saving.

AppFess and minimum:Best for:
Digit30-day free trial period. $5 per monthSetting aside automatically
Acorns$1 per monthSpare change investing.
Qapital$3 membershipLetting you set rules to automate savings.

 

Save and Invest Like This to Become Financially Independent

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Financially Independent

Unfortunately, many Americans feel obtaining financial independence is impossible, so they don’t try to achieve it.  Instead, they live day to day, buying their cars, furniture, clothes, and everything else on credit.  They have debt and think that it’s just a way of life.  But it doesn’t have to be.  If you want to live differently, save and invest like this to become financially independent.

How to Save to Become Financially Independent

One of the first steps on the path to financial independence is to stay out of debt.  However, that’s not enough to get you where you want to be in a few decades.  You must also learn to save regularly.  Try these strategies:

Always Pay Yourself First

If you put money in savings whenever there’s leftover money, you’ll probably never put money in savings.  Instead, flip that way of thinking.  Save money first.  When you start saving, go ahead and start small.  Maybe you only set aside $20 per paycheck.  The important quality here is establishing a habit of saving.  As your finances improve and you earn more, start saving more.

One of the best ways to save is to use an app that automatically saves. Here are some apps you can use. Start by signing up to one of these and it’ll change your financial situation forever.

AppFess and minimum:Best for:
Digit30-day free trial period. $5 per monthSetting aside automatically
Acorns$1 per monthSpare change investing.
Qapital$3 membershipLetting you set rules to automate savings.

Make Some Sacrifices

Financially Independent
Photo by Wynand van Poortvliet on Unsplash

For many people, achieving financial independence requires some sacrifices.  For instance, for the first 14 years of our marriage, we had only one car.  My husband took the train to work every day.  Sure, doing that was sometimes inconvenient for him, but we saved so much money not paying for a second car and the additional insurance premium, maintenance, and gas.  If we ever move to a location with good public transportation again, we’ll likely go down to one car again.

Delay Gratification

In addition to making sacrifices, those who achieve financial independence also learn to delay gratification.  You’ll likely not make too many impulse buys.  If you want a new dishwasher, for example, you’ll save to pay cash and take the time to shop around and pay the best price.  If you want a nice new car, you might way a decade or more to buy it, instead driving the car you currently have until it dies.  That’s okay.  Once you achieve financial independence, you’ll find your sacrifice and ability to delay gratification worthwhile.

Create Sinking Funds & an Emergency Fund

One of the most important things you can do to keep yourself out of perpetual debt is to create sinking funds and an emergency fund.

Sinking Funds

Sinking funds should be set aside for the yearly and semi-yearly expenses like house insurance, car insurance, property taxes, HOA dues, and other budget items that are paid ever six months or yearly.  Likewise, you should have sinking funds for random expenses that don’t occur at a set time such as medical bills, car repairs, home repairs, etc.  When you create these funds, you can easily pay the bill when it’s due without it affecting your regular monthly budget.

Emergency Fund

When you have sinking funds, when you’ve planned for the irregular expenses you face every year, your emergency fund can then be used for true emergencies.  Depending on the stability of your job, experts recommend that you have three to six months’ living expenses in your emergency fund.  This fund is only used for true disasters such as job loss or medical bills should someone in your family face a serious illness.

By having both sinking funds and an emergency fund, you buffer yourself from the unexpected expenses that can derail so many budgets.

Try These Savings Apps

AppFess and minimum:Best for:
Digit30-day free trial period. $5 per monthSetting aside automatically
Acorns$1 per monthSpare change investing.
Qapital$3 membershipLetting you set rules to automate savings.

How to Invest to Become Financially Independent

While saving is important, investing is equally important on your path to become financially independent.

Use Apps

Be smart. Use these apps to get you started on investing. Some of these are for beginners while others are for seasoned investors. Start by signing up.

Platforms:Fees and Minimum:Best for:
RobinhoodFreeBeginner investing
Acorns$1 per month
Spare change investing
The Motley Fool$99 for the first year.Stock advising

Start Early

Financially Independent
Photo by MayoFi on Unsplash

The single best thing you can do to become financially independent is to start investing early.  Teens can even invest in a Roth IRA if they have a regular job.  The amount you need to invest, should you start at a very young age, is much less than if you start investing twenty years later.  However, if you are older and haven’t actively invested much, now is the time.  There’s no better time than now.

Take Advantage of a Company Match

An easy way to begin investing is to take advantage of your company’s retirement match.  This is essentially free money to help you become financially independent!  For instance, if you’re employer matches the first 4% of your salary that you invest, that means you should invest at least 4% because then with the employer’s match, you’re investing 8% of your salary for the price of 4%.  If you make $100,000 and invest $4,000 a year (4% of your income), and your employer matches that, you’re now investing $8,000 a year.  That is a huge bonus!

Always Rollover Your IRA

If you leave a job, always rollover your IRA.  When you’re young or you only have a small amount in your IRA, cashing out the money is tempting.  After all, you have plenty of time for saving for retirement.  However, that money can grow and grow if you take it with you and roll it over.  You’ve already done the hard work of investing.  Now, roll it over so it can keep working for you.

Hire a Professional If Need Be

For many people, the idea of investing is scary or intimidating, so they just don’t do it.  However, you can never achieve financial independence if you don’t invest.

There are plenty of free resources available to teach you about the many different investing options, but if you still don’t feel comfortable investing, hire a financial planner.  Yes, you will pay money in fees, which isn’t ideal, but paying fees is better than not investing at all.

Invest No Matter the Economy

Likewise, many people invest money, but then, when the economy crashes, they panic and pull out their money.  This is a sure strategy to avoid financial independence.

The savvy investor ignores the highs and lows of the market and stays the course with investments.  There will always be ebbs and flows, but remember that overall, through the years, people make money by investing.

You’ll do even better if you train yourself to see the stock market lows not as proof you’re losing your money, but as a perfect opportunity to invest more.  You’re likely able to buy stock at the lowest price.  When the economy rebounds, you’ll make more money.

Apps To Try

Platforms:Fees and Minimum:Best for:
RobinhoodFreeBeginner investing
Acorns$1 per month
Spare change investing
The Motley Fool$99 for the first year.Stock advising

Final Thoughts

Achieving financial independence isn’t easy.  However, follow these steps, and you’ll be well on your way.

What would you add to this list to help people gain financial independence?

Read More

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Financial Coping Advice in a Pandemic World

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After weeks of employments reports where only 700,000+ people applied for unemployment insurance in a week, over 855,000 people applied for unemployment benefits this week.

It looks like unemployment applications are slowly inching back up to the 1 million+ range per week again.

For millions of Americans, there is not a lot of reasons to have hope in a post-pandemic world.

Don’t be overwhelmed. Here is what you must consider doing now.

Develop Long-Term Goals

The world is not fair. That phrase has practically become my daily mantra, However, there is no hope in despair.

If you don’t have a job now, think about what you could potentially do in the future. How could your previous work skills and professional experiences be re-purposed in a post-pandemic world?

And consider how you can start over. As cruel as it sounds, we are all starting over again.

There are many online education platforms that are offering free and reduced-price online classes for unemployed people and government employees. Check out edX and Coursera to start with.

Start reviewing jobs in the online gig economy and remote jobs industry. Consider your existing skillsets and the new skills you can reasonably acquire in the near term and how you can leverage such into new job opportunities.

Be realistic, be patient, and don’t be rash – it will take time for you to chart a new employment future.

Get an Emergency Fund

Before the pandemic struck, the general wisdom was to try to put at least the equivalent of six months’ worth of paychecks in an emergency fund.

Now, such an advance is just not realistic for people, and it is cruel to say to people.

Since the pandemic wrecked the economy, over 70 million people may have lost their jobs. The government offered a one-time $1,200 at the beginning of the crisis.

Now, many people are months behind in rent, mortgage payments, and other various bills. And on top of that, many of the jobs that evaporated earlier are not coming back.

These jobs will be obsolete or rendered moot by the workplace occupancy reduction mandated by social distancing mandates and the advent of remote working.

If you are one of the lucky ones to still have a job, it is imperative that you put some money in an emergency fund, no matter how little.

You can put 10% or 5% of your regular pay into an emergency fund. Every little bit helps.

In this economy and the uncertain future we all now face, it is better to have a little bit saved in an emergency fund than nothing at all.

Additionally, having an emergency fund could give you a better sense of personal security in a world turned upside down.

Here are some emergency fund platforms you can try or invest in.

AppFess and minimum:Best for:
Digit30-day free trial period. $5 per monthSetting aside automatically
Acorns$1 per monthSpare change investing.
Qapital$3 membershipLetting you set rules to automate savings.

Pay Down Your Debts

The only truly certain things in life are taxes, death, and debt. Depending on the kinds of debt you own, you can’t even escape that after death.

There are many Americans grappling with compounding debt issues and unemployment.

If you are fortunate to be employed now, develop a plan and timetable to pay down your debts. Get on top of your debts now or they will get on top of you in the future.

Develop a Budget

Develop a weekly and monthly budget to make the most of the finances you have now. Think about what you can do now instead of what you can’t do. There is no future in despair and the future is coming now.

To get your personal budget started, you can use these savings platforms as mentioned above. You can also start investing in platforms such as these.

Platforms:Fees and Minimum:Best for:
RobinhoodFreeBeginner investing
Acorns$1 per month
Spare change investing
The Motley Fool$99 for the first year.Stock advising

Or you can also try saving directly to the bank on these plaforms:

Platform:Fees to sign-upBest for:
CIT BankFreeWide range of Financial Services
Lending TreeFreeBest for keeping an eye on credit score
BBVA FreeSafe digital banking

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What Is the Minimum Wage in Little Rock, Arkansas?

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Minimum Wage in Little Rock

Did you know that Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, wasn’t born in Little Rock, Arkansas? Clinton was actually born in Hope, Arkansas, which is a small town about 100 miles southwest of Little Rock. The Cheesedog, or a hotdog with cheese inside of it, was created in Little Rock in 1956. Little Rock was actually called “Arkopolis,” briefly in 1921. And Little Rock’s Big Dam Bridge (yes, for real) is the longest cycling and pedestrian-only bridge in the United States. If you are planning to relocate to Little Rock, it might help to know these things (as a conversation icebreaker anyway). However, the most important thing you should know is the minimum wage in Little Rock.

The Minimum Wage in Little Rock

Now, I started this article out by sharing some whimsical facts about the city of Little Rock, but I did it as an information icebreaker.

Moving to a new city is a big undertaking and it isn’t one that you should do on a whim. You are essentially transplanting your life to a new city. If you have a family, then moving to a new city can be a very daunting and anxiety-inducing process as well.

Before you consider moving to a new city, reassess your personal finances. How much money do you have saved? Do you have enough money to tide you over until you find work?

Have you begun researching the local job market in the city you plan on relocating to?

The minimum wage in Little Rock is $10 per hour but will rise to $11 per hour on January 1, 2021.

Is that enough for you and your family to live on in a new city? What you should also keep in mind is the cost of living in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Living Wage

The minimum wage in Little Rock is a state-mandated minimum payment amount for employees. Certain employees, like independent contractors, are not necessarily entitled to a minimum wage.

However, a minimum wage is not necessarily the same as a living wage.

A living wage is a salary you need to make to live comfortably in a city. A minimum wage, the salary you legally make, and a living wage, the salary you need to live comfortably, are not the same thing.

In Little Rock, the living wage for an individual is $11.18 per hour or about $23,200 annually.

If you are a single parent with three children, then you need to make at least $33 per hour.

Two working parents with three children in Little Rock would need to make at least $18 per hour to sustain a livable wage.

Higher Minimum Wages

Now, unless you can really adjust to a new budget based on the minimum wage in Little Rock, then maybe you should consider your options.

Here are some cities with higher minimum wages:

  • New York City – $15.25
  • San Francisco – $16.07
  • San Jose – $15.25
  • Seattle – $16.39
  • Washington, D.C. – $15

However, just remember that the living wage in these cities are relatively higher because the cost of living is also higher.

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How to Make $50 a Day

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How to Make $50 a Day

Learning how to make $50 a day can significantly improve your finances. You can use that extra cash to pay down debt. Alternatively, you can put it into savings. There are many different ways to earn this extra cash through hustling, passive income, and making money online. Here’s a roundup of suggestions to get you started.

Make $50 a Day with Items You Have

There are things that you already own that can help you easily begin to earn extra money. Let’s start there:

Rent Out a Room with AirBnB

If you have a spare room in your home that you can rent out then this is one of the quickest ways to make $50 a day. After all, that’s as cheap or cheaper than most hotel rooms. Therefore, people are often willing to pay that rate. Of course, you should take into consideration that you’ll spend a little more doing extra laundry and cleaning, but overall this is one of the most consistent ways to earn that extra cash.

Rent Out Your Car

If you aren’t using your car every day then why just have it sit there? Instead, figure out how to make $50 a day by renting it out to others who need to use it temporarily. There are sites such as Getaround that make it easy for you to navigate setting this up.



Rent Out Garage / Storage Space

If you have extra space for storage then you can rent that out to someone who needs it. Of course, whether or not you can make $50 per day doing this really depends on your area. Right now in San Francisco there’s a huge exodus of people leaving the city, at least temporarily, due to COVID-19. As a result, storage rental prices have drastically risen. People need that storage space so they’re willing to pay high prices.

That said, you can also get creative to make more money from your garage. For example, could you rent it out a few nights a week to different bands that need rehearsal space? What about renting it to an artist who needs a studio? Or, during these times when people are working from home, you might even be able to rent it out as a “man cave” / “she shed” to people who are happy to pay $50 per day to escape from home for a little while.

Rent Out a Parking Space

Do you have a parking space in your building that you don’t use? Or do you own a home with its own garage? If so, and if you live in an area where parking is at a premium, then you might be able to rent out your parking spot. Here in San Francisco, it’s not impossible for people to make $50 a day renting out their parking spot to travelers who are staying in certain neighborhoods.

Sell Your Stuff

Declutter your home and sell everything that you don’t need. Become an eBay seller. Try Poshmark. Sell your books online. Sell your old computers, phones, and gadgets. Although this isn’t sustainable forever, since of course your amount of stuff is finite, it’s a great way to make $50 / day for a short period of time to boost your savings or pay down debt. And, if you discover that you really like selling stuff, you might be able to parlay it into a side job doing the same work for other people at a commission.

How to Make $50 a Day Online

It’s nice to be able to make use of your possessions to earn extra money. However, honestly, when most people think about how to make $50 a day, they’re thinking about what they can do online in their spare time to earn that extra cash. There are many great options:

Freelance Writing / Design

Notably, this isa real full-time professional job so it’s not easy to break into if you’re new. That said, if you already have skills that translate well then you can begin finding work fairly quickly. For example, if you have already done content writing within the context of your work history, then you can brush up your resume to reflect that and start looking for freelance writing jobs. If you have a graphic design background, there’s work for you as well.

Virtual Assistant

Anyone who has basic administrative experience can parlay that a job working as a virtual personal assistance for someone who needs help across all kinds of different fields. And even without that kind of experience, there might be jobs out there for you. If, in your spare time, you’re happy to help someone schedule their appointments, book travel plans, and organize their calendar then you might do well in this kind of work.

Rideshare / Delivery Driver

Of course, this is a hybrid offline/online job as it requires that you leave the home but also that you’re connected to the Internet constantly. In any case, this kind of app-based gig work using your car is one of the most popular ways that people turn to today when looking for how to make $50 a day.

In the same vein, you can sign up with a site like Instacart to do shopping for others.

Get Paid to Take Surveys

The truth is that you will have to spend quite a few hours of the day doing this if you want to make $50. That said, it’s not impossible. And it will put some extra cash in your pocket. Learn more about getting paid for your opinion here.

Offline Ways to Make $50 a Day

If you’re already online regularly for your day job then you might want to know how to make $50 a day offline. After all, you can only stare at a screen for so many hours of the day. Luckily, there are a lot of fun gigs that will allow you to earn some extra cash:

Dog Walking / Pet Sitting

If you’re an animal lover then this can be one of the most pleasurable ways to make that extra cash. Whether you join a service like Rover, set up an account on a site like Care.com, or simply head to the dog park and use word of mouth, you should quickly find it easy to get gigs. You can walk one or more dogs at a time. You can petsit in your home or in someone else’s.

House Sitting

This is often a spinoff of petsitting because so many of the people who want you to stay in their home expect you to care for their pets. However, that’s not always the case. Even if you don’t want to watch pets, you might be able to get some good house sitting gigs. Some people just want a person who will water the plants, collect the mail, and accept deliveries while they are away.

Babysitting/ Childcare / Mother’s Helper

If you prefer children to pets then perhaps you’ll want to get a gig taking care of them. This can be a delightful way to spend a few hours, easily earning $50 or more per day.

Tutoring

During the pandemic, children have started doing a lot of their learning at home. Parents don’t always have the time, skills, energy, or willingness to devote to educating their children. Therefore, there’s a growing interest in home-based tutors. (Of course, this can also be an online job or a hybrid of the two.)

Decluttering / Organizing

Do you excel at and enjoy organizing closets, files, and other areas that many people keep cluttered? If so, people need your skills. Start by offering to declutter for friends for a small fee and take it from there.

Tailoring / Upholstery / Domestic Skills

Do you know how to sew? What about reupholstering old furniture to make it look new? If you have domestic skills like these then you can market those. This is a great way to start making extra cash, perhaps doing something that you really enjoy.

Lawn Care

Mow lawns. Rake leaves. If you can do a bit of gardening and landscaping then you can earn even more money on the side.

Almost Any Part-Time Job

Remember when you were a teenager and you were willing to accept almost any job just to start earning some money? If you’re looking for how to make $50 a day then go back to that mentality. Get a job at a coffee shop, a fast food restaurant, cleaning offices. Work the minimum number of hours required to earn that small amount of money. Since it’s your second job and not your career, you might even find that it’s kind of relaxing this time around.

More Ways to Make That Extra Cash

If you’re still asking how to make $50 a day in other ways, here are some miscellaneous extra ideas:

  • Create a course and sell it through a channel such as Udemy.
  • Write and sell one or more ebooks.
  • Make and sell your own food.
  • Make and sell your own jewelry, stationery, art, etc. using a site like Etsy.
  • Start a blog / YouTube channel and make ad income.
  • Take the time to get good at investing your money and earning that passive income.
  • Taking the long view, purchase a second home as a real estate investment.
  • Advertise on your car.
  • Become a paid friend to a tourist, elderly person, or other in need.

What is your favorite way to drum up $50 a day quickly?

Read More:

If you enjoy reading our blog posts and would like to try your hand at blogging, we have good news for you; you can do exactly that on Saving Advice. Just click here to get started. If you want to be able to customize your blog on your own domain and need hosting service, we recommend trying BlueHost. They offer powerful hosting services for $3.95/month!

 

Should You Quit Your Job and Start a Business?

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Quit job to start a business

You want to quit your job to start a business. Nobody can blame you. There are many wonderful things about being your own boss. However, it’s a risky endeavor. It’s not all sunshine and roses. Moreover, you can lose a lot of income at the beginning of starting a business. Should you really quit your job? Or should you perhaps scale back on your regular work as you first start your business? There are a lot of things to take into consideration when you make this decision. Let’s explore the pros and cons a little bit.

Why Do You Want to Quit Your Job and Start a Business?

This is the most important question to answer before you actually quit your job and start a business. And, in fact, you should answer it as two separate questions:

  • Why do you want to quit your job?
  • Why do you want to start your own business?

Many people consider it to be one question. However, if you are honest about the answers to both parts of the question then you’ll be a lot clearer whether or not this is the right step for you.

For example, let’s say that you answer part one: “I hate my boss.” As you dig into part two, you may realize that you don’t actually want to start your own business at all. In contrast, you simply don’t want to work for that same boss anymore. Realizing this early on will go a long way towards making sure that you’re taking the next right step in your career.

Alternatively, let’s say that you don’t have a clear answer to part one. You know that you want to start your own business because there’s a particular cause that you’re passionate about. Could you keep your day job and just volunteer in a capacity that fills that need?

If you are very clear about why you both want to quit your job and why you want to start a business then you’re well on your way to making smart choices as you move forward.

Benefits When You Quit Your Job to Start a Business

When you quit your job and start a business, you do reap some benefits:

  • You immediately begin to work for yourself. This gives you a huge feeling of freedom. However, don’t discount how much responsibility it requires.
  • You have plenty of time to devote to your new business. After all, if you regularly work 40+ hours per week and then you quit, that’s 40+ hours per week to devote to your new passion project.
  • You avoid any conflict of interest. If you want to start a job that’s similar to what you do now then there might be a conflict of interest that would prevent you from staying at your current job. Review any non-compete agreements and related terms of your contract.

If you are the type of person who works best under pressure then you might find that it’s worth it quit your job to start a business. You could thrive under the stress of trying to make a go of it when you don’t have another income to fall back on. The time you free up by quitting your job, and the freedom you get from working your own schedule, could be worth it. But don’t fail to take into consideration that there are drawbacks when you quit your job to start a business.

Drawbacks When You Quit Your Job to Start a Business

Research indicates that entrepreneurs do better if they stay at their job when first starting a business. There are some big risks and drawbacks to the decision to quit your job and start a business. Those drawbacks include:

  • You’re obviously no longer drawing an income. Therefore, there’s a lot of pressure on your new business to succeed dramatically and right away. You aren’t giving it enough time to scale up.
  • It could be harder to get loans for your business. If you can’t show that you’ve got an income coming in then getting credit for your new business could be more difficult.
  • If the business doesn’t do well, you might not be able to get your old job back. After all, the economy isn’t thriving right now. If you’re lucky enough to have full-time employment then you might not want to sacrifice that to start your own business.

Starting a Business: What to Do First

If you decide that you do want to quit your job to start a business, then you have to take that decision very seriously. You have to put your all into this new endeavor if you want to make it work. Here are some of the things that you need to do before you even quit your job:

  • Create a business plan. It’s imperative that you know exactly what you plan to do and how you plan to do it. You need goals, milestones, and timelines. Of course, those may shift with time but try to get a solid plan in place.
  • Crunch the numbers. Figure out what it’s going to cost you to start a business. Consider the initial costs, your own paycheck for the first year, and all other first-year expenses. Figure out how to make that work before you quit your job to start a business.
  • Start working. Don’t delay getting your first clients or customers. You might want to get the first few clients lined up before you quit your regular job.
  • Network. Just because you’re working for yourself doesn’t mean that you don’t need other people. Build your team. This might mean hiring people, working with consultants, or simply networking with other entrepreneurs. Make sure that you have a group of people in your corner.

Weigh the pros and cons before you quit a job to start a business. Does it make sense for you, considering the economy, where you are in your career, and what you truly want from starting your own business? The more thought that you put into the process ahead of time, the better chances you are to get the results that you desire.

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