Exit strategies: is it right to quit your business?

It's natural to think about leaving your solo business. Whether you're tempted due to financial, stress-related or personal reasons, you need to consider alternatives before deciding.

I recently considered giving up on my solo career after completing a major project. I was facing the task of having to drum up new business and I didn’t feel up to it.

I started looking at the online job sites and requested email alerts. Suddenly, all these great job descriptions landed in my inbox. I thought about the advantages: steady money, new challenges and meeting new people. It seemed like an exciting and appealing prospect.

So I updated my resumé and applied for several jobs, even landed interviews. Butterflies tickled my stomach. What was I doing? Is this what I wanted?

The thought of a regular pay cheque appealed. Not having to track down accounts payable for unpaid invoices certainly appealed. No paperwork and simpler tax returns. The benefits stacked up in front of me.

Then I was offered a great job. And that’s when I really started thinking: I had only thought of the benefits. I’d forgotten about the negatives. It was only then that I remembered the reasons I went solo in the first place.

I visualised trekking into the city for work, organising day care and long nights in the office. It'd mean having to report to a boss who would dictate what I worked on and my deadlines. I would no longer have the flexibility to work on my own schedule. Worst of all, I wouldn’t get to choose my work. I had to fit in.

I had forgotten to ask “What would I be giving up?”

Working for yourself offers opportunities to tackle whatever project or work you wish to conquer. Success boosts your confidence, and hopefully your bank account. The price is hard work, unabashed self-promotion and a strict sense of discipline.

If you love what you do, then the reality is that you will never really work a day in your life, because you’re driven by the passion of what you do.

I turned the job down, with the determination to refocus on my own business, doing what was needed to make it work.

If you are feeling the same, write down the pros and cons of leaving your business behind. Examine this list: Is the pressure to make ends meet too much? Are you finding it difficult sleeping at night because your brain is constantly buzzing with work issues? Maybe you’re sick of the paper work. Have you lost that passion for your trade?

The most important question is: are you doing what you love? If you are, but you’re finding it all too hard, remember thre are places to go for advice and assistance.

The www.business.gov.au website is an excellent portal to different points of referral. Flying Solo is another brilliant resource, too!

I'm not saying you should never quit your business. If self-analysis into your personal situation tells you that your best option is to quit, take heart. You ran your own business; an achievement non-soloists cannot claim. You deserve to be proud of yourself.

Michele Hackshall is a copywriter and technical writer with over 12 years’ experience writing marketing material for some of Australia’s most prominent brands. She’s written everything from postcards to books.

5 comments | Add your own

Great article Michele,through my work as a therapist(Hypnotherapy &HypnoAnalysis) I find it is often the case that many soloists need to have a balance in their outlook and truly learn to understand what is of great importance. As You wrote,Soloists deserve to be proud of themselvesand learning to give Yourself a pat on the back should not be underestimatedin enabling Yourself to stay focussed and motivated Urban Sundvall from Gold Coast Qld
As they say, Life is not a Dress Rehearsal, so best make the best of it ! Closer to the reality odf the day-to-day, I've always been a fan of 'the Ben Franklin'. Create a few rows and columns - write the pluses (of each option you are considering) in (each worth 1 point) and the minuses in (each minus 1 point). Presto - if you've been honest with yourself in putting down the pluses and minuses, the results should validate your 'gut feel'. Grant Hyman from Sydney | Read my articles
Amen. Love your article - and especially: If you love what you do, then the reality is that you will never really work a day in your life, because you’re driven by the passion of what you do.
Yes, sometimes it's really hard and I also feel like giving up; then I look at the positives and realise I am much happier solo.
Karen from Springwood NSW
I recently went through the idea of selling my business which promotes and sells an adjustable high chair for kids. As I'd just qualified for super those around me thought it was time to slow down and just be a freelance journalist. But then I read 'The Secret' and discovered that I didn't have sufficient inner 'want' to sell it. Since then the orders have been coming in fast and I'm flat out in all directions, so I obviously wasn't meant to sell it and I'm quietly relieved I didn't because they are 'my' chairs and I love seeing kids using them. Sue from Eureka, NZ
I'll be 65 early next year and have been a soloist for the last twenty one years. I have enjoyed every minute the good times as well as the bad. But what to do? My work is very physical. Its not the mind that is goining?? but the body. So I believe I should be putting something back into the industry that I have enjoyed, almost half of my working life. The industry which represents 11% of the workforce is going through a massive change so I have set up an organisation to be part of that change.
The one thing I have learnt is that you are never too old to try something new but think what you are going to do when you want to exit your business. I hope none of you have to patrick burgess from north ryde nsw

5 comments | Add your own

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