Keeping Your Day Job or Launching a Startup

Launching a Startup

You're tired of the stress of the corporate world and being bossed around by your boss. In fact, leaving to create a startup can be a great way to solve that: you'll be your own boss. You can set your own hours and even work from home if you want. Launching a startup might be a particularly good idea if you have some business acumen and know, for example, how to build a business plan. With enough preparation, you can find success and pursue your passions at the same time, leading to a potentially more fulfilling, more exciting and more engaging life.

Creating a startup from scratch, however, can be stressful. Your income and financial situation will definitely be more precarious than at a consistent, established job. You'll likely put a lot of money in, but your startup will need to be successful for you to see a return. It's likely you'll be putting in long, hard hours to get to a place of success, as well. If you value your work-life balance, you may want to think carefully, as you can anticipate many early mornings and long nights at work putting together your startup.

Creating a startup is risky, but can also be rewarding. It all depends on how much you're willing to sacrifice to see your dreams become reality.

Keeping Your Day Job

More often than not, a day job is a promise of stability. You take on less risk than in a startup because your company has a history, and you know it's established. You'll probably make more money out of the gate because your company doesn't need to find its footing as much. You also might get the chance to work in larger industries with a greater chance for advancement, based on your field.

The struggle with a day job is maintaining a sense of independence and control. You might get promoted to a management position, but you might not. Either way, you'll probably remain working for someone for your entire time at the company. If you want to be the one in control, this can be a bitter pill to swallow. If you don't mesh well with the corporate culture or management style of your workplace, you might also be very dissatisfied with your job. Finally, while there's a greater sense of security at a day job, layoffs and downturns happen, and even the most loyal employees are never totally free of the risk of sudden layoffs and unemployment.

A day job promises stability, but also comes with its own frustrations. For the free spirited and passionate, it can be hard to reconcile the two.

Choosing between launching a startup and keeping your day job can be a cost-benefit analysis. There's no one right answer. The important thing is to look at yourself, what you value and what you want in your life. If you're comfortable staying at your day job, you may be rewarded with more job and economic security, allowing you to live the life you want to be living.

If you chafe against the regulations of a day job, though, and dream of being in charge, it may be time to start considering a move toward starting your own business. While there are risks involved, if you're willing to put in the work and invest, the rewards can be great.