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Ask HN: How did you go from employee to startup entrepreneur?

You use to work 9-to-5 for "the man" but now run your own business. How did you make the transition? Would you do it again?

d4v1dv00 15y ago
You basically have 2 option: start with fulltime, supported by savings or income that doesn't require you to clock in OR do it as part time contribution (evening and weekends) and set yourself a target date to do fulltime transition by saving $$ along the way. I have been doing the 2nd option for 2 startup company now.
- sparknlaunch12 15y ago
  Thanks for the response. What type of targets do you set? Are they financial targets? Have you written a formal plan? When will you quit your full time role and focus on 1/2 startups?
  - PonyGumbo 15y ago
    I built mine on nights and weekends and quit when I was able to pay myself more than my day job. I had about 9 months worth of living expenses saved up.
SpaceDragon 15y ago
I started my business after I got a full-time client (a bit of a reversal to how it's usually done). It was the right time, right opportunity. I also, without a doubt, received God's help, so I can't claim it was all my doing. Would I do it again? I work many more hours than I did working for the man, but yes, absolutely.
- sparknlaunch12 15y ago
  Thanks. Did you go employee to consultant? Why was it right time?
  - SpaceDragon 15y ago
    I had been doing web dev and marketing for years while working full time. I had a family and mortgage to support. But the time was right to go full-time consultant when I landed a client who was ambitious and had a lot of work for me. This client also happened to be a "super-connector" who told everyone about me and how good I was, so that helped. My advice: learn how to market and start planning now, be patient, ask God for help, and you will surely have your own business.
knes 15y ago
I quit my job because I didn't like what I was doing. I didn't like having a boss so the easiest thing to do was "be my own boss", right? :) So far so good, the journey is fun and I'm learning a shitload of stuff on the way. If it failed, no worries I'll go back and slave myself in a big corporation.
- sparknlaunch12 15y ago
  Thanks. How are you paying the bills? What is your journey? Learning or actually building stuff and speaking with customers? How would you measure success or failure?
thedillio 14y ago
Nights and weekends at first. Then I landed a gig as a network technician, where I had no office. I just got dispatched out whenever a client had a problem. Otherwise I could do pretty much what I wanted and work on my business. If you can do something like that and buy you more time while still getting a salary, it can help. I joked that my boss was my investor.

You use to work 9-to-5 for "the man" but now run your own business. How did you make the transition? Would you do it again?

d4v1dv00 15y ago

You basically have 2 option: start with fulltime, supported by savings or income that doesn't require you to clock in OR do it as part time contribution (evening and weekends) and set yourself a target date to do fulltime transition by saving $$ along the way. I have been doing the 2nd option for 2 startup company now.

sparknlaunch12 15y ago
Thanks for the response. What type of targets do you set? Are they financial targets? Have you written a formal plan? When will you quit your full time role and focus on 1/2 startups?
- PonyGumbo 15y ago
  I built mine on nights and weekends and quit when I was able to pay myself more than my day job. I had about 9 months worth of living expenses saved up.

SpaceDragon 15y ago

I started my business after I got a full-time client (a bit of a reversal to how it's usually done). It was the right time, right opportunity. I also, without a doubt, received God's help, so I can't claim it was all my doing. Would I do it again? I work many more hours than I did working for the man, but yes, absolutely.

sparknlaunch12 15y ago
Thanks. Did you go employee to consultant? Why was it right time?
- SpaceDragon 15y ago
  I had been doing web dev and marketing for years while working full time. I had a family and mortgage to support. But the time was right to go full-time consultant when I landed a client who was ambitious and had a lot of work for me. This client also happened to be a "super-connector" who told everyone about me and how good I was, so that helped. My advice: learn how to market and start planning now, be patient, ask God for help, and you will surely have your own business.

knes 15y ago

I quit my job because I didn't like what I was doing. I didn't like having a boss so the easiest thing to do was "be my own boss", right? :) So far so good, the journey is fun and I'm learning a shitload of stuff on the way. If it failed, no worries I'll go back and slave myself in a big corporation.

sparknlaunch12 15y ago
Thanks. How are you paying the bills? What is your journey? Learning or actually building stuff and speaking with customers? How would you measure success or failure?

thedillio 14y ago

Nights and weekends at first. Then I landed a gig as a network technician, where I had no office. I just got dispatched out whenever a client had a problem. Otherwise I could do pretty much what I wanted and work on my business. If you can do something like that and buy you more time while still getting a salary, it can help. I joked that my boss was my investor.