Comments on: Don’t Quit Your Day Job

By: What will you do today? « TheUniversityBlog

What will you do today? « TheUniversityBlog — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 08:41:00 +0000

[...] to do to succeed is to believe in what’s possible and keep trying again and again (and again) until you’ve won. It’s not that simple and it’s not [...]

By: Swaroop Murthy

Swaroop Murthy — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:50:15 +0000

I keep coming back to this page a lot, thanks a lot for this one.
Often, I’m tempted to just resign from my day job so I have enough creative energy for the side-venture I have going on. But then, I think: how about EVOLVING. I simply list out all the excuses that are “slowing down” my venture on the side and try to evolve past them. Like in my case,

Excuse 1. Not enough time.
My Evolution: Learn to wake up early, the advice and how-to’s are on Steve Pavlina’s blog, they work 100%. I do a bit of Yoga in the morning, too. The few extra hours aren’t a lot, but they’re good enough to make PROGRESS.

Excuse 2. Long commute between home & work
My Evolution: Learn to utilize the time spent in the bus effectively. Buy whatever gadgets you need to buy..

And so on. So, that’s the thing TO DO. EVOLVE !

By: Is Employment Always a Bad Thing? « Scott H Young

Is Employment Always a Bad Thing? « Scott H Young — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:27:15 +0000

[...] your side-business can’t support you full-time–you shouldn’t quit your job. Building a business has a sharp learning curve. Unfortunately, the first part of the learning [...]

By: 2-dimensional risk « Anthny

2-dimensional risk « Anthny — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:36:49 +0000

[...] a post with a similar theme on Scott Young’s blog, he wrote in the comments [...]

By: Anthony

Anthony — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:27:19 +0000

Interested in stats if you have any on this. I mean profitability in the long-term, and taking any business debts into account.

By: Scott Young

Scott Young — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:08:12 +0000

Anthony,

Evidence? I disagree.

If you’re referring to the much rumored number that 80% of businesses fail, that doesn’t mean they weren’t profitable, for a time. That just means that they weren’t sustainably profitable. I believe that is especially true for online ventures where entry costs are low.

Second, much of the 80% statistic is a myth as well. A good proportion of those “failed” businesses are businesses which people changed the names (thus appearing as if their business failed in the registry), we’re for small MLM-type businesses (which, it can be argued, function more like being a freelance salesperson) or the person decided to simply discontinue it.

The truth is, profitability often isn’t the hard part in making a business successful. It’s keeping the profitability high enough, sustaining it, and having it justify the effort you put in. That level of success is more difficult.

-Scott

By: Anthony

Anthony — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:26:45 +0000

“Most ventures are not immediately profitable.”

Most ventures are *never* profitable.

By: Gordie Rogers

Gordie Rogers — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:38:52 +0000

One of the best books to help you with your transition into entrepreneurship is “Breaking Free” by Brian D. Armstrong. It also show’s you how to make a gradual transition.

By: Duff

Duff — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:49:36 +0000

Thank you Scott for being a voice for sanity in the often manic personal development blog world.

As someone who has started several failed business endeavors while barely above financial solvency, I heartily recommend to people now that only in rare circumstances should one quit their job to launch a new project. Rarely is time the limiting factor in getting started.

I’d also add that if time is a factor, one can quite often negotiate fewer hours with one’s employer. Downshifting even to a 35 hour workweek can free up 5 or 10 hours to work on a new venture.

By: What’s Up Wednesdays: Two Steps Forward « Beyond the Rhetoric

What’s Up Wednesdays: Two Steps Forward « Beyond the Rhetoric — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:28:50 +0000

[...] going against the grain once again, telling people who are interested in entrepreneurship that they should not quite their day jobs. Some dot com moguls will tell you that you need to hurl yourself headlong into a new venture, but [...]