Determine a good crossover point, so that you can enjoy the best of both worlds. Why not maintain those relationships developed during your career while gaining some early traction? Much of what works and doesn’t work in a venture can be figured out before making a full commitment to it. You can work toward a bottom line measurement, where profit trajectory from the business crosses your income needs, before you make the leap. This is not always easy to do but will be worth the effort. If done well, quitting your job to dedicate yourself to your business will be a natural transition, even if this is your first time. Here is a list of ten things to work on to determine a good crossover point. In other words, don’t quit until: It boils down to really knowing yourself and knowing your stuff before going into your new venture with a full commitment. You should know the area well enough to be able to write a book about it. This helps eliminate the tendency to respond to the frequent “once in a lifetime” opportunities that come along. Develop the business under trial conditions as much as possible while you are still maintaining your job or career. You won’t likely be able to generate much volume or profit during this phase. It is often hard to go out and make sales calls during the day while you are working 9 to 5 job. However, it is quite possible to do substantial test marketing and research without having to quit your job. There can usually be enough product or service development work done where needed to get it into a saleable enough form to get orders from real customers – enough to prove out the business and maybe make a small profit. Plus build your network, expertise and credibility in the area. Develop your business to the point that you simply are forced to choose between your job and the business. Do that, and you’ll be much less likely to hit rock bottom when you make the leap! If you have any additional suggestions, please post a comment. Peter Paul Roosen and Tatsuya Nakagawa are co-founders of Atomica Creative Group , a specialized strategic product marketing firm. Through leading edge insight and research, sound strategic planning and effective project management, Atomica helps companies achieve greater success in bringing new products to market and in improving their existing businesses. They have co-authored Overcoming Inventoritis now available.
