Last year, in the middle of lockdown, I quit my job.

From the outside it may have looked like a rash decision, but that one decision was a two year work in progress.

If you plan to start a business or become a creator, these are 3 things I learned to help make the transition as smooth as possible.

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Have a plan

Quitting your job shouldn't be an impulse decision. I mean, it could be, but from my experience it's way less stressful if you have a plan.

For me, I knew since 2018 the exact savings goals I needed to hit and what needed to be done before I could safely quit and be okay.

If you see someone taking a big risk, there's a good chance it was well thought out with different ways to hedge the risk.

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Know your expected costs beforehand

Whatever you think the startup expenses will to be, it'll end up being more. Every. Single. Time. Do research and figure out what potential costs may be.

It's important to be financially secure and have a runway of maybe a year of business expenses and a few months of living expenses saved in an emergency fund to help cover unexpected expenses without putting yourself in a bad spot.

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Have a source of income

Learned this the hard way. Don't rely on your new venture to fund anything when starting. That pressure will kill your passion and creativity. It'd be nice to have income coming in before you quit, but maybe you have to get a part-time to help at the start and that's okay. Daymond John worked at Red Lobster for 5 years when he was starting FUBU.

If you have a significant other that can help cover living expenses, you're golden (as long as there's not underlying resentment...)

. . . .

Now, I'm not saying that quitting your job is right for everyone - but if you've thought about taking a creator/self-employed route, these are a few of the things I've learned to increase the chances of success.