Has anyone ended up regretting quitting a good job for their own business?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1489465

by nycer2030 • 16 years ago

25 25 16 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

There are a lot of questions here with people that hate their jobs-- but that's not my situation.

Has anyone here regretted their decision to quit a good, well-paying job to pursue their own business?

I have a great job that pays very well, offers excellent benefits, and has a good work-life balance. That said, my partner and I have spent the last few years building our business and have, for a while now, been at the point where it really deserves our full attention. Quitting would cut my income by a little more than half.

Have you been in a similar situation, taken the leap, and then wished you hadn't? Why?

pwim• 16 years ago

If you take the leap and regret it, what is to prevent you from getting another good job? You'll probably regret it if you don't take the chance, so I'd go for it.

staunch• 16 years ago

Many people work their way up a corporate ladder and end up getting paid more than they could by any other company. The company likes it because they know they have a "slave" and the employee likes it because he's getting paid more than he's worth on the open market.

keeptrying• 16 years ago

This is very very true. Golden handcuff.

neovive• 16 years ago

The answer typically depends on the circumstances and how much is at risk. If you have a family to support and your startup does not succeed (especially in this difficult job market) then regret will likely set in.

yankeeracer732• 16 years ago

I haven't regretted quitting a good job to start a business, but I miss certain things about that job: being on a large team, office camaraderie, a dependence on a nice salary and not worrying at all about money (we're bootstrapped so we're constantly worried about money both for the business and personally,) people always taking my calls and responding because i was from a name-brand company. All that said, I was just remarking to my wife today that I wouldn't trade anything for the flexibility I have now running my own business.

megablast• 16 years ago

The other thing I found was that I was more productive when I was working fulltime, than when I had more time to work on my own project. I worked better when I had less time, since I was more focused, would only work on the most important stuff, and only had a few hours to get something done.

You may miss this, but hey, go for it anyway. If you leave on a good note, then there is always a chance of going back.

kareemm• 16 years ago

What are you optimizing for? Income? Learning? Benefits? Status? Long-term family stability?

In a quest to optimize for learning and connections, I quit my cushy corp gig to found a startup. I cut my income from 120k w/ benefits to 54k w/ no benefits.

I didn't regret it for a second because I learned a ton and I met a slew of new and fascinating people (aside from launching a product, building a team, raising money, getting customers, etc.)

The world is full of well-paying gigs for smart people. Go do your startup.

ufomuffin• 16 years ago

That's right, in my case, the first time I tried to do my own business I didn't plan it well, I had to look for a job offer and I learned that as long as you have good skills you'll always find good pay. Building your own business IS the way to go.

naner• 16 years ago

> I have a great job that pays very well, offers excellent benefits, and has a good work-life balance. That said, my partner and I have spent the last few years building our business and have, for a while now, been at the point where it really deserves our full attention. Quitting would cut my income by a little more than half.

Imagine you're working full time on your own business and you get an offer for [your current job] at twice your current income with excellent benefits. Do you take it?

dennisgorelik• 16 years ago

You may try to quit your job gradually -- talk to your boss and explain that you cannot dedicate as much time to your job anymore and can work only ~3 day per week (with reduction of pay of course). When (if) your new business really picks up -- you would be able to make safe transition to your full-time start-up involvement.

kadavy3• 16 years ago

I'll never forget what a wise entrepreneur once said to me as I was scared of going out on my own:

"You have nothing to lose. If you quit your job and start your own company, and fail, you'll be much better off than if you hadn't. If you go look for a new job, you will have run your own company. Would an employer rather hire someone who hasn't run their own company, or someone who has?"

Running your own company definitely brings with it valuable lessons. If I were to get a job today, I would have a completely new perspective on the concerns of my superiors, and what really matters in a company's day-to-day operations. Before working for myself, I didn't feel any motivation at my job because I often felt I could make better decisions than my superiors. If it came down to me needing to get a job, I would clearly know whether this was really true or not.

pfedor• 16 years ago

"You have nothing to lose. If you quit your job and start your own company, and fail, you'll be much better off than if you hadn't. If you go look for a new job, you will have run your own company. Would an employer rather hire someone who hasn't run their own company, or someone who has?"

Well, there's this little thing that you will be out of a few years worth of salary. You may think it's worth it, but that's hardly "nothing to lose".

kadavy3• 16 years ago

A detail I forgot to mention was that he reasoned I would be able to command a higher salary should I fail, which would presumably cancel out the lost wages.

kadavy3• 16 years ago

If my math is correct, your company - which you run when you aren't at your job - makes you as much money as your job does? QUIT!

jackowayed• 16 years ago

It's possible that he's not taking that money out of the company right now, so he's not thinking of the money the company is making as current income, which would mean that the company makes him half as much as his job does.

Which is still pretty good. I'm not saying that that amount of profits doesn't mean he should quit, just that it seems more likely that he's making half what his job is.

nycer20302• 16 years ago

Hi Kadavy-- yes-- I make about 80% of the amount from my company as I do from my job.

hippich• 16 years ago

I quited so-so, but still my own, business and started work full time (first time in my life) due visa related stuff and i regret i went this way (although, do not have much choose). And I would say working full time kill any creativeness and it stops keeping you "fit" business-wise. So I'd say - go ahead if there is no other "dependencies".

watmough• 16 years ago

For myself, absolutely not. I've never regretted quitting a job, or making almost any life change. Not that things have always gone well, but looking back and second-guessing yourself is just totally a recipe for misery and the worst kind of depressive introspection.

I suspect that if you need to ask this question on HN, then you are not ready to quit.

However, you have a valuable side-business, have you thought about trying to staff trusted people in or have your partner run it, with you as part-time consultant?

If your relationship with people at your day job is as solid as you imply, you might want to take an unpaid leave of absence, and spend 6 months trying to drive your side-business to the point where you don't have any further doubts.

Don't underestimate the importance of a near-passive income that you control. For most of us, starting your own business is the only viable way to attain this, and ensure continued income when you decide to retire.

jexe2• 16 years ago

I took the leap a couple years ago, started a startup, ran out of cash, and got a day job again.

Incinerating your savings at a startup only to end up back as a cube warrior is pretty sobering. Even so, I never looked back on the (great) job I had with regret. Aside from not seeing some good friends every day, I didn't miss it at all, and now I'm at a far better gig than I was at the last time I was a happy wage slave. And I'm lucky to have gained some amazing experiences and a big network for the next time around.

I'm sticking to the HN party line on this one and saying that good things will come from taking a risk on what you really want to do.

vincekrish• 16 years ago

how tough was it to get a regular job? Was the company apprehensive about hiring somebody who left a good gig earlier to take the startup route?

jexe2• 16 years ago

Not tough at all - the company I joined is another (larger) startup, so I think that if anybody understands this kind of choice, it's them. :)

nycer20302• 16 years ago

Thanks for the amazing feedback, everybody.

I think the point that a lot of you have said-- essentially, "so what if you fail? You can find another job" -- really resonates with me.

I'm leaning towards doing this now because I have no kids or mortgage at this point. I really appreciate all the good responses in this thread. It's definitely a scary, but exciting, time as we consider it.

The one other factor is the drop in total income. The hope is that's temporary though-- our goal is that more time spent building the business will pay off in spades.

There's something about getting the support of people who have been in similar situations that helps with this kind of thing. Even online here, it's reassuring. So thank you all again for that.

yankeeracer732• 16 years ago

You adjust. My income dropped enormously when I set out on my own, but you also just start to buy less stuff, treat going out to dinner as a rare present to yourself vs. a 3 times a week thing, drop to more economical ways of travel, etc. After awhile you don't even notice it and even look back on your old spending ways as a little ridiculous.

CyberFonic• 16 years ago

Well no and no. After working for the man for 11 years, I started my own business. Some very good years and some lean years (15 years) later I was enticed to go working for someone whom I knew and respected. That was great. But then the business was sold and I didn't get on with the new owners so I took another job and lasted just 5 weeks. Quit and started up another business, now up and running for 6 years. Looking back, I am much happier being my own boss. If I see an opportunity I can go for it. Money is not the most important factor. Freedom is!

GFischer• 16 years ago

I have a coworker that quit his job, got broke trying their own business (he argues he chose his cofounder poorly), but he got his old post back, so in a way he regrets it, but he had his chance and didn't miss on opportunities that much.

I should ask him, but my take is that it shows that you don't risk as much as you believe if you take risks and are good enough.

Has anyone ended up regretting quitting a good job for their own business?

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