How to start a business without quitting your job

When we think about the word “entrepreneur” what comes to mind? A rebel, a misfit, someone who breaks the rules, does something out of the ordinary? There are stories of those who had that eureka moment, quit their job, and then start using the garage as office to build the next big thing.  But this view of the entrepreneur is quite an unrealistic one, especially in our society.

Most of us can’t afford to quit our jobs without another source of income. But should this stop us from chasing our entrepreneurial dreams? It is possible to start and build your business while working for someone else, without going on leave or quitting your job. In fact, there are many advantages to this approach, i.e. reduced risk, access to contacts and networks.

However, starting a business while you’re still fully employed requires more. As opined by Omotayo B. Adeoye, Founder of The Wumbb, a start-up and SME focused consulting firm, below are steps that can guide you in your entrepreneurial journey.

•Test your idea

While having an idea is good, you shouldn’t build on every idea you have ,as an idea is about 10 per cent of building a business and other crucial factors often come to play. You need to prove your idea, test, iterate, and test again so it has a ready market and can in fact be built. You can test your idea in many ways; conducting market research/feasibility study, designing a prototype and releasing it free to your customers, engaging a focus group etc. Testing your idea gives you the added confidence that your idea can replace your full time job.

•Plan every aspect of your business

Once you have identified and tested the idea you want to pursue and you’ve made the decision to transform it into a business, the next step is to prepare a comprehensive business plan; detailing plans for every aspect of your business.

How will you develop your product/service? Who will buy/use your product/service? How will you reach them? How will you convince them to buy from you? Do you have the money to start or will you need to raise money? Ask yourself real questions and put hemtogether in a detailed business plan that will serve as a manual and guide for you.

•Employ the services of a start-up consultant and leverage outsourcing

Consultants can help you immensely in the pursuit of starting your business. They are trained to look critically at an idea, identify the pitfalls and point you in the right direction. They can help you achieve in one month what can take you up to 3 months or a year. Consultants and outsourcing services can provide an extra hand and work full-time on your idea while you work at your day job. Think of them like babysitters or day care. Many tasks needed in a start-up can be outsourced; your website design, development of your prototype, market research & feasibility study, proof of concept etc.

•Get a co-founder

The process of starting a business can be intense and a lot of work, worse of if you are starting a business while working a full time job. Perhaps teaming up with like minds might help. 

Getting a co-founder can help you immensely. Co-founders working part-time equal one person working full-time. So you can try enlisting the help of that co-worker or friend who shares the vision you have for your business. Your partner must complement you and bring to board skills and abilities that you don’t have; you must enjoy working together and have goals in the same direction of being an entrepreneur. Serious care must be taken here not to enlist the help of just anybody as that can do more harm than good. Also, a clear agreement must be in place on profit sharing and ownership rights.

•Save money to put into your business

A lot of money and time go into starting a business and you would need to put aside money to handle every stage of starting your business. Increase your savings by 30-50 per cent and save as much as you can. You might need to cut back on other things, i.e. eating out, shopping or acquiring the latest devices. It’s going to be hard but think of it as an investment into the future you desire. Save in excess as entrepreneurship is laced with surprises and pit falls.

•Prepare for work after work, and on weekends

You will need to create more time to put into your business since the major part of your day goes to your day job, leaving you with just evenings and weekends. Create time and put it to effective use; meet with your consultants, web designers, partners etc. This time must be well-scheduled and free from distractions of any kind.

•Set goals for yourself

It’s important to give yourself things to look forward to and work towards. Your goals can look like this;

•Month 1 – perform market research & feasibility study and test my product/service

•Month 2 – Prepare business plan and build company online presence

•Month 3- Start selling product/service publicly

Month 6 – Quit day job and focus on business

Editor’s note: If you are seriously considering starting a business while working, contact: [email protected] or [email protected] you can also join the largest entrepreneurship community in Nigeria on www.mentor.mara.com or download the Mara Mentor app on Android, Apple, Blackberry and Nokia stores.