# At what point would you quit your full-time job?



## baseballbusinessman (Feb 7, 2014)

I'd just be curious for everyone's thoughts on this subject.



A little background:



I've spent the past 15 years working in the corporate finance world, and have a relatively stable, well-paying job. In the past 6 months, I've begun working on starting my own business, which will produce an MLB licensed collectible baseball card game. Samples have been designed, and the license is applied for, and should be finalized in the next 2-3 months, at which point, production and sales will begin. The samples have been shown to distributors who sell to Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart, etc, and much interest has been shown. The distributors have existing long-term relationships with my manufacturer, who produces a line of football cards, so the distributors were not simply cold-called...numerous in-depth conversations have been had with them about the product.



The question:

I'm curious at what point all of you gave up your full-time jobs (if you had one) and began with your small business full-time. My wife and I have been having a serious debate about it lately. She's of the opion that it shouldn't even be considered until years down the road, and once the small business is completely financially stable. I'm more of the opinion that I'm looking to make this a viable business....not a hobby....and that requires work and commitment on my part...as well as needing to accept a degree of risk. I don't want the business to fail simply because I didn't devote enough time or energy to it.



I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences about at what point you made the jump!


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## maccheese (Jul 25, 2011)

My husband is in the process of starting his own business. He won't be able to quit his full time until he either saves up enough money to somewhat sustain our current lifestyle (which isn't all that grand) or he makes enough money to do so. Maybe your wife is afraid that you all's current lifestyle will be affected drastically if you have less money coming in for a while. She may need to buy into your vision for a while in case starting the business might require some budget cuts here and there. Hopefully if there are no kids involved. It would be easier for my husband if we didn't have a kid.



baseballbusinessman said:


> I'd just be curious for everyone's thoughts on this subject.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## MSP (Feb 9, 2012)

I've owned my own businesses since I was 21 years old. There are two things that will kill a start-up business: too few customers; or too many customers. The first eventuality is actually easier to deal with. You ensure that you have support in place so that if the business doesn't bring enough in, you don't starve; and you do what you need to do to get more customers. In the second instance, with too many customers, you have to have help. This is when a lot of people burn out. They get successful quickly and end up swamped and the business fizzles under a swarm of unhappy customers who get sick of waiting. 

Anyways, the important thing is to have solid plans in place and then leap when it's appropriate. You'll know when that is once you get started.


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## wife1981 (Jul 5, 2013)

You probably heard of Dave Ramsey, I am a big fan. He has helped us become debt free. Well at least he has given us the tools to make that happen. He has a show on the radio, a lot of good advice in my opinion. He talks a lot about investments, opening a business, etc. https://www.daveramsey.com/category/tools/ Maybe it can help you with some answers if you don't get them here. Good luck!


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## Runs like Dog (Feb 25, 2011)

You should never expect to earn a dime out of a start up for the first 5 years. Can you afford that?


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## Dollystanford (Mar 14, 2012)

Interest has been shown - not the same as contracts being signed, however many in-depth conversations you've had

I'm with the missus on this one


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## chillymorn (Aug 11, 2010)

I'm with your wife on this.

better get used to working as many hours possible for the next ten years. I've read that it takes ten years to get a business going.


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## turnera (Jan 22, 2010)

Your best bet is to find a real investor who will put a couple million into the project, preferably as a pay-back loan plus profit (not ownership). That way, you can stop working and devote 100 hours a week to your business.


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## DTO (Dec 18, 2011)

I'm a pretty firm believer that having a business is a risky venture and harder work than having a job generally. You need to make whatever you would have made before, plus an extra margin to account for all that.

I would not quit a job for a business unless I could equal my current pay package plus whatever I could make by leaving the money invested in the bank instead, within a period of 2 to 3 years. IMO, if you can't build it up to that level in that time period it's not paying off from a financial perspective.


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## Cynthia (Jan 31, 2014)

You want to know who is correct, you or your wife. The real issue is whether you are going to freak your wife out by quitting your job, so you can concentrate on something that hasn’t made you a dime or whether you are going to take this in a responsible manner and continue to work your paying job until your business is able to support you for the long haul. That is the real question you should be considering rather than whether you or your wife is right.
It is important for you and your spouse to be in full agreement with what you are doing, otherwise, you are going to have trouble and if your business doesn’t support you, you are going to be relying on her to take on a burden she did not agree to. That could destroy your marriage. Ask yourself which is more important to you – your wife or your business. Further, if you pressure her into agreeing with you, she will not really be in agreement with you at all. She will be giving up, because of pressure. This is the same as doing something without her true agreement.
I grew up in an entrepreneurial home. I am in a long line of entrepreneurs. Therefore, I am well aware of the pitfalls and advantages of owning a business. I have a business of my own that I’m just starting out. My husband fully supports our family financially, so I did not quit a paying job to start my business. He is in full agreement that this is what we are going to do. If it weren’t this way, I would be putting a strain on our marriage by insisting on having my own way against his wishes. It is never a good idea for one spouse to force his/her decisions on the other.


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