What is up everyone, welcome back to my channel.
Now, if you are not new here, so if you watch my videos before, you'll notice that this
is, kind of, a throwback to my older videos: There's no white backdrop, it's just you and
me, and the reason for this is because I really wanna make this video more of a chill story
time.
Now, specifically, what you'll expect in today's video is we're gonna talk about what it was
like to quit my job, cold turkey, to start my own business.
Now, I should give you a little bit of a backstory, especially if you're new: I quit my job about
six months ago, seven months ago I'm not sure; my last day at my old job was on June 1st,
and since then I've started this YouTube channel and I've also started my own business, and
both of these platforms or these projects that I've started have definitely exceeded
my expectations.
And throughout my YouTube journey, I do wanna share more of that with you guys throughout
these upcoming weeks and upcoming months.
But for now, I do wanna talk about what it was like to quit my job with no backup plan,
cold turkey, and eventually starting this business.
What was that like?
I know that a lot of people are very curious, and always wonder what the journey was like,
what the hardships were like, or maybe what just the decision making was like, and that's
what I want to share with you guys.
So, if you wanna stick around, if you've always been curious about this, then keep on watching.
So, the first thing that you should expect when you quit your job, cold turkey, is that
you're gonna get a ton of supporters, at first, and then eventually you get a ton of haters,
doubters and skeptics.
Common questions during this time include: "So, what exactly do you do?
How do you make money?
And when are you gonna get another job?"
Now, these seemingly innocent small questions eventually over time, do chip away at your
self esteem and your worry and self doubt, which inevitably leads to the second thing,
and the second thing is, is that eventually you're gonna consider going back to the nine-to-five.
Now, this temptation to go back to the nine-to-five usually comes from the fact that you're probably
not taking off as fast as you anticipated, or you see a lot of holes within your original
business idea, and not only this, there's so much social pressure from your parents,
your friends, your coworkers or your ex co-workers, doesn't matter, so on and so forth.
So eventually, you're gonna ask yourself, "Am I really the most impulsive, naive and
dumbest person in the world?
Did I make the right decision?"
And even for me, this was definitely questions that I asked myself right after I quit my
job I was back on the LinkedIn, Monster, Indeed, job search hunt, looking for potential jobs
that I could do in digital marketing or something that was already very similar to my old job.
But eventually I did realize like, "Hey, this is just a band aid solution."
And I already knew deep down that corporate wasn't for me.
However, to make matters worse, you eventually realized that a lot of money is coming out
of your bank account and nothing is coming in.
Now, something that I overlooked when I was starting my business, or just starting this
journey in general, is I definitely underestimated the monthly cost that I would incur even with
starting a completely service based and online business.
Even with that, it does cost money, and so, if you guys actually wanna get a head start
and actually get an idea or solid picture of what typical costs could look like, then
definitely just download my PDF guide on me breaking down common costs in a business:
I'll link it in the comment section below if you're interested.
But anyways, eventually you realize like, "Oh, crap, I actually am running out of money,
or I don't feel comfortable with the amount of money that's coming out of my account."
And this is when you're basically faced with three choices: The first is you just keep
going, and just keep checking out of your personal savings and pray for the best.
The second is, you go back to the nine-to-five grind, you give up on your idea, and you're
like, "You know what?
This is costing too much, it's not worth it, I don't see a return."
Or number three, which is what I did, and that is just taking a part time job that requires
less time out of you, and actually still cover some of your expenses for the month.
Now, if you've chosen to actually move forward with your business, inevitably, the next thing
that happens is you realize what an actual mess you are: it's a complete gong show, when
you are working on your business because you don't have a team, you don't have a boss,
you don't have any structure to your day.
And I know that a lot of people, and myself included, left the nine-to-five in order to
have that freedom, in order to be able to be your own boss, and set your own schedule.
But in the beginning, when all you've known is routine and schedule, for you to actually
not have one anymore is, kind of, stressful.
Like, you wake up, and you're just like, "Okay, what do I work on today?"
Or, like, "Where am I supposed to focus my efforts?"
You have a zero guidance when you are starting your business.
And as much as you are stubborn, and maybe you are a business student, and you think
you know everything, and as much as you wanna DIY it for as long as you can, and save money,
you're gonna eventually realize that you actually need help.
And that help can come in the form of a business mentor, which is the route that I went through,
it can come in the form of purchasing a course, it could come in the form of registering for
a mastermind, where you can find like minded people to support you, or going to events.
Throughout this journey, what I've really learned is that you cannot do this alone,
and you do need extra support, or else you're just gonna be on that hamster wheel being
lost, and just spending money aimlessly without actually having much direction.
Okay.
And then at this point, if you've chosen to take the path where you invest in yourself,
and you're fully committed to upgrading your skill and your education, you'll then realize
that you're basically a student all over again.
And for me, what was the most shocking is that a lot of the things that I know today,
or that I've learned, I did not learn them in school.
And during this phase, it's really exciting because you're actually learning things that
you want to learn, and you are committed to learning it because you have an incentive
that's just greater than yourself.
You tell yourself, "Okay, I need to learn this stuff because I need to make a living
out of this."
And so, that's a really big sense of encouragement that you don't have when you're in school.
However, not only are you stressing out about learning everything and all that, there's
another layer of it where you are a business owner now, or you're aspiring to be a business
owner, and you have to be really easy on yourself.
You have to realize that you're not just learning something new, which in itself is really tough.
Imagine being back in school, and learning an entirely new subject, that's already very
mentally taxing, but you've never done this before.
This is a whole new experience for you: to quit your job, and to not know where this
is gonna take you.
It's a whole nother level of stress and worry and anxiety.
And then on top of this, if you are an entrepreneur, or a business owner, and your business is
really tied to your personal brand the same way that mine is, you're gonna feel insecurities,
you're gonna feel fear, you're gonna feel being afraid of judgment; all these things
that I've talked in the past in my channel, they're absolutely real.
Like, to hop on this camera, and to talk to you guys every week, twice a week now, requires
courage, and it requires a lot of energy, and it requires just a lot of faith that everything
will turn out to be fine, and I'll be well received.
You know, we're human, we have these insecurities.
So, imagine having all these three factors: learning something new, doing something for
the very first time, and then being afraid of all these human insecurities that we naturally
have, that just all snowballs together, and it's just ... it's crippling.
And so, that's what that whole chart is about.
With the whole roller coaster ride where you have peaks, and then you have dips, and you
have all these things, that is completely the reality when you are starting a business,
and even when you are maintaining a business.
And then, as a result of all of this, you then work way more hours than you could ever
imagine.
But at the same time, you don't realize that you're working these hours until you actually
take a step back, and then you count you're like, "Wow, I've pretty much worked the entire
day, since I woke up to the moment that I go to bed.
And so inevitably, when you actually count the hours, yes you're working more hours,
but you don't feel like you are until you actually hit a wall one day and then you realize
that you're completely burnt out, that can happen, trust me.
But because of this, you realize that the things around you have to adapt to this new
journey of yours.
So, for me, even though I've moved back to my hometown, and a lot of my friends are here,
I actually still don't see them that much because I work on my business all the time,
and I have been very selective of my time, especially when you're starting out.
People don't really get it, and it's really hard because you're gonna piss a lot of people
off that they feel like you're not prioritizing them, and now that you have a business, probably
have a lot of time on your hands, but they also have to realize that this is something
that you are going to rely on for your income: this is not a hobby anymore, this is something
that you need to build, because it's gonna set the foundation of how much money you make
in a year, how much money you make in your life.
And that's something that you have to communicate to your friends, and something that good friends
should actually really realize.
And that's the thing too, with friends, especially if they still work a corporate job, you have
to really communicate with them and say, like, "Hey, you know what?
This is important to me, this is something that I rely on for my living.
I need to make a living out of this, it's not like, I can just go to work, and automatically
that bi weekly paycheck is gonna come.
I have to work for that money full time, and so please understand that because of this,
I have to work maybe way more hours, and I won't be able to spend as much time with you,
and I really have to be very, very conservative, and put really tight boundaries on my time."
And so, that's something that I highly recommend especially when you're starting a business
is straight out, tell your friends about that because I think that I didn't really do a
good job doing that, and I ended up really pissing some people off.
And now, I think that a lot of my friends understand now, but definitely in the beginning,
it was tough.
And I think at the end of the day, what has been very eye opening in my journey is developing
the skill called grit.
And, you know, something that I've learned throughout these short six months, honestly,
it's only been half a year, and I didn't really, actually start my business until August or
September, so it hasn't been that long since I first started, and if it can happen for
me, it can definitely happen for you.
But the biggest thing that's important is to not give up, and I think that that's very
fluffy advice: "Don't give up, believe in yourself, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah."
There's definitely strategy to it, there's strategy systems and support in place in order
to make you unstoppable, but just know that the strategy support and systems don't matter
if you don't have something called grit.
And if you don't have perseverance, and if you are someone that gives up after one obstacle,
this is not the path for you.
There obstacles happening every day.
And you can even ask my boyfriend, one week, I'm literally like, "Oh, my God, I'm the shit,
this is amazing.
I can't wait for my future.
I'm so looking forward to what's gonna happen in the next five years."
And then the next week, I'm completely an emotional wreck.
I'm literally hugging him, and just crying because I'm like, "Oh, my God, I hate this.
I'm a failure.
What did I do?
I should just go back to corporate.
I'm not built for this."
So on and so forth.
So, just know that there gonna have those highs and you're gonna have those lows, but
during this journey, the highs are really high and the lows are really low.
And my biggest advice to you is to recognize the lows, and just understand that this is
a part of the process.
And the people who actually get through this and make it are the ones that can actually
stand the lows.
Something that I mentioned in a previous video of mine, I'll link it up here, is the concept
called the dip, right?
The people who can actually get through the dip become the most valuable people in this
world because there's not that many people that can actually tread through that dip:
that point where you are just eating shit all the time, and things are not working out.
A lot of people give up at this point, and this is where I encourage you not to.
And rather than just looking at all the things that are going wrong, think about, "Okay,
how can I make this better?
How can I solve this problem?
Why isn't this working?"
I think the one thing that, aside from grit and perseverance and all these things, that
I've learned is to be a troubleshooter.
When you are on this journey, you're constantly solving problems, and literally every problem
that you're trying to solve makes the difference, and it's actually important to you.
And I think that that's the biggest difference for me, comparing my journey working in corporate
to my journey now being my own boss, is that the problems that I'm solving everyday, are
problems that I'm actually interested and passionate and excited to solve.
And I think that that is what is most rewarding to me.
And lastly, what I wanna say is that eventually in this journey you're gonna see a compound
effect on your efforts.
So, in the beginning, while you're working on things, while you're posting on social
media, while you're creating content, while you are building your website, while you are
doing all these things that aren't giving you an immediate return or an immediate result,
months down the line, trust me on this, you get to see the results actually come to fruition.
Like, this month is the month January, and I actually finally feel that all the effort
that I've put in for the last half year are finally just building up to this point, and
I'm excited to continue working on this because I know that a year from now, there's gonna
be way more results coming in on the things that I'm doing today, even though the things
that I'm doing today don't feel like it's generating me anything.
And so, keep on going at it.
This journey is just ... you're in complete darkness, you don't know that there's so many
unknown factors, but you have to be okay with that, and you have to have faith that eventually
the things that you are doing today, you are planting the seed and you're cultivating that
seed to grow into an amazing, amazing tree.
I don't have another better analogy for that, but that just, kinda, how I see it.
And so, this journey for me has been an incredible ride and I really hope that you guys gained
a lot of insight from this video.
I know it's a lot more chill and informative compared to my usual videos lately, but I
just wanted to at least just share this part of my journey, and hope that it helps anyone
who wants to understand what's after quitting your job, and what's after not having a plan,
and what's gonna happen when you start a business, and what are the problems that you face, what's
the exact step by step.
So, that's my journey and I can't wait to share more of it.
I definitely want to share more videos about an actual update on how I'm doing, but I didn't
want this video to be too long.
So, anyways guys, if you guys like more videos like this then definitely like this video
to let me know, but yeah, I hope you guys have a great day.
Hope you guys have a great week, and I hope you guys have a great life, and I'll see you
next time.
Bye guys.