Don Roulo is the CEO (Chief Encouragement Officer) of Life Quest. He is a life, career and business coach as well as a Certified 48 Days Workshop Facilitator. He travels nationally and internationally to conduct business and career training as well as marriage and family workshops.

By DON ROULO

I recently had lunch with a long time friend. We were discussing the various workshops I do and he asked me a great question, which many people think about regarding their side business. He said he knew several people who work a full-time job they tolerate, but also have a side business they are passionate about. They want to transition from their full-time job to their business.

Question:  “How do you know when it’s the right time to quit your full-time job and work your business full-time?” The two options below are answers to this question:

First, one piece of friendly advice: Never quit your full-time job to start a business without a well thought out and written plan and you find yourself in either of the two options below.

Option #1: You can make the transition when your monthly income from your side business equals your full-time job monthly income. Continue to work both your job and your business until your business income is now equal to, or exceeds, your full-time job income for three to six months consistently.

This can be slightly altered if you know you can get by with less income. If you currently make $3,000 per month at your current job, but you have put pen to paper and you know it is acceptable to make a $2,500 per month income from your business, then, make the transition. I highly recommend making the same income though. There is much less stress to your family and your lifestyle this way.

Option #2: This option assumes since you will now be able to devote all of your working hours toward your business you can build it up to the same income within a matter of three to six months. Again, continue to work both your current job as well as your business until you have met ALL three of the following criteria.

1) You are consistently making at least 50 percent of your full-time job income from doing your side business. Do this consistently for at least three to six months.

2) You have saved enough money to supplement the 50 percent difference in income for the next three to six months. Here is an example to show how this works:

• If you are making $2,000 per month from your full-time job and are now making $1,000 per month from your side business. You also need to have an additional $3,000 to $6,000 saved, so you can supplement the $1,000 per month you are making from your business each month now. This allows you to keep the same income of $2,000 per month for the next three to six months.

3) You have a specific written plan on how you will ramp things up by the end of the three to six month time frame. The most important thing to consider in this particular plan is how you will increase your business so you will be making as much, if not more, income as you were while working your previous job.

Making the transition from working a full-time job to running your own business is a very big life decision. Make sure you do everything you can to set yourself up for success before you make the leap.

About the Author
Don Roulo is a life, career and business coach as well as a Certified 48 Days Workshop Facilitator. He travels nationally and internationally to conduct business and career training as well as marriage and family workshops.

As a business consultant, he has written business plans and worked to market products or services as well as organizing financial statements for investors. Because of his success in the sales and business arena, Don has been blessed with the opportunity to train, motivate and inspire others. His passion is to motivate and equip people to find their passion and achieve their goals and God given destiny.