I knew within a few months of landing my first job after university that I wanted to quit and run my own business.
I had my first taste of business during my first year of university when I was 19, I setup a company that served shisha (flavoured tobacco) at club nights around London.
I felt on top of the world. I was making money and enjoying myself. Something I had not ever experienced.
That's the one thing I really miss, working on something you are so passionate about that it doesn't really feel like work because you are having so much fun! 🙂
See, there are times in investment banking where I genuinely think, “it’s been a good day” and feel motivated on my way home from work.
But that’s only a few days in a month.
I want to be able to enjoy every single day of my life, and retire knowing I’ve loved how I got there.
And that my friend, is why I plan to quit by the end of this year!!!! Yes planning to QUIT by the end 2016!
Taking the plunge to quit my job however is not going to be an easy one and I didn't come so close to making this decision overnight. It took me a long time, sleepless nights, and a lot of hard work to set up the foundations of my business.
I know that many of you are also going through the same journey and are in the process of taking control of your own destiny. Therefore, I figured it would be very useful for us to get one tip from 39 successful entrepreneurs who have already been through this stage of the entrepreneur's journey.
The advice is friggin awesome and so inspiring, you’re going to love it.

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Firstly, understand that you’re selling a product or your time as a service. Unlike being employed where you are selling your experience in that role, with your
Secondly,
This leads onto the third point. With running a business there are a lot
Lastly, you need to have an action plan and implement it
Brennan helps freelancers and consultants grow their business. His one goal is to make you better off than you were before you met him. Double Your Freelancing.

Don't launch until you have a growing, sustainable number of paying customers. I learned this lesson the hard way and ended up having to move in with my parents just a few months after quitting a job and banking on the quick success of the side business I had been working on at the time.
A few years down the line, I'm now back to being self-employed. My personal rule is that I'm not allowed to quit my day job until my side business is generating at least 75% of the amount of income my day job also pays me—that way I'll be able to make a smooth transition without much change in lifestyle and spending straight out the gates. I'm confident I'll be able to pick up that extra 25% (and beyond) relatively quickly after unlocking a significant amount of time to work on my business full-time, but if you've never worked for yourself before, that can be a risky gamble.
It takes a lot of discipline and a rigorous routine to stay on track with your business goals. When it comes to calculating your income percentage that your side business needs to be bringing in, it can be different than mine, but it should be based upon your risk tolerance. If you have a family, dependents, or you'll be incurring a lot of new expenses (think: health care, self employment tax, office space, online tools, unpaid vacation or sick time), then you have more to consider—your savings cushion and side income level may need to be larger.
It's a very real possibility, especially if your business is less than a year old, that it'll end up growing much slower than you expect or plateau at the exact wrong moment, so it's important to protect for the downside.
The last thing you need when you're trying to grow your new business is the pressure of struggling to make ends meet.
Ryan Robinson is an entrepreneur and content marketing consultant. He teaches over 200,000 monthly readers how to start and grow a profitable side business on his blog, ryrob. This month, he's also challenging himself to build a completely new business from scratch in 30 days, in his Validation Challenge.

Why do you want it? If you kinda want it, then you won't get it. If you REALLY want it, then you'll get there eventually (assuming you don't randomly get hit by a bus ;D).
I wanted to quit my job and start a business because it meant I could earn money ANYWHERE in the world, with nothing but my laptop and an internet connection. That is extreme freedom. And with that freedom, I wanted to do interesting things... travel, make music, learn languages (I'm currently spending a lot of time with
So why do you want it?
You've gotta dig deep inside yourself and figure that shit out. It's no use looking for the answer in a book, or in my story, or in any place other than inside yourself.
And when you've figured out what you want, you need to be sure that a business is the best way to get there.
Because hey - maybe you'd be better off moving to Silicon Valley and joining a startup (if you want to change the world, say), or getting married and having kids (if you care more about love than freedom).
Life is short. Do what makes YOU happy. If business is the vehicle to get you there, great. But if it isn't, don't let the hype and
Great post Neil!
I’m super passionate about this topic. Everyone’s entrepreneurial journey is different. There are so many different paths you can take.
Glad to be a part of this.
Cheers Eli, I love this stuff too, which I’m sure you can now tell 🙂
Hi Neil,
Thanks for sharing my thoughts among these pros 🙂
Following your fun is a critical component of any venture. Because when you face resistance, you will either do the fun, freeing thing or surrender to your fear. Can’t have it both ways. If you follow your fun, you will do the fun, freeing and at times scary things that help you leave your 9-5 behind to build a thriving business venture.
Ryan
Ryan Biddulph recently posted…10 Tips to Detach from Anchor Like Blogging Outcomes
Totally agree Ryan, “following your fun” is why I’ve stopped previous businesses and is why I’ve got this far with my current business. This reminds me of something I read recently, “start a business you’re willing to help people for free”. That’s not to say you should offer free services, but it’s a good way to test your passion.
This is an amazing post! I love hearing other peoples thoughts on raking such a big leap in life.
xoxo
Isaly Holland