This is a question a reader sent us. I admit that we sometimes cover more complex subjects and forget simpler ones, assuming people already know these things. In this case, you can perfectly well set up your own business or company while you are employed by someone else. In fact, doing it this way is highly advisable, for several reasons.
Remember that, legally, you can be employed as the manager of one company and own one or even three separate companies.
To begin with, starting your company while you have a job guarantees you a monthly income, so you aren’t starting from zero. In some cases it can even make it easier to get a loan or credit from a bank.
Another clear advantage is that you can win your first customers gradually, without pressure and without rushing. We covered this in a previous article, How to start a business with no money, where we talked about the importance of starting a business even before you open it and funding it with income you already have.
As for the drawbacks of starting a business while employed at another company, the only one I would highlight is the “comfort” you can settle into. Here it’s worth recalling the old saying: “Without haste, but without pause.”
A certain percentage of entrepreneurs who start a business this way never quite make the leap, because they think the business isn’t living up to expectations, when what may really have failed is the obvious lack of time devoted to it.
If you have a good business idea and you’re working for another company, don’t be afraid to give it a go. But remember that every business succeeds or fails even before it opens, because (tiresome as it may be to keep repeating this) you need to draw up a business plan, a market strategy and a realistic feasibility analysis.
Further reading
- Why new businesses fail
- Why a business plan matters and how to structure it
- The advantages of starting a business in a crisis
Featured image: Nenad Stojković, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
