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Should I stay at my job while working on a side business to grow?

Asked by chelle21689 (7907points) January 2nd, 2018

OR should I get a new job that is less stressful while working on a side business?

Some of you regulars might know that my work has grown increasingly stressful causing me to be depressed and feeling stuck. From the get go I knew I never wanted an office job but chose it because I knew nothing to do with my life. At first it was exciting finally breaking into a field because no one would hire me but each passing year I find the urge to leave the office world and its political BS and hierarchy despite the great benefits of a free tuition for my Master’s and everything else. Not sure if I should even finish school because I kind of want to leave my job and I know I don’t want to stay in this role forever.

If you may recall from previous posts long ago, I knew I wanted to be a business owner like my family but I never knew what I wanted.
I’ve recently gained an interest in creating an online business with a combination of my love for animals and a specific activity/hobby. I’ve chosen my niche and looked at competitors trying to see how I can deliver and differentiate and looking at products I actually like that would be useful. I decided that I need to stop going on YouTube, googling, etc. and take action so today I bought a domain name, contacted my cousin (graphic design/fashion) for logo designs, and playing with my free trial on Shopify just trying to familiarize myself with it. I like the idea of creating my own project and building something with an end result. When I sold online on Amazon and Ebay, just knowing I made a sale from sleeping excited me.
I do not have online business experience but I was able to establish the first webpage for my parents and people were happy that we finally had a menu. We had gained new customers because they were searching for a product and our website had it. I was able to try and promote our Facebook page to over 1,000 (although slow growth) without paying for advertisements. I stopped when I became busy with my own full time job.

I guess the next step would trademark the logo when created, contact the manufacture for my logo and obtain a sample before paying. Register the business as well. My budget is under $8,000. Ideally under 5k.

I’m so scared to move forward…afraid of failure, afraid of something happening and me losing so much, but I have a full time job right now that helps me I guess. I also have a great support system from my family and a plan B because all my relatives are self employed with their own business BUT none of them have experience with an online business so they’d probably laugh at me if they knew what I was trying.

I’ve been on break for a week and return to work tomorrow. The thought of going back to the stacks of paperwork, never-ending emails, the political bs, the boring cubicle, stresses me out so much that I’m so tempted to just quit, work for my parents, and even take on a part time job or learn anything but an office job like being a realtor since I’ve had some interest in the housing market, selling, flexible hours, buying another house to flip/rent, etc.. I feel sick to my stomach. I have 1 year and half savings to live off of if I make no money.

I know owning a business is hard work but I’ve never met a business owner that made a living off of it regretting anything and would never choose to go back to the office.

If this doesn’t workout, I’ll find another project to see what will work and a possible career change or a job that allows more of a work/life balance and not causing stress into my personal life. Right now I am hanging on a thread with this job. Everyone was on break this whole week while I was stuck working and not able to enjoy.

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