Why It May Pay to Wait

You know how the saying goes, “Waiting is always the hardest part”. But sometimes it pays to wait. Especially if you are planning to leave a regular job and start up your own creative business.

Here are a few reasons why you might want to wait a little while before leaving your full-time job to start your creative business.

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Experience – working for a company can teach you lots. Not only about your particular career field but also general business practices. Take people skills for example. You won’t necessarily learn how to deal with unpleasant or difficult people working in your home studio all day alone. That is, until you get to an art/craft fair and deal with someone who makes an unreasonable request. Use your time at work to watch and learn about dealing with people who may be a bit prickly.

Management skills – if you work for a company long enough, chances are you will be put in some sort of a management position. The skills you learn in this position might come in handy when your own company grows to a point where you need to hire employees. A few years of managing other people will give you experience you might not otherwise get and save you some painful mistakes later on.

Education – Many companies offer training or continuing education benefits. Be sure to use them to your advantage if you plan to leave your job in the next few years. Learn all you can and improve on skills you will need once you run your own company.

Make Connections – Use the time spent in the workforce to make connections that may benefit you once you are out on your own. You never know when someone from accounting may turn out to be the perfect person to help you with your taxes. You don’t want to make friends with people just so you can tap into their skills down the road but be on the lookout for people you genuinely like that offer services you may need down the road. And keep in mind that someone may need your skills too. Make a list of possible clients or contractors and be sure to keep their business cards. A small business owner can never be too well connected.

Time to Make Plans – Staying at your job a little while longer might give you the time you need to write up your business plan, make goals or take that vague idea for a business you have and get the details nailed down so that you have a stronger vision of what you want and what needs to be done when you make the leap.

Learn about you – take the time while you are working to learn more about yourself. What are your strengths or weaknesses? Are you a self-starter or do you need to answer to someone? How well do you work with deadlines? What times of the day are more productive for you? Going into business knowing where you are weak or strong will give you an opportunity to head off problems before the arise.

Have you been wanting to leave your job and start your own business but are worried that the timing isn’t right? Don’t fret. Do what you need to do to learn the things that will give you an advantage when you finally get out there to start your business.

What things have you learned from your day job so far?

By: Vicki O’Dell, The Creative Goddess

You can find more of Vicki’s article right here on her profile page!