I AM AN ENTREPRENEUR BUT TOO AFRAID TO LEAVE MY JOB

" I WANT TO START MY OWN BUSINESS AS I HAVE THIS GREAT IDEA BUT I'M JUST TOO AFRAID TO QUIT MY JOB "

Actually you can, that’s just an excuse – a valid one but not a good enough one in my mind. However we both know how hard that decision is to make. To let go of that safety net and 100% commit to you an idea you have.
The biggest reason people don't end up quitting is the fear of uncertainty. They don't know what might happen and they don't want to give up the security that they already have.

How do you know when the time is right to make the leap?

The current issue with the Nigerian economy right now is that a lot of people are been forced into the entrepreneurial-life without being prepared for it.

Loads of people are laid off every week in all sectors of the economy - Banking;Telecoms; etc even the civil service have started threatening to lay-off now.

A lot of men/women who use to make six-figure salaries are suddenly thrown back into the already saturated labor market.Some of these guys are laid off with loads of cash as pay-off but with no inkling on what to do with it!

I recently heard a story on radio of a guy who lost around 11 million naira of his pay-off money from a venture/business he started after he was laid-off from his job. 

These stark-reality has forced many still fortunate to be in paid employment to start thinking of business ideas and how to start while still on the job.

I believe this is a fantastic way to start on the journey of entrepreneurship as it gives you a big foam to land on every time you jump off that business-cliff and you jump wrongly, unlike the guys that are 100% sold to the entrepreneurial life without any cushion.One wrong move and they are back to zero with loads of debt and heart-ache.

But starting a business while still on paid-employment also comes with loads of challenges as well:

# who follows up on clients while you are in the office attending to your day job?

# how do you go about marketing your products or ideas to potential clients when you have to face your job or targets given to you in the office?.

# how do you handle your Administrative or Accounting needs?

There are loads of questions that will come up requiring answers when you eventually start,yet you don't want to quit your day job yet for the unpredictable Nigerian business environment when you have bills to pay and family to look after.

Suggestions

My BIGGEST suggestion to the entrepreneur that are still in paid-employment will be to hire a VIRTUAL ASSISTANT.