This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
In today's episode, a listener wants to know, with the downturn in this economy, should I quit my job? Welcome to Side Hustle School. My name is Chris Guillebeau. I have been hearing from a lot of people in a time of transition, one way or another. And it's usually good to go case by case and look at different examples, because the answer for one person might be different than for the other person.
But at the same time, one individual often serves as a proxy for lots of other people who are wondering the same thing. And that's why I really like this new format that we started with in January. I've had a lot of good feedback about it from people who've been enjoying all the questions and answers. And just a side note, when you send me these questions, include some detail about your business so I can be more helpful. Like I appreciate people being concise.
It's still good to be concise. I can just sometimes be a little bit more helpful if I know more about the business. Now, I think I still have a good general answer for this one with some questions that you can ask yourself when you're facing this issue during the difficult time that we're all in. So with the downturn in this economy, should I quit my job? What should I do?
And how do I make that decision? [Music]
Hi Chris, this is Sanjay from New York. I've been listening to the show for a while now and this is my first chance actually to ask a question. So I was about to make a leap from a corporate job to something more independent, kind of striking out on my own. I was very excited about it.
But now I'm a little torn with everything that's going on. On the one hand, I'm thinking, I'm making a move like this seems incredibly risky and maybe even a little foolish at a time like this when the economy is doing so poorly. But on the other hand, I recognize there's never really a good time to take a leap of faith and sometimes down moments are actually when the greatest opportunities arise. So I'm just curious if you have any thoughts or a perspective for how do I think about that and determine if this is the right time? [Music]
Hey, thank you so much Sanjay.
So glad to know you're out there. And this is just a really great question. I feel like we could sit down and have some back and forth and talk about it for 20 minutes or so. So maybe that'll be the new format for next year. But just based on what you shared here, I think a lot of people are in this situation when they have been building something and they've been thinking about making that move just like you said, but now they're like, what do I do?
So you also highlighted very well this point about how sometimes down moments are actually when the greatest opportunities arise. That's what I've been talking about and teaching about a fair amount and some other formats recently. So how do you actually make this decision, which is also a great way to frame the question, by the way, this is like a five-star question, asking not what you should do, but how should you think about it and make that decision? I love that. Okay, so I think it all has to do with your situation, specifically relating to the side hustle slash business itself.
Okay, so it really matters a lot what this business is or what you're trying to do. And in the extensive voice note, which was otherwise excellent, Sanjay didn't mention what that was. So that to me is the critical point. Is this, assuming you have something already that you've been doing for a while, is it going well? Is it providing a sustainable level of income?
And crucially, very important third question, is it the kind of business that will be able to thrive in this new environment, which we're going to be in for some time, both the current, present reality, and then whatever the recovery is, it's not going to be short-term. So if your answers to these questions are yes, then that's great. This is a good sign to move forward. If no, probably not a good idea to go all in right now. Let's take a couple of examples here.
I'm gonna choose some extreme examples. And obviously it's probably not going to be this simple. If it were this simple, it'd be easy. But if your business is a travel agency, and if Sanjay was like, yeah, I've got this travel agency that I've been building, is this a good time to go all in? I would say, you know what?
I think the answer is no, basically. Like even if it was working before, yes, people will eventually travel again, but it will be a while and they will come back slowly. And the entire industry will be struggling for a long time. And some of the things that worked before won't work again. Okay, so travel agency, not a great business to start right now.
On the other hand, if your business is training corporate remote employees, for example, and you already have existing contracts, plus you have some sales contacts you're working on, then this is probably a really good time to quit your job and go all in. So that's why I think in this environment, it really is key to ask that additional question. Those other questions are always important. Like, is it going well now? Do you think the income level is sustainable?
But now in this environment, that additional question about what's going on right now, just because it's affecting so much. And I don't want you to make the wrong decision. I know it's a really big one. So once again, thank you to Sanjay. And for everyone out there who's trying to navigate this new landscape of uncertainty and disruption, world turned upside down, et cetera, know that you're not alone.
We'll keep doing everything we can to support you here with the program, but be sure you take care of yourself. That's my gentle encouragement for you today. If you have a question of your own, come to sidestalescool.com/questions. We're gonna feature them throughout the year, whatever else happens in this crazy world, along with updates from other listeners as they launch their projects, or as they launch new projects if they had travel agencies before. Okay, stay tuned.
My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
from The Onward Project.
