How to leave a profitable job?

If monetary success were guaranteed would you leave your job? If yes, then despite all the said freedom, there's something missing in your job and you aren't feeling fulfilled. If you think your startup is more exciting then you should consider taking the leap.

Sometimes, there isn't true passion for the startup but we just fancy the image of a brilliant founder. I have never written a short story but I do love the image of a literary genius who finishes a novel in a month. If it's just the glamour element that appeals to you then continue with where you are. And we are really good at deluding ourselves into thinking we love that job when we just love the idea of that job so beware.

My advice would be to start building while keeping the job. Things become more clear once we really get our hands dirty and are doing the thing rather than pontificating about it.

I worked at Google before. I had independence; I got paid well and I did not have lots of stress. I still left because I felt that by getting paid from paychecks, I would stay an employee forever. I would never become Somebody.

To answer your question, I think you should stop asking yourself why. Instead, ask yourself, why not? People who ask themselves why to do something mostly talk themselves out of something.

You need to choose for a path. It isn't a matter of your current or next project, It's about you and what you imagine for your career. Also, take in account that commitments are commitment and you need to respect them in order to be respected.

If you are already happy with your job, then you may not need the change. Running a business is not for everyone; it's a lot more stressful than being an employee.

It's still a good idea to build a side project when you are less busy on your day job. Take it as a hobby that you can pursue.

You have the luxury of guaranteed success. You obviously have an entrepreneurial mindset from the fact that you are posting on this site and you already have a job that you consider success. So how do you you create process to open up new opportunities while keeping your job.

I've been working on this for a little bit and can share how I'm thinking about it. My overall goal is to keep my very good job and build a business that helps me get close to revenue & eventually profit that approaches what I make at my job.

This situation forces the equation to change a little. Instead of building a world-changing moonshot, I've focused on a simple product that should be instantly sellable (revenue generating). The pace of my build & launch has been much slower which has caused/allowed me to do more validation along the way and think more deeply about the best ways to launch and where the business might eventually grow.

Also, I thought more about the qualities of the business so that it could be managed while I have a day job. 1)My product doesn't need to be demo'd or contracted. It's a web purchase. This means I can work on it nights & weekends exclusively. 2) I built viral aspects into the idea to give it a better chance for natural growth. 3) The product throws off content that can be used on social for marketing/visibility.

Overall, my plan has been to build for a year and the next year will be focused on marketing & sales. If I can't find a way to generate revenue then I might run the same cycle with a new idea.

Essentially, building products is my hobby and the way I'm doing it there is a good chance of upside. My goal isn't to quit my job, my goal is to double my salary.... and then see what I'd like to do.

Someone started a Slack for people looking to build a biz and leave their job. https://app.slack.com/client/T05TMCMJ812/C05TG1N5KK7