In the third article of a series, Rotman School of Management MBA graduate and start-up founder Jon Chow explains why you should ditch your job and launch a business.
Before founding SecureTheJob.com, I spent six months going back and forth trying to decide whether I should leave the plush world of finance for the uncertainty of life as a start-up founder.
For MBAs that are going through the same decision making process, here are eight reasons why I decided to ditch my corporate job and launch a business venture.
1. You can afford to fail. Most people coming out of an MBA are in their late 20s or early 30s. In the grand scheme of things, taking two years to try your hand at launching a start-up shouldn’t set your career back significantly – even if it doesn’t succeed.
2. There’s no better time than the present. Face it: your life will only get more complicated (if it isn’t already). You’ll get married, have kids and maybe buy a house. This may be the only time in your life where you’ll be able to accept the risks associated with an entrepreneurial venture.
3. Use your education. Your MBA has armed you with knowledge and a broad set of skills. Often, MBAs end up taking jobs that only utilize a small sub-set of what they learned in business school. Getting involved in a start-up will give you the opportunity to use and build on everything you gleaned from your program.
4. Build something. What’s the best way to find the perfect workplace? Build it yourself. This is your opportunity to conceptualize and build a company; to not just be an employee at a business that somebody else created.
5. There’s more to life than money. Sure, a bigger pay check lets you buy more stuff. But after a while, you’ll realize that it’s true what they say: money really can’t buy happiness.
6. It’s not as expensive as you think. Unlike 20 years ago, launching a start-up today can be done with very little upfront investment. All you need is a willingness to learn and a strong work ethic. Once you’ve proven your business model and you’re ready to grow, there are plenty of ways to raise money.
7. Expand your network. What if it all goes sideways and your business fails? Yes, that sucks. But no, it isn’t the end of the world. You’ve probably learned a lot about yourself and what type of work you enjoy. More importantly, you’ve probably made a ton of contacts that can help you find a new job. Remember, it’s not what you know; it’s who you know.
8. And most importantly, you only live once. Life is too short to spend it wondering “what if?”.
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