3 ms·

1) Don't quit work until you have a couple of clients lined up. Seriously, treat it like a side-gig until you make more per hour than the day job.

by foobar1962 8y ago

bashwizard 8y ago
This. There is no magic to it really.
msadowski 8y ago
Unless you are very lucky! I've felt really burned down at work and decided to quit without having anything lined up. I had savings that would allow me to keep going for 6 months and a partner who would support me if things went bad and I didn't find work. I was lucky to get a long term project two weeks after handing my notice (the notice period in most European countries is 1 month) and from then on I had a steady stream of work. Not feeling burned down I would never make a jump without any gigs lined up and thinking about it now makes me feel quite uneasy. Still, health is top priority so if you have savings or someone willing to support you then go for it.
gk1 8y ago
I quit my job and lived off savings until consulting picked up. I don’t know that I would’ve tried as hard or gotten those first few clients if I was treating it as a side-gig in the evenings.
- andy_adams 8y ago
  Depends - I started freelancing with 2 kiddos and little savings, so I had to do the side-gig transition until I was sure it'd make ends meet. You definitely need a "fire" keeping you moving, though - if you have savings & low expenses, making the leap to full-time can force you to learn fast.
topoftheforts 8y ago
On paper this is the most reasonable advice but it's not very realistic and it's definitely not the only choice. When I was thinking about quitting my job, I've encountered this advice a lot and it was very discouraging. So I just wanted to reiterate for anyone really struggling in their day job, looking to quit: if it gets too unbearable, there are MANY options.

3 ms·

1) Don't quit work until you have a couple of clients lined up. Seriously, treat it like a side-gig until you make more per hour than the day job.

by foobar1962 8y ago

1) Don't quit work until you have a couple of clients lined up. Seriously, treat it like a side-gig until you make more per hour than the day job.

bashwizard 8y ago
This. There is no magic to it really.
msadowski 8y ago
Unless you are very lucky! I've felt really burned down at work and decided to quit without having anything lined up. I had savings that would allow me to keep going for 6 months and a partner who would support me if things went bad and I didn't find work. I was lucky to get a long term project two weeks after handing my notice (the notice period in most European countries is 1 month) and from then on I had a steady stream of work. Not feeling burned down I would never make a jump without any gigs lined up and thinking about it now makes me feel quite uneasy. Still, health is top priority so if you have savings or someone willing to support you then go for it.
gk1 8y ago
I quit my job and lived off savings until consulting picked up. I don’t know that I would’ve tried as hard or gotten those first few clients if I was treating it as a side-gig in the evenings.
- andy_adams 8y ago
  Depends - I started freelancing with 2 kiddos and little savings, so I had to do the side-gig transition until I was sure it'd make ends meet. You definitely need a "fire" keeping you moving, though - if you have savings & low expenses, making the leap to full-time can force you to learn fast.
topoftheforts 8y ago
On paper this is the most reasonable advice but it's not very realistic and it's definitely not the only choice. When I was thinking about quitting my job, I've encountered this advice a lot and it was very discouraging. So I just wanted to reiterate for anyone really struggling in their day job, looking to quit: if it gets too unbearable, there are MANY options.