I quit my job yesterday!

[one]

After two years of slow but steady progress, yesterday I finally gave notice to my employer so I can start my own full time business. I have two weeks left at work, then I'm on my own!

It wasn't easy for me, as I held a reasonably good job with a big global bank (ING) that allowed me to do plenty of travel and see plenty of places, but I know there are better times ahead working for myself!

Work was pretty good about it, they refused my initial resignation and asked me to reconsider for a week before making a final decision, but after a few phone calls back and forward (my management team is in Sydney and I'm based in Brisbane) I told them it was a done deal and that was that. They then wished me all the best and gave me the usual rubbish about how much I'll be missed, blaa blaa...!

So for those of you who have also quit your job at some stage, in order to start your own business, what was your experience like?

[silkinteriors]

Hi One,

I haven't quit my job - but I just wanted to say 'Congratulations' for making the brave leap. I'm not there yet, but I will be one day.

All the best for your new working life. I hope the next two weeks don't drag on too slowly!

Cheers,
Sandra

[Brendan]

After two years of slow but steady progress, yesterday I finally gave notice to my employer so I can start my own full time business. I have two weeks left at work, then I'm on my own!

It wasn't easy for me, as I held a reasonably good job with a big global bank (ING) that allowed me to do plenty of travel and see plenty of places, but I know there are better times ahead working for myself!

Work was pretty good about it, they refused my initial resignation and asked me to reconsider for a week before making a final decision, but after a few phone calls back and forward (my management team is in Sydney and I'm based in Brisbane) I told them it was a done deal and that was that. They then wished me all the best and gave me the usual rubbish about how much I'll be missed, blaa blaa...!

So for those of you who have also quit your job at some stage, in order to start your own business, what was your experience like?

Congratulations.. how does it feel?

I was in a similar position recently, the resignation wasn't accepted at first and was asked to re-consider with quite a few meetings with management and different options put forward.

At the end of the day being an employee wasn't my thing any more and no matter what they offered nothing compared to going out on your own.

The first few weeks will be hard for you trying to structure yourself to being your own boss and bringing in you own income.. but once you get over the first few hurdles, you will be fine.

You will be surprised at how many new opportunities arise when you are in control of your own future.. how many options you have and how many people are willing to help you out.

Make sure you network as much as you can, speak to other business owners and get the word out there on what you are doing.. forums like this are a great place to start!

So what business are you going into?

I am guessing you sorted out that restraint of trade stuff?

[firstmillion]

It wasn't easy for me, as I held a reasonably good job with a big global bank (ING) that allowed me to do plenty of travel and see plenty of places, but I know there are better times ahead working for myself!


Congrats on the BRAVE decision. Best of luck and keep u sposted about your progress.

[one]

It feels good Brendan. I'm feeling pretty content at the moment, it's the calm before the storm I guess!

The restraint of trade issue has gone away, as I should have expected. Instead of making a big issue about it they've just wished me luck. Quite a relief!

In my current job I visit financial planning firms around the country and audit their advisers. I look at their current processes and the advice contained within their client files, then give them advice on how they can do it better.

After doing that for a while, and being frustrated by the average financial adviser out there, I had to get out there are do it myself.

So I'm setting up my own financial planning firm, but different to what most people think of with a financial planner.

There are so many people I talk to who seem to think that financial planners are only for people with a lot of money, or that they cost a lot, or that they can "make you rich" - which is all total rubbish.

So my vision is to provide good solid advice to people who may not otherwise have thought a financial planner could add value to their lives. I know that people will be surprised at how much they can get out of it, and how little it may cost them.

I'm not going down the whole "life coaching" path that some advisers have tried to follow. I'm not saying it's totally wrong, but I disagree with the path that some advisers take by making people think they can save and invest all this money each month and retire by 55, because invariably it just ends in disappointment.

Anyway, enough of the sales pitch! That's the plan, we'll see how it goes. I can't provide any further details or even the website address until the 26th of this month, but I'll be sure to do so!

[Slade]

Sounds very exciting, I bet you are pumped!

Out of interest, how are you planning on marketing that sort of a business? Referrals, word of mouth, cold calls?

I would think that a professional service business such as yours would be pretty hard to advertise?

[one]

Slade, at this stage I'm about 80% pumped and 20% petrified! But I think it's good to have some fear, the fear of failure is a massive motivator for me.

For marketing I'm going down a slightly different track to most advisers, who rely heavily on referrals from accountants and other professionals, as well as referrals from existing clients. I'll be looking for that as well of course, but I have a few other ideas too.

I'm going to do a fair bit of online advertising, mainly because I own quite a few websites and can advertise on them for free. I've also started putting together a few specialist websites that cover certain niches within our industry, so I'm hoping they will work better at getting some decent organic search traffic.

I've been told by a dozen or so financial advisers that letterbox drops don't work in our industry, but I think I've put together something that might. And because financial planning is a business where you only need a small number of clients each week to be profitable, even if only 0.5% of the flyers I deliver each week result in contact, that will be a good result.

Basically I just need to get in front of clients, because once they see what I can do for them, and how little it can actually cost them, the conversion rate should (hopefully) be quite high. Then I'll blow them away with service and hope that they refer their friends to me.

Other than that it's just friends and family to start with, which is the case with most new financial advisers, and probably many other industries too.

Can't wait to get started, my last day at work is supposed to be this Friday, but my boss has indicated that I could be leaving as early as today, so we'll see what happens...

Shane.

[Nicholas Kemp]

Well done and congratulations!

You are free to be your own person now. Quitting my job and working for myself was pretty scary - lots of uncertainty. But it was the best decision of my life.

I soon found out the first business I started was a BIG mistake. It was two years of hell. However, I survived and learned lots of valuable lessons.

Now, life is great. I am doing what I love and living a great lifestyle.

All the best!

[YenAdal]

Well done!

You've done a very hard thing.

All the best to you

regards

[one]

Thanks guys. :)

Week one was pretty good, I managed to get a lot of little things sorted out, and even picked up my first lead through one of my websites, so that was really good.

Next week I have a few meetings lined up with fund managers and insurers, so that should be another good week. After that, I need to get out there and start finding clients!

So far so good, but it's still VERY early days!

Cheers

[The Profit Frog]

Are you a qualified Financial Planner?
I'm currently studying my full Diploma of Financial Services - Financial Planning, and I know that there are significant regulations governing the activities within the Financial Services sector.

Kudos to you for taking the significant leap into the unknown... been there, did that in a naive stunt once upon a time... did okay in a part time sense.

good luck
The Profit Frog

[one]

Yep, fully qualified financial planner. I'm about to start post-grad studies in the Master of Applied Finance - just need to find the time to do it all!

[Luke]

Hi Shane! I wish you the best for Equita, please keep us informed!

Luke

[one]

Week two is going along smoothly, so far I've received two genuine leads through one of my websites, so that's been great given that the sites have only been online for a week or so. Lots of meetings with fund managers and insurers going on at the moment (ING and Macquarie yesterday, plenty more to come) and it's slowly starting to feel like I'm actually self-employed now...!

There's a long way to go, but I'm enjoying the honeymoon period at the moment!

[The Business Sage]

Yes, good luck with it. If you have a question or need a bit of advice, just ask. If it is private just PM.

[SydneyWebService]

It's always a nice feeling to hear from people who bravely jumps into the water and swim with the rest of us :)

[one]

Week 3 has just started, and I just had my first proper client meeting. Yay for me! This guy is another successful entrepreneur and needed to get his risk insurance sorted out, so it's a nice one to start with. I'll also be taking over his personal and corporate super, which is good since he has a couple of staff under the corporate plan too. I should add that he's a mate of mine, but it's still a client none the less!

[Barbaragabogrecan]

After two years of slow but steady progress, yesterday I finally gave notice to my employer so I can start my own full time business. I have two weeks left at work, then I'm on my own!

It wasn't easy for me, as I held a reasonably good job with a big global bank (ING) that allowed me to do plenty of travel and see plenty of places, but I know there are better times ahead working for myself!

Work was pretty good about it, they refused my initial resignation and asked me to reconsider for a week before making a final decision, but after a few phone calls back and forward (my management team is in Sydney and I'm based in Brisbane) I told them it was a done deal and that was that. They then wished me all the best and gave me the usual rubbish about how much I'll be missed, blaa blaa...!

So for those of you who have also quit your job at some stage, in order to start your own business, what was your experience like?
Hi , i think we both are sailing in same boat, i too am frustrated with my monotonous work, sometime the work is so much that it takes me 12 hours to complete it.i want to quit this work and start my own business , any suggestion?

[one]

Hi , i think we both are sailing in same boat, i too am frustrated with my monotonous work, sometime the work is so much that it takes me 12 hours to complete it.i want to quit this work and start my own business , any suggestion?

Just do it! :)

[Barbaragabogrecan]

I have a bad experience for resigning my job and start my own business. I really face a hard time. My colleges and my friends all are happy that I am resigning my job because I am senior to them.

[Barbaragabogrecan]

Are you thinking "I want to quit my job"? I give you everything you need to resign and still get a good reference from your boss! We've got resignation letter templates, articles on changing jobs, calculators to help you figure out how much pay you're owed and a whole host of other resources. Good Luck! For new job

[MoverandShaker]

Congratulations on being stable enough to quit your job. I personally wouldn't have done it, but some people are risk takers and I'm certainly not one of them. :P

My biggest piece of advice would be to prepare everything you can ahead of time. Make sure you have money in your account and make sure that you have enough money set aside for your next business venture. GOOD LUCK! :D