New Venture Lab: Equipping Christian Entrepreneurs

Transitioning from a Job to a Startup

Question

This question is related to transitioning. My husband has a job with great benefits and is making more than he ever has in his line of work, which he has been doing for 20 years. In the beginning of his career, he always wanted his own business but it just never worked out.  As our oldest children are entering the teen years, going out on his own could serve many purposes: to earn income, train the children, and develop a family business. How should we prepare for the big leap so to speak? It just seems like we should have the business somewhat going before he quits his day job.

Answer

Several thoughts come to mind regarding your situation (and I would definitely not recommending quitting his day job):
  • Your family can begin numerous small enterprises while your husband is still gainfully employed as this family did 
  • Your family can start the business planning and research using the Building a Business from Start to Finish step-by-step process as outlined in our  and using tools such as the Venture Analysis to refine the plan while your husband is still gainfully employed.  He can then spend time working on the business during evenings, weekends, and vacation time.
  • Your family can work specifically on starting up a business model that is highly scalable and repeatable with little day-time labor input, such as a web-based business.  Here are some tips to help think through that process and here are several internet business models to consider in your planning.
  • Narrow the family focus to the best type of business to work on (see here and here for more on that) that is a fit with the family's skills, experience, giftings, etc.
  • Here are some tips on how to come up with an idea if nothing comes to mind
Here are some other Q&A and examples on the subject:

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