Asides

4 Tips on How to Quit Your Career by Munaf Kapadia

I quit my job at Google, India in 2015 to become the full-time Chief Eating Officer of The Bohri Kitchen, a food business my mother Nafisa Kapadia and I had founded only 6 short months prior. I had worked at Google for almost 4 years by that point despite which I arrived at the decision to resign without much hesitation or doubt. Yes, the decision came as shock to everyone else in my life, but to me the decision felt neither spontaneous nor painful. There were several reasons for this, which I’ll talk about in detail, but I think that my key takeaway on quitting Google, deemed the best company to work at in the world, is that quitting your high-flying job to pursue self-employment isn’t a romantic experience. It is an incredibly courageous thing to do, but the elation of being a master of your own destiny and time fades fast. Having clarity on why you quit and a clear road map is what will rescue you in moments of self-doubt.

Here’s a few things you can keep in mind before making the big move.

Build up a Decent Nest Egg

Which is another way of saying save, invest and hedge against loss of a stable income before you quit your job. And doesn’t account for capital you may need to set up your next venture. You should be able to support yourself comfortably without burning through your savings too quickly. Nothing will send you back to the 9-5 grind than a feeling like you have to give up bare necessities to save cash.

A Plan B

Whatever it is you planned to do after quitting your job – whether it is setting up a business, becoming a writer, consultant or yoga practitioner, imagine a scenario where it doesn’t work. What will you do then? When I quit Google, I had given myself a 1-year time frame – if I made no progress furthering The Bohri Kitchen’s growth prospects, I would return to a corporate job, maybe even Google. It helped put my parents at ease, allowed me to do some financial planning for those months of instability and gave me a deadline against which I had to measure my performance.

Speak to Your Inner Circle

Gaining perspective on your professional move from people who know who you are and what you do intimately will help you make a well-informed decision. For me personally, that clarity came from my super boss at Google, who sat me down and asked me upfront what my plans with The Bohri Kitchen were. He knew I was working on the business part time already (weekends only) because of the popularity it was gaining in the press. But he made time to have a chat with me on the subject and our conversation game me immense clarity on the decision I needed to make.

Time Your Move

They say there is no time like the present to pursue something that brings you happiness, but sometimes being flexible with your plan to switch gears in your career can save you a lot of stress and heartache later. Timing matters a whole lot when making big decisions that impact your financial situation.

When I quit Google, I didn’t have any financial responsibilities towards my family or large expenses I intended to undertake in the short to mid-term. The in-built risk of running a food business that I had no back ground in was offset by the fact that I also had nothing to lose by taking a year off to further my ambitions. If I didn’t earn as much as I was earning in the last 4 years, I was fine. The choice to not continue working at Google was strategic as much as it was driven by desire to do something with Bohri food, experiment with social media etc.

These are few things you should keep in mind before taking the plunge into entrepreneurship from the comfort of a stable, rewarding job. Quitting itself isn’t the hard part, but arriving at that decision in a calm, objective and prepared manner is critical to enjoying what lies ahead. I was fortunate to have a small business already running thanks to the support of my parents, when I made took the step to resign from my position as an Account Strategist at Google. But even if you do have to start from scratch, planning a little will take you a long way in enjoying your entrepreneurial journey.

For more tips from Munaf, order your copy of How I Quit Google to Sell Samosas today!

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