Pursue Your Dream Job
Do you have a dream of baking for a living? Cutting grass? Writing? Dancing? Teaching children? Whatever it is, I encourage you to make it happen! Pursuing your dream job is exciting, it gives you energy, and provides you with a sense fulfillment!
I believe that anyone can pursue their dreams with their unique talents, and that financial planning is a key piece to success. The main barrier to pursuing a dream career is usually money, especially if you are established in a job and already making a comfortable living. By setting up a plan, you can mitigate that barrier, giving yourself plenty of time to succeed.
Here are some money steps to take before you jump. A few of these might only be applicable if starting your own business, but it’s always good to have your finances in order during a major life event like switching a job.
Cut back on personal expenses
Get into a mindset of keeping expenses low while building your business
Build an emergency savings fund
Plan to not make money, or even lose money, when starting
Have money set aside to cover personal bills while building your business
Have a plan for health insurance
Do not have credit card debt
Spending your savings while building a business is hard, but I encourage you to look at it as an investment in yourself! …and isn’t investing in yourself the surest investment that you can make? You know all of the factors involved, you are the expert, you control your return on investment! Having success will more than replace any “lost” money with happiness.
Build additional ground to land on before the leap:
If switching a job, study up on the company, the job requirements, and expectations.
If starting a business, become an expert in your field, create a business plan, know your market and customer, have an idea of expected revenue and expenses, make sure that you have a path to profitability, set up as much of your business as possible while still working full time.
Opening a new business is a risk. However, I suggest that staying at your current job might be just as risky. You have one boss and can be let go at any time, while running your own business is an entirely different scenario where multiple people pay you. Take cutting grass for example, you might have 45 weekly customers. If you lose one customer, you still have 44 others!
After all of this planning…and studying…and investing, you will eventually be paid and could make a great living if you are good at your new dream career, and why wouldn’t you be? It’s your gift, your talent, your passion! Pursue it!
This blog is for general educational purposes and does not constitute specific financial, tax, or legal advice. Please contact our firm for precise advice applicable to your personal financial situation.