{"id":15457,"date":"2015-07-27T16:07:47","date_gmt":"2015-07-27T20:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/creator\/?p=15457"},"modified":"2020-03-30T18:28:21","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T22:28:21","slug":"the-big-move-leaving-that-corporate-job-for-a-startup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/the-big-move-leaving-that-corporate-job-for-a-startup","title":{"rendered":"The big move: Leaving that corporate job for a startup"},"content":{"rendered":"

About two years into his job as an investment banking analyst at Goldman Sachs, Stanley Yuan<\/a> had a meeting that would change his life. He found himself on the other side of the table from a young entrepreneur who had launched the largest mobile app store in China.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was sitting at the negotiating table with the 30-year-old founder, listening to his story about how he left Google to start his own company when he was 27,\u201d Yuan says. \u201cI asked myself if I would be able to run a successful company in five years, when I would be 30.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that goal in mind, Yuan, who is now 27, left Goldman Sachs and moved to San Francisco. He established CarGlass<\/a>, an app that curates digital content for drivers based on their interests.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve been really enjoying it,\u201d he says. \u201cA lot of companies that I was working with at Goldman Sachs were already very successful, so we didn’t get to see the very fun part, which is building the product and assembling the teams. I see that now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Yuan, you may have realized that it\u2019s time to leave your corporate job and start your own venture. You have a great idea for business, but you\u2019re not sure how to quit your job, start to bring in money, and go from being a worker on the corporate ladder to the boss.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re not alone. In a survey of 225 corporate executives by Business Insider<\/em>, 22 percent reported that what they really wanted to do was start their own companies<\/a>. And every year, thousands of them do just that.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve spoken with many of these entrepreneurs who decided to strike out on their own. Though they had high-level positions or were building up prestigious resumes, they chose to leave major corporations and launch their own startups.<\/p>\n

If you want to follow their lead, here is some advice they recommended.<\/p>\n

Make it a side project<\/strong><\/p>\n

While you\u2019re still at your job, you need to begin planning for the future. During your off hours, you should be building the groundwork for your new business.<\/p>\n

Marcia Stepanek<\/a> left two corporate jobs, one at Hearst Media and another at Ziff Davis Media, to start her own ventures. To prepare for her departures, she says she \u201cwrote a strategic plan with deadlines and deliverables.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI started thinking of myself as a company of one,\u201d she says. \u201cOnce I felt I had achieved what I needed to achieve, which included saving up for six months and having a business plan, two clients landed in my lap. I thought it was time to take the plunge, and I\u2019m glad I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Consultant Greg Hickman<\/a> prepared for more than two years before he left his job as head of mobile marketing at Cabela\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI talked to a mix of vendors and business coaches and got advice from them,\u201d Hickman says.<\/p>\n

Those who\u2019ve already made the big move say that when you\u2019re not at work, you should be doing all that you can to nurture your new business. You can save up funds, research who might invest in your company, take a hard look at the competition, and speak to as many people as you can who have been successful in your industry.<\/p>\n

Give yourself a timeline<\/strong><\/p>\n

You need to figure out when exactly you want to leave, and then work backwards from there. Maybe you want to wrap up some accounts at your current job, let your clients know that you\u2019re leaving in case they want to follow you to your new startup, or make sure you\u2019re on firm financial footing.<\/p>\n

Before he left his corporate position, Hickman told himself that he wanted to start generating at least 60 percent of his current income with his side business and pay off his $25,000 in debt. Once he accomplished these goals, he quit immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to give yourself a realistic deadline, because the whole idea of \u2018make a leap of faith\u2019 is kind of a joke,\u201d Hickman says.<\/p>\n

When he left his job, he started a podcast called \u201cLeaving Corporate<\/a>\u201d that included interviews with people about how they decided to ditch their corporate jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn those 60 episodes,\u201d he says, \u201conly two people I interviewed made the \u2018leap of faith.\u2019 Everyone else had a side business, and plans, and revenues that were coming in that were at least guaranteed for the next six or 12 months.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prepare for a change in workflow<\/strong><\/p>\n

Working at a corporation is usually a bit bureaucratic. Your decision is one of many, and most likely not the final one. When you start your own business, it\u2019s completely the opposite: Everything you do has a direct effect on your own success, and every single decision is heavily weighted.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou learn that all the hard work you put into it has a pay off and that you’re not answering to someone,\u201d says Stepanek. \u201cYou\u2019re on your own wits for success and failure. A corporate job just doesn\u2019t test you as much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tracy Sherman<\/a>, an estate jeweler who worked for more than 20 years at Sotheby\u2019s International Auction House, says she learned to take on many different positions at her business.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou wear all those different hats and you\u2019re in charge of all your departments,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Today Sherman runs her own jewelry evaluation and purchasing business. She also does estate reviews, asset appraisals, and personal asset division.<\/p>\n

Though you can only get the experience by actually taking steps to start your own business, perfection is not expected. You will learn by doing, and it will be an educational journey at the least.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a huge learning curve,\u201d says Sherman. \u201cBut that\u2019s also what makes it more interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo credit: Les\u00a0Roches\/Flickr<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

About two years into his job as an investment banking analyst at Goldman Sachs, Stanley Yuan had a meeting that would change his life. He found himself on the other side of the table from a young entrepreneur who had launched the largest mobile app store in China. \u201cI was sitting at the negotiating table […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1498,"featured_media":34581,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe big move: Leaving that corporate job for a startup<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"More and more executives are choosing to leave major corporations and launch their own startups.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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