Have you ever asked yourself “how do I know it’s time to quit my day job?” If you’ve been a subscriber of Mama of Both Worlds for a while, then you are familiar with my story. If you are new to the crowd, then you’re not familiar with it! So, let me take a brief minute to give you my back story.

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My Backstory

The Beginning

I graduated law school in May of 2012 and I wasn’t one of the lucky ones with a job lined up. It was up to me to secure that job. So with a mortgage to pay, student loans quickly approaching repayment status, and all of life’s other responsibilities, I settled on a job that checked all of the right boxes. That is, except for the most important one: Passion. My first job out of law school was basically as a Call Center Representative for a Social Security Disability Company. Whomp, whomp. I should note that for whatever reason, a law degree was a requirement for the position. I lasted there all of 4 months.

Two jobs later, I finally secured a “lawyer” job! I was the Staff Attorney for the Probate Court in the city I grew up in. The hours were great, the pay was great, and the benefits were even better! Why would I ever want to leave? Well, after I had my son, I realized once again, that I just wasn’t happy. And for me, I couldn’t justify leaving my baby boy every single day to do work that didn’t make me truly happy. At this point I found myself wondering “is it time to quit my day job?”

The Exit

When my son was about 16 months old, I sat my husband down and told him I wasn’t happy with the path my career was on. I explained to him that I wanted to leave my job, go out on my own, and open my own law practice! Sounds crazy, right? He thought so too! Until he didn’t, and together, we agreed that the best decision for our family was for me to leave my job!

In just a few months, I will be celebrating my 4 year anniversary of being my own boss! My husband noticed just how much I loved it that he decided to join me! So when I’m celebrating my 4 year anniversary, he’ll be celebrating his 2 year anniversary!

Now that I’ve taken you from A – Z, I want to go back and fill in the gaps and answer the questions you are asking yourself. Can I do something like this? How do I do something like this? Where do I start? How do I make sure it’s a success? So let’s start at the beginning:

How do I know It’s Time to Quit My Day Job?

The real answer here is “when you know, you know,” but here are SEVEN other ways you’ll know it’s time!

• You are unhappy:  You go to work, not because you want to, but because you have to! I know it sounds so cliché to bring up this quote but “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Of course you’ll have to work, but it won’t feel like work in the traditional sense. It will feel like you’re building and achieving your dreams!
• You are undervalued: No matter what you do, it’s not good enough. You work overtime, you volunteer to do the extra project, you bring in yummy treats, whatever it is, you go above and beyond and no one appreciates it. You are an asset to your company but instead of appreciating you, they take advantage of you. That type of treatment is unacceptable! Remember your worth!
• You reached the top of the ladder: Or as in my case, there never was a ladder. In the job I had, there was no opportunity for advancement. It was what it was. I thrive when I have goals and sometimes those goals are measured by making it to the next level. If you’re in a position where you’ve done all you can do and there’s no where else to go, then it may be time for a change.
• You have no drive: To say that I was bored in my position is an understatement. I loved the people I worked with, but if it weren’t for the relationships I had built, I wouldn’t have lasted as long as I did. Sometimes, we take the safe job, the convenient job, or even the necessary job. The time came where I was no longer feeling challenged or inspired in my job. I had learned all I was going to learn and was ready to apply it differently. Life is made up of different seasons. When I left my job I was in a new season, motherhood, and what were once necessary elements for me to be happy in my job were no longer factors. Make sure to reevaluate your situation when necessary. Don’t become complacent and stay at a job just because at one time it fit your season.
• You don’t fit into any one mold: This was a big one for me! I knew I wanted to work, but I wanted to do it MY way. And my way included finding a way to work less and mother more! Here’s the thing though, working less doesn’t necessarily mean I have less responsibility or less drive or even less work. It just means that I work non-traditional hours, from my home or office, and typically work less than a traditional 40-hour week. I broke free of the mold and created my own!
• You find that there are more important things in life: For me, that was my family! The feelings of being stagnant and having no drive meant nothing until I had my son. It wasn’t until I became a mother that it became crystal clear to me that there are more important things than career advancement, financial gains and material things. I guess I always knew that, but my son made it so that I finally felt like I had to do something about it. Noah (Ryan wasn’t born at the time) became my motivation, my drive, my biggest goal! Becoming my own boss meant that I would be able to plan my work around my son and not the other way around.
• You’re ready to Pursue YOUR dream!: Here’s the deal, everyone has dreams. We’re all dreamers and dream of the day when we can travel the world, pay off all of our debt, buy that new car, etc. But not everyone has it in them to pursue their dreams. When you’re ready to take the plunge and start looking up ways to make your dream a reality, you’ll know it’s time to quit your day job and leave it behind.

If you can relate to any of this and want more info on how to make the transition, feel free to check out some of my other posts [ HERE ] and down below or reach out for some one-on-one conversations with me! I love helping others find their passion and make their dreams a reality!

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