When To Start A Business Ep 313

Speaker A, reflecting on a pivotal moment in his life, shares the profound struggle he faced leaving a well-paying job and the comfort of his achievements to pursue entrepreneurship. Despite his academic and career success, including graduating magna cum laude from Vanderbilt and saving $50,000 by age 22, he felt a deep dissatisfaction with his life, leading to passive suicidal ideation. He emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, risk tolerance, and the reality that entrepreneurship is a lonely, challenging path that may not initially be financially rewarding. Speaker A advises considering alternatives to quitting, such as switching companies or roles, asking how to provide more value in a current job, or starting a side hustle before making the leap. He stresses the significance of living frugally, learning from mentors, and setting realistic expectations, noting that entrepreneurship should be a value investment in oneself, not a quick path to wealth.

• The speaker discusses the challenging decision of quitting a well-paying job to pursue entrepreneurship.
• They reflect on feeling unfulfilled and depressed despite outward success.
• The speaker underlines the importance of self-awareness and mindset prior to making such a life-changing decision.
• They highlight the role of pain and dissatisfaction as motivators for change.

"Quitting my job was the hardest entrepreneurial decision of my entire life." The quote emphasizes the gravity of the decision to leave a stable job for the uncertainties of entrepreneurship.

"I felt so empty inside and I was so depressed that every day I would consider as I was driving, like, what if I went into the other lane and just like, things would end?" This quote illustrates the depth of the speaker's unhappiness in their previous job, which ultimately pushed them towards a drastic career change.

"Me quitting my job was the single hardest decision that I've ever made in my entire life." The quote reiterates the difficulty of the decision to quit a job and pursue a new path.

• The speaker shares their personal journey from success in academia to dissatisfaction in a consulting job.
• They discuss the concept of passive ideation as an indicator of their mental state at the time.
• The speaker stresses the importance of self-awareness and the right mindset before quitting a job to start a business.
• They mention listening to motivational speeches to overcome the fear of failure.

"And I had this condo that was increasing in value and I saved pretty much everything, minus my mortgage." This quote shows the speaker's financial security and accomplishments at a young age, which contrasts with their internal struggle.

"It took me six months to do it. And I listened to Arnold's rules of success speech every morning when I wake up about, it's okay to fail." The speaker describes the process and the mental preparation they undertook before making the decision to quit their job.

• The speaker details their transition from a consulting job to pursuing opportunities in California.
• They describe their previous job as not fulfilling despite its seemingly impressive nature.
• The speaker talks about the valuable skills learned during their time in consulting, such as how to learn effectively.
• They reflect on how different circumstances, such as working on different projects or for a different company, might have influenced their decision to quit.

"And so that was what ultimately shot me on the trajectory to quit that job, sell the condo, put everything that I had in my car, and I drove across the country in 36 hours to California." This quote captures the decisive action taken by the speaker to change their life and pursue new opportunities.

"We did space cyber and intelligence for the military at a subcontractor of Booz Allen, if you're familiar with that consulting firm." The speaker gives context to their previous job, indicating the high-profile nature of their work, which did not bring personal satisfaction.

• The speaker admits to being risk-averse, which made the decision to quit even more difficult.
• They acknowledge that many entrepreneurs are perceived as risk-takers, but this was not the case for them.
• The speaker emphasizes that entrepreneurship depends on individual circumstances and personal thresholds for risk and pain.

"I'm very risk averse. So, believe it or not, most entrepreneurs, a lot of people talk about how they didn't do well in s" This incomplete quote suggests that despite the common belief that entrepreneurs are inherently risk-takers, the speaker personally did not fit that mold, which added to the challenge of their entrepreneurial decision.

• The speaker did not have a traditional entrepreneurial background, performing well in school and obtaining a good job.
• The transition to entrepreneurship was prompted by deep dissatisfaction and depression.
• Entrepreneurship was seen as a path to doing something enjoyable despite financial concerns.

"I never had any of that. I worked really hard in school. I did really well in school. Teachers liked me for the most part, and I got a good job afterwards." "And it was only because I was so sad, deeply depressed in that time in my life and felt so empty that I actually made the jump."

The speaker emphasizes that their path to entrepreneurship was unconventional, driven by emotional distress rather than a pre-existing desire to start a business.

• Entrepreneurship is described as difficult and lonely, with little external support or motivation.
• The speaker references Elon Musk's view that those needing motivation are not suited for entrepreneurship.
• Initial lack of support from family and friends is highlighted, with the speaker's decision being seen as a risk.

"If you need motivational quotes or motivational words, then entrepreneurship isn't for you." "But I was so committed to the fact that I was so miserable that I was like, at least I can just live my life doing something that I enjoy."

The quote underscores the speaker's belief that entrepreneurship requires self-motivation and the willingness to pursue passion over profit.

• The speaker experienced financial difficulties in the early years, making less money than in their previous job.
• Entrepreneurship is contrasted with traditional employment, where one might focus on a single job function.

"I did not make a significant amount of money for years after I quit my job. So I'd say for the first four years, I essentially broke even and made less money than I did as a consultant."

This quote reflects the speaker's personal financial struggle after leaving a stable job to pursue entrepreneurship.

• A successful entrepreneur must understand all aspects of running a business.
• Skills needed include generating demand, managing leads, sales, fulfillment, people management, communication, recruitment, and hiring.
• The speaker aims to confront the listener with the reality of the entrepreneurial challenge.

"There's so many skills that you have to acquire, so many skills to run a business, right?"

This highlights the diverse skill set required to manage a business, which goes far beyond the responsibilities of a typical employee role.

• The speaker talks about resilience, comparing the forced perseverance of enslaved people to the determination needed in entrepreneurship.
• The notion that having no choice can lead to success is discussed.
• The speaker's own experience of feeling that the alternative to entrepreneurship was akin to death is shared.

"You'd be surprised what you can accomplish when you have no choice, right?"

The quote is used to illustrate the idea that necessity can drive individuals to achieve remarkable feats, which is a sentiment the speaker relates to their entrepreneurial journey.

• Even after making the leap, the speaker acknowledges the ongoing difficulties faced in the subsequent year.
• The speaker suggests that while the nature of the challenges changed, the journey remained hard.

"And honestly, the next year of my life, even after that, was still incredibly hard. But it was different."

This quote conveys that while the speaker's circumstances changed after starting their business, the path of entrepreneurship continued to be fraught with challenges.

• The median income for a small business owner is $49,000 per year, according to the Small Business Administration (SBA).
• The average income for a small business owner is $73,000 per year, but averages can be skewed by high earners.
• The median income aligns closely with the median household income in the United States.

"So the average. So this is, according to small Business Administration, the median income of a small business owner, $49,000 a year." "Now, if you're curious, what's the average small business owner make according to the SBA, $73,000 a year."

These quotes provide statistical data about the earnings of small business owners, highlighting the distinction between median and average incomes.

• Understanding one's position in the job hierarchy is crucial.
• Some individuals may earn more as employees at large companies than as small business owners.
• Career satisfaction can be affected by the company one works for and the nature of the work itself.

"There are people who are number 30 at Google who make way more than this, right?" "Are you dissatisfied because you don't like the company you work for? Are you dissatisfied because you don't like the work you do?"

These quotes discuss how job satisfaction and earnings can vary depending on one's role and the company, and how dissatisfaction can stem from the company culture or the type of work.

• Learning on the job is undervalued and can be a form of getting paid to acquire valuable skills.
• Real-world experience is often more beneficial for entrepreneurial success than formal education.
• Changing positions or companies can be an alternative to starting a business for career advancement.

"Like go to a company that you like and learn and get paid to learn. That's amazing, right?" "You're not going to learn anything at school that's going to be useful for business."

These quotes emphasize the importance of practical learning and gaining experience through employment rather than relying solely on formal education for business success.

• Entrepreneurship involves trade-offs and risks, including potential stress and reduced income.
• The decision to become an entrepreneur should consider one's risk tolerance and the expectation of income fluctuation.
• Entrepreneurship is described as a long-term investment in oneself that may not yield immediate financial returns.

"There are trade offs, right? Risk and reward." "Expect a three, four, maybe five year decrease in income."

These quotes address the realities of entrepreneurship, including the balance of risk and reward and the likelihood of initial income reduction.

• Dissatisfaction with one's job can be addressed by switching companies, changing job roles, or discussing compensation with the current employer.
• It's important to consider how to provide more value to an employer rather than simply asking for higher pay.
• There are several alternatives to quitting one's job that can lead to career satisfaction and financial improvement.

"In the beginning, it's do I need to switch companies? That's if I don't like what I'm doing." "Do not ask, I would like to get paid more. Say, how can I provide more value?"

These quotes outline different strategies one can employ to improve their job satisfaction and income without necessarily resorting to starting their own business. It encourages a proactive approach to career development.

• Begin by investing extra time in acquiring new skills relevant to your business idea.
• Spend money on marketing and outreach to generate demand for your business.
• Initially, the business will be a side hustle but can grow to surpass current income.
• Transitioning should be gradual to mitigate risk.

Spend some money on marketing, do some outreach, do those types of things to generate demand for your business.

This quote emphasizes the importance of actively promoting your business to attract customers and build demand, which is crucial for a successful transition to full-time entrepreneurship.

• The speaker admits to making unwise decisions at the start of their entrepreneurial journey.
• Investing all savings into mentorship and a gym was a mistake due to a lack of knowledge.
• The speaker got lucky by having mentors and learning from experts quickly.

I got extraordinarily lucky that I had people who were able to speak into my life at an earliest time point I was able to learn from experts very, very quickly.

This quote reflects the speaker's acknowledgment of the good fortune they had in finding mentors early, which helped them navigate the early stages of entrepreneurship despite initial mistakes.

• Decrease downside risk by learning more skills and getting paid to learn them.
• Provide more value in your current job to learn skills and increase pay.
• Be willing to accept a temporary decrease in income when starting a business.

And so the biggest issue, your biggest risk when you start on your own, is that you don't know what you're doing, right?

The quote highlights the inherent risk of starting a business without sufficient knowledge and underscores the importance of skill acquisition to reduce this risk.

• Live frugally to cushion the impact of potential income drops when starting a business.
• Reinvest in yourself to become more valuable and increase earning potential.

Live cheap and keep your expectations at cheap so that if your income does drop, you're still not losing money.

The speaker advises maintaining a low-cost lifestyle to ensure financial stability during the uncertain income periods associated with starting a new business.

• Quitting a job to start a business is a personal decision dependent on individual circumstances.
• Consider switching companies or jobs, asking to take on more valuable tasks, or starting a side hustle before quitting.
• Ensure you have savings, a tested business idea, and knowledge of others successfully doing the same business before taking the leap.

When do you quit and start a business? It depends on who you are and where you're at in your life.

This quote encapsulates the speaker's view that there is no one-size-fits-all answer to when one should quit their job to start a business, as it depends on individual situations and preparedness.

• Young people often have unrealistic expectations about wealth accumulation.
• It's important to set realistic expectations and understand the actual likelihood of financial success.

The average 18 year old, a senior in high school, when surveyed, believes that they will be a millionaire by age 25.

This quote points out the unrealistic financial expectations held by many young people, which can lead to disappointment and underscores the need for realistic goal-setting.

• There's a difference between revenue and actual profit; many people talk about high revenues but earn much less.
• The speaker's goal with the channel is to educate viewers to avoid financial failure.

Lots of people talk big numbers, not a lot of people make big numbers.

This quote distinguishes between the often-discussed revenue figures and the actual profit that businesses make, indicating that high revenue does not necessarily equate to wealth.