For most of us, making the jump from a corporate or office job to start an online business is a bit of a dream. It’s the kind of thing we imagine doing when we’ve had a bad day at work, got some poor feedback from an irate boss, or are fed up with the office politics going on among our colleagues.
We get home, grab a beer, and spend a few happy moments imagining what it could be like to work for ourselves, doing what we love, online.
The past decade or so has shown us that it’s not easy to make a living online.
When the web first started throwing out dot com millionaires, it’s likely that most of us paused for a moment and wondered what exactly we could do to achieve the same level of success. We looked at different products, came up with a few ideas, and eventually decided that it was probably not a great idea to jack it all in in favor of starting an online business.
However, for a select few, that nagging simply doesn’t go away.
We can be standing in line at the grocery store, or heading in for another day at the office, and we simply can’t let that dream of making a living online disappear. It rears its head when we are at our lowest ebb with work, and again when we are felling confident and positive about our own possibilities and potential.
So, if you have an idea and you’re convinced it could work out, when exactly do you take that jump and decide to make a go of it online, be your own boss and turn your back on your ‘regular’ job?
Here’s some indicators that it could be the right time…
You Can’t Think Of Anything Else
If every day at work you are spending your time planning, thinking your idea through and working out how it could be successful, you could be in the right frame of mind to take the leap. This shows that you are serious about your online idea, and have the passion and commitment to make it work in the long-term.
The Market Feels Right
If you have done your research and really established a market for your idea, it’s likely you will make it a success. You’ve spoken to people, done your research, and still come away with a firm belief in the originality and possibility of your idea, and know exactly how you will position your business among your competitors and still turn a healthy profit.
You Have Saved Up Some Security
If you have managed to get enough capital together to live securely and safely while you set your business up and work to make it profitable, it’s a good time to take the leap. Never, ever compromise your home or other assets for a business idea. Take things steady and work on your business in your spare time, if you don’t have the financial security to make the full leap in to self-employment.
Your Family Will Support Your Online Business
If you have discussed your online business idea with the people closest to you, and they feel equally positive about it, this can be a really good indicator that it’s the right time to make the leap. Sense-check your ideas, get your business plan vetted and analysed, and make sure you do the right level of planning to give your business a firm foundation for ongoing success.
If all of these factors are in place, and you feel ready for it, this could be your time to shine, online!
Have you made the leap from a corporate or office job in to the world of online entrepreneurialism?
Please share your experiences of setting up your online business in the comments below.
Andrew is a website builder and helps small businesses with their on-line presence…so they can grow their customer list and increase sales. That’s it! That’s what we do each and every day.
Starting an online business can be very interesting but honestly getting to identify the right time can be very dicey. Like your article suggest, I’d say add that looking for these signs can give someone a good idea on when to get started. And also having at the back of one’s mind that starting a business is like taking a risk also helps.