Should You Quit Your Job To Focus On Your Side Hustle?

There's nothing quite like the excitement of a side hustle taking off. But you probably can't keep up with dedicating all of your time to both a career and a side hustle. At some point, you need to choose between the two. Deciding when to quit your full-time job and focus your time on the side hustle is challenging, to say the least. There are a few signs you can look for to simplify your decision and some questions you should ask yourself. Before you make the decision, consider the following factors.

Are People Depending on You?

If you're a single adult with no kids or family members depending on you, there's not a lot at stake. Whether or not your small business is successful, you can probably continue to support yourself. But people who have dependents don't have the same luxury. If your business fails, you may not be able to support everyone.

Think about what would happen if you didn't make money for a few months. Do you have other income that would help you support your dependents? If so, you can probably take the risk that comes with quitting your full-time job.

Your Motivation Level

Once you quit your full-time job, you need to be ready and committed to making your new business succeed. It takes a lot of effort and motivation to make small businesses successful. If your motivation level isn't high enough, you won't be able to grow your side hustle.

Before you quit, think about how dedicated you are. When you go to an office, you have a boss telling you what to do. But you don't have anyone to keep you accountable for your actions when you work for yourself. Are you motivated enough to stay on track?

The Importance of Your Current Position

You shouldn't quit until you consider your current role and how leaving it could affect you. If you're a senior-level executive, you can't just walk away from your position and come back if your business fails. There's a higher risk that comes with quitting.

Meanwhile, you might be an entry-level worker. In this case, leaving doesn't come with much future damage. If your business doesn't do well, you can always reenter the workforce. You won't be giving up a high-paying position in a competitive field.

Can You Multitask?

You might be exceptional about juggling five different projects at once. However, not everyone is capable of multitasking well. If you don't have the ability to focus an equal amount of time on your day job and side hustle, you may need to quit.

It could be at a point where doing both roles is hurting you. Because you can't dedicate enough time to either task, you fail at both. In the end, you might end up losing your job and running your small business to the ground. Someone who is an excellent multi-tasker doesn't need to worry about this.

As much as you need your job, you also need to fulfill your social and emotional needs. Is working two jobs making it difficult for you to enjoy your free time? If you're tired of turning down dinner invitations or spending your weekends catching up on work, you should think about quitting your job.

Think about your current schedule and how quitting your job would change things. If you're currently doing all the work for your side hustle in the late night or weekend hours, you can free up your time by quitting your full-time position. You would have more time to socialize and meet your emotional needs.

The Level of Urgency

If your side hustle is cutting-edge or meeting a sudden demand, time is of the essence. You need to act quickly, or someone else could fill the need or take your idea. In this case, you might need to quit your main job to meet the time crunch.

On the other hand, you could have a small business that will always be needed. In fact, your business could benefit from growing slowly. You can adjust operations as needed and avoid growing pains.

Your Long Term Goals

Long before you quit your job, you should make a note of your long-term goals. This is because your current position could help you accomplish your long-term goals. If there are ways in which your job could help you grow your business or meet other goals, you shouldn't leave.

However, your goals might require you to quit sooner rather than later. Take the time to evaluate your goals and what that means for your employment status.

Your Happiness

Everyone deserves to be happy, and quitting could have a significant impact on your level of pleasure. If your full-time job detracts from your happiness, you should consider quitting. You could leave your job and leave behind all of the dissatisfaction that comes with it.

Alternatively, you might not be able to be happy if you don't have a full-time job. When you leave work to run your business, you leave behind your co-workers and your financial stability. You could be unhappy because of the lack of socialization or the lack of stability. Depending on your decision, your quality of life could improve.

How Much You Have in Savings

Perhaps the most important detail to evaluate is your current financial status. Particularly, you need to look at your savings account. Even if your business is successful, you might not have enough money to pay all of your bills for a few months. Do you have a savings account to support you?

If you don't have savings to support you, then quitting may not be an option. You should consider building up your savings account before you quit. Additionally, think twice about quitting if your small business needs money going into it. The success of your business could depend on the income from your full-time job.