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I remember dreading coming to work every morning. Like it started to become physically draining. Spending forty hours plus a week attributing to a company that could replace me faster than Trump’s twitter fingers was simply not cutting it anymore. I felt like my hard work went under appreciated and there was seldom room for reward and (coughs) salary increase. Having ten years experience in the finance world, I was beyond afraid to quit the comfort of a steady salary and leave the home where I honed skills. Starting a business, becoming my own boss sounded like a great idea, but what happens when your best idea frightens you the most.
Many of us sit behind a desk within the comfort of our nine to five set salary-paying jobs. Waiting for Fridays to reach and dreading the arrival of Mondays. Everywhere you turn there are constant reminders of your corporate allegiance, whether it be the countless memes saturating our social media timelines or small talks consumed during happy hours. We’ve all thought about it, you know…the Q word.
Quitting your corporate job. Having a really cool business idea is not the determining factor for making such a risky move. Money is ultimately the scariest component we tend to focus on when we think of leaving the security of our job.
There are many articles online that will convince you to take the leap, that your life will never be as complete working for someone else, that you will never make as much money unless you become your own boss, but what no one ever tells you is how much money you should save before quitting your corporate job in order to start your new business. For starters let’s focus on the word comfort. Though in the long run staying in our comfort zone will hinder growth, just to begin there needs to be a certain comfort level where money is concerned. Everyone’s current situation is different. Some may be married with kids while others may live alone. The importance is to get fluent fast with your monthly expenses. via GIPHY This is the time where you acknowledge areas you can cut back on. The goal is to invest in you, so some sacrifices must be made. The easiest things to attack would be unnecessary recurring payments directly coming out of your bank account(s). After this is done be sure to give yourself a personal goal and/or timeline of exactly when you expect to see monetary gain from your new business venture. This may change throughout your journey but for now you will use it as a sticker. With this answer a more solid calculation can be made.
The basics should be covered when making your calculations for saving. Shelter, food and communication (phone bill) must all be at the top of the list. Realistically the average adult has more monthly expenses than just these three things but let’s just treat this as a beginner’s guide. Depending on what industry your new business belongs to you have to understand there will be some start up fees included. Some of those start up fees can be anything from website development to marketing and promotion oh and don’t forget health insurance. Be sure to add these expenses to your savings goal.
Quickbooks to track your Taxes and Expenses
In order to be called a business you must be making money. I use Quickbooks Self Employed to help me keep track of how much money I’m bringing in each month, how much I’m spending on my business expenses, also track my taxes that’s right good old uncle Sam wants to be paid. I can also send out invoices. with Quickbooks I love Quickbooks because it keeps me organized and I love having all my financials in one place. Each week I make sure to set a time where I can sit down and go over what is coming in and what is going out. If you’ve been looking for a tool to keep your business organized Quickbooks is the way to go plus it’s just $10.00 a month. if you’re interested you can sign up here. If you’re struggling with figuring out how to handle your business finances this is a great book to help you!
