What entrepreneurs should consider before quitting their 9-5.
How I determined it was time to quit my job đđž
âWhen is it time to quit my 9-5?â
*Me stressed IRL^^
Honestly, I donât think thereâs one absolute answer. I believe the answer depends on you and the risk youâre comfortable taking. However, I do think there are things you should take into account before jumping the gun. This is how I personally knew it was time to give my notice and take my business full timeâŚ
Everyoneâs situation is going to be different. This is my story.
I announced that I was launching Black Tech Pipeline (BTP) in June of 2020. Around this time is when everyone was really riding the Black Lives Matter train, and claiming their allyship after George Floydâs murder.
This was not why I decided to launch. Weeks prior to the pandemic and quarantine, I was constantly tweeting about launching BTP âin the next weeks.â Those next few weeks just happened to fall during a tragic time.
But these two things did contribute to the eagerness of announcing my launch:
I knew my performance at work was dropping. I stopped attending happy hours, and engaging in conversation. It wasnât because there was something wrong with the company I worked for, my focus just shifted.
I was rightfully distracted by social media and the flooding of content surrounding the injustices happening in the Black community. Knowing the work I should be doing full time vs the work I was actually doing full time made me annoyed with myself. I wanted to just help create impact in my community. Thatâs it.
I was pissed the hell off.
đđžI want to preface this by saying that I know I have the privilege of already having a platform and a following. I know that contributed to the traction my launch announcement received.
I had been writing newsletters surrounding Black Lives Matter a few weeks before announcing my launch, and those newsletters gained lots of traction on social media, which gained me more subscribers. I decided to announce the launch of BTP in my newsletter, and the response to the announcement was sign #1 that I was going to be on my way out of my job.
My calendar was flooded with calls. I had 15 minute breaks in between calls from morning to evening. I was talking to employer after employer wanting to take advantage of BTPâs services. Aside from calls, I received emails non-stop. Not just from employers, but from press wanting to cover the launch. It was tiring but good problems to have, especially before even launching.
On top of my performance dropping at work from being distracted by the political climate, I was now also distracted by BTPâs calendar being completely booked. Having so many calls booked seems promising, but until I had client agreements signed and invoices paid, I wasnât going to leave my job, especially during a pandemic.
Plenty of employers expressed interest. They loved the origin story of #BlackTechTwitter and how it led to me building Black Tech Pipeline. There were lots of promising words, but you canât go off of words of interest to determine your safety net.
The way I determined my safety net was by looking at my finances with my mentor, Leon Noel. I kept in mind what I was making annually at my 9-5. I already knew what I was charging for my services so I also used that to think about worst and best case scenario. He told me to ask myself:
At the very least, how much do you need to make to pay your bills on time?
Are you willing to give up your typical lifestyle?
I looked at my pricing model and mapped out how many clients Iâd have to have per month to get by. And not just how many clients, but:
Which services would those clients have to pay for in order for me to get by?
And when those clients pay me, how much money do I have left over after putting 30-35% into savings for tax time and personal savings?
And if I donât want to live a life of just getting by, how much money do I need to make, with tax deductions in mind, to live the life that I want to live?
How much money would I like to make annually? What will it take to get there? Can I project that?
Is it possible that I can stay at my 9-5 and balance my business at the same time?
Could I potentially hire someone to help me out so that I can do both?
Those numbers and questions are extremely important and itâs what you should think about before making the decision to bounce from your 9-5.
Sign #2: Personally, time was not on my side. It came to a point where something had to give. It wasnât fair to continue working my 9-5 when I wasnât giving it my all because I was busy prioritizing my own business. I also wasnât willing to give up potential clients, miss calls, and wait to reply to business emails for the sake of my 9-5.
Sign #3 : Potential clients turned into paying clients. Agreements were getting signed, and invoices were being paid. That sounds dope, but thatâs not enough to say youâre secure. The question is,
With the money youâve been paid + your savings (if any), would you be able to quit your job and be able to pay your bills for the next 6 months, even if you got no other paying clients?
How many signed/not yet paid clients do you currently have?
Whatâs your projected paying client rate for the next month?
What are you going to do if you donât have any new business coming in?
These are the risk questions, and you have to be very real with yourself when you answer them. The last thing you want is give yourself optimistic answers and then be left with late payments, debt, and serious financial hardship.
My personal answers: Iâd be fine. I determined this by the tangible money I had been paid. I didnât count the client agreements signed because anyone can back out of an agreement before the work begins, something could delay the process on their end, etc. I made enough to feel confident in giving my job my notice, and to continue living the life I want to be able to live. I only considered signed agreements when I thought about future business expectations: âI have {x} many clients potentially secured for {x} services, which will keep me financially stable for {x months}. I also have {x} many potential client calls lined up for the next {x weeks/months}.â
I also double checked with my mentor, and when he approved, I felt even more confident in leaving.
It was bittersweet, but I gave my notice. It was time. â¨Shout out to G2i for being the best employer Iâve worked for since entering the tech industry. Amazing culture, dope people, and doing the work of solving the broken vetting process.
Now, I donât know whatâs going to happen with Black Tech Pipeline. Maybe things are only going well right now and weâll struggle later down the line. I donât know, I hope not. I will do everything in my power to make this company successful, but thereâs only so much that I have control over. Thatâs the risk. Thatâs entrepreneurship for ya.
If Iâm being totally honest, a job will always be there. Companies will always be hiring. I know- Iâm a recruiter.