To quit or not to quit, that is the question!

Many will advise you that to go all in, you have to quit your job!

In many cases, this is true. If you’re truly ready to commit to your dream and are in a financial position to do so, walking away from the safety of your day job might be the best route to take. Here’s why:

1. Time and Focus: When you’re not juggling a full-time job and a side hustle, you can pour your full energy into building your business. You can refine your product, grow your brand, and make connections without the constraints of a 9-to-5.

2. Higher Stakes = Bigger Motivation: When your livelihood depends entirely on your business, it creates a sense of urgency that can accelerate growth. The pressure forces you to think strategically and take decisive action.

3. Freedom to Pivot: Running a business often requires quick changes. If you’re not tied to a job, you have the freedom to pivot and experiment without worrying about conflicting schedules.

But, for most people—especially those supporting families or with significant financial responsibilities—quitting your job cold turkey could come with risks:

1. Financial Uncertainty: Without sufficient savings or a clear plan to replace your income, quitting your job could lead to stress. Your business may take longer to generate revenue than you expect.

2. Loss of Benefits: Full-time jobs often come with healthcare, retirement plans, and other benefits that can be hard to replace when you're on your own.

3. Emotional Strain: Balancing the emotional toll of supporting your family while launching a business can be overwhelming and strain your mental and emotional well-being.

I fell into the latter group. I have a young family who relies on my income, and the idea of quitting my job without much else to lean on felt too risky. I couldn’t afford the financial strain, and the thought of disrupting my family’s stability gave me pause.

So, instead of quitting my job, I decided to make a compromise.

I began dedicating two hours before work, and two hours after work, to focus solely on my business. This allowed me to keep my commitments to my employer, while also not sacrificing what was most important to me, daily time with my family.

Building a design agency involves many moving parts—design, branding, copywriting, development, admin, marketing, and sales. With only four hours a day, "going all in" seemed impossible, so I had to find a way to multiply my output to gain traction.

Turning 4 hours into 24 hours

To make the most of those four hours, I had to focus on building a SMALL TEAM and creating SYSTEMS.

Having a small team allowed me to delegate tasks that were either too time-consuming or outside my skill set, while the systems helped streamline processes and keep things running efficiently. With a small but dedicated team, we could push forward without me having to manage every single detail on my own.

Building systems and leveraging others allowed me to scale my efforts without burning out. Systems provide a framework for processes that ensure tasks are completed consistently and efficiently. It also meant that I could continue working my day job and providing for my family, while gradually building a business that, over time, would give me the freedom and flexibility I was seeking.

This approach wasn’t as glamorous as quitting and going all in, but it was practical and allows me to manage both my responsibilities and ambitions.

No one-size-fits-all

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to how you should approach building your agency. Some people will thrive with the full commitment of quitting their job and diving headfirst into their business. But for many, myself included, taking a more balanced approach—slowly building while maintaining job security—is the better choice in today’s economy.

If you’re starting from ground Zero, I’ll be sharing in the next newsletter some simple steps you can take to get started!

Stay tuned!