The first step is the hardest. This statement can be applied to many things in life, but it especially applies to someone who is considering leaving corporate America to start a business or work at a startup company. I know this from my first hand experience, as I recently left a comfortable management job with a large multi national corporation that has been in business for over 100 years to come to work here at PartnerUp.

Before deciding to take the leap and go to work at a startup, I spent the last few years as a spoke in the wheel of “the corporate machine“. I was rapidly working my way up the corporate ladder and earning a decent living working in various management roles. I was constantly praised and touted as a highly productive performer in the corporation.

Then, one day I looked around and realized that I reached what I felt was the proverbial ceiling. My peers were substantially older than me and didn’t give me the respect I felt I earned and deserved. My innovative ideas where constantly falling on deaf ears. I persistently challenged my peers, and directors, for feedback on why my ideas were not considered; but my questions and inquiries were seen as being insubordinative. Time and time again I found myself unfulfilled and let down by my company. It was at this time that I made the decision to take my future and career in my own hands by leaping into the startup world.

Leaving Corporate America was not an easy decision for me to make. There are many factors to consider before you take the plunge. The biggest factor to consider is your tolerance for risk. Starting a business or working for a startup is much riskier than working for a secure, stable, and large corporation. If you and your family have a low threshold for risk working for a startup or starting your own business is probably not the best move for you. However, if you have a tolerance for risk, enjoy working hard, and have a passion for business, starting a business or working at a startup can be a great decision!

Below I have highlighted the framework that I used to make my decision to join a startup:

  1. Understand what motivates you to succeed. What motivates you the most? Is it job stability or flexibility? Is it knowing you will have a steady weekly or monthly paycheck or can you wait 12 to 24 months before you make a dime? Are you capable of working 12 + hours a day? These are all questions you need to ask yourself before you make the jump.
     
  2. Develop a decision matrix. Write down the pros and cons of both your current job and your new venture. If you do this honestly your decision should be easy to make.
     
  3. Understand your risk tolerance. Working for a large corporation can be comfortable. Knowing that a paycheck will arrive on a regular basis is not a risky venture. Understand that there are many risks in starting your own company or going to work for a startup.
     
  4. Do your homework. Prep work is key to making the right decision. Do you market and financial research up front before you take the plunge.
     
  5. Trust yourself and or your partners. This is very straight forward. Trust is the key to any successful business or startup. Without trust the business or relationship will ultimately fail.

Know your risks and do your preparation up front. Keep in mind that without risk there is no return. In the end it’s the potential for the great returns that drives many of us to enter and succeed in the startup world.

I’ll be posting a follow up to this post in the next few weeks that talks about many of the financial considerations that you should be thinking about once you’ve made your personal decisions.

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