This thought has been lingering on my mind for about 2 weeks now. I have never considered this matter so seriously in my entire working life, but now I am. And I am wondering if it is smart at all to even think about it, seeing how the economy will not be going up anytime soon. Holding on to a job seems a safe haven than taking time off and then finding job again when I’m ready. There may not be jobs out there when I’m ready to take it on again in this time of global financial crisis. What more with many companies now retrenching people and cutting back on expenses any way they can, things certainly aren’t looking rosy ahead.
On the other hand, I see so many self-made entrepreneurs out there and I’m very motivated by them. Just look at the number of personal blogs turned into small businesses for many bloggers out there. Some are even doing it full time and making a decent living. Can’t I do something like that, I wonder. I believe I can. I did a mental calculation of what my minimum income needs to be just to pay bills and commitments. No shopping. And it looks about doable.
You must be wondering why I suddenly came to this junction in life. Well, there are compelling reasons. A year ago, I toyed with the idea of being a stay at home mum simply because I grew so attached to my first newborn and I dreaded going back to work when my maternity leave was over. But months after, I slowly got the momentum about being back at work and I threw away the idea of staying home. But now, I am again toying with this idea, and a lot more seriously. And yes, the most compelling reason is my son, followed by the optimism I feel about being an entrepreneur, a small time one as a start, of course.
But dare I take the risk at this point in time? That, I’m still asking myself. Dare anyone out there, right now? Most people I talk to seem to say it’s better to have a job now than to try be a ‘hero’ on my own doing a home business.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
hi. i would say that if you can do both, that would be fantastic. Keep your current job for the time being whilst you build one that gives you passive and residual income. that is what i did and i am glad that i did it as i just got my letter of retrenchment this week. Drop by at my blog when you are free. Cheers!
The current crisis might turn out to be a wake up call for us to explore new ventures
Whenever there’s a crisis, there will always be opportunities as well since everyone else is backing off from these opportunities, putting you in a good position to get them. But it’s a big risk, much bigger than sitting at the office doing your 9-5 job and getting a regular paycheck. It’s something which I’ve thought about a lot too. But as of now, it’s better for me to try things on the sideline while focusing on the main job. And will see how things go from there.
Hmm … I think that we should start a side business while maintaining the current day job. Although on paper, the calculations look do-able, there are still risks involved. Tread carefully …
Yozoranitesky, sorry to hear about the retrenchment, but good for you to have built up something on the side. Admirable!
Yow Chuan, that’s what I thought too, instead of looking at it from the gloom point of view.
Alvin, yes I agree it’s a lot of risk involved. That’s why I’m still ding-donging on this. Good luck in your sideline.
Financial Fool, not sure if I’ll ever dare to stick a foot in when it really comes to handing over that envelope to the boss with no other job in hand! Haha.