Guest Post: 6 Tips to Keep Your Dream Job from Becoming Your Nightmare

Since I’m on vacation this week, I thought this would be a good time to showcase some guest bloggers. Today’s blogger is Dr. Jason Cabler, who blogs at Celebrating Financial Freedom.  It’s a Christian Personal Finance blog that focuses on becoming and living debt free.

This time of year is the time when a lot of people resolve to change their lives in some way.  From weight loss to finding a mate, New Year’s resolutions can run the gamut.  But today I want to talk to you about one particular resolution that a lot of people are thinking about these days, and that’s quitting your job and starting your own business.

I think most people have at least entertained the idea of striking out on their own at some time in their life.  But if you’re serious about it and you’re really wanting to make that leap of faith, there are some things that you really need to consider first to help ensure success and minimize the failure that can come quite easily if you don’t have a good plan in place.  Here are some things you should consider first before going all in:

1. You absolutely need to have a passion for what you plan on doing.  Striking out on your own can be extremely difficult and lonely.  Passion and love for what you do can help get you through those difficult times.  Make sure that if money was no object, you’d still be doing it anyway.
2. Have you proven you can make money doing this?  If you haven’t then you need to be very careful.  It’s usually best to work on your dream part time and keep your day job until you know you can make the business work well enough to support you.
3. Be excellent at your day job.  Sounds a little counterintuitive I know.  I mean this may be a job you really hate and have no passion for, and that’s why you want out.  But here’s the deal, you need to practice excellence in your day job because it’s good practice for your dream job.  Sometimes your dream job is going to be no fun and stressful too, and knowing how to be excellent even when things suck is key.
4. Is your spouse on board?  You have to make sure your spouse is ok with your plans and will be supportive.  If there is a problem there, it must be addressed before moving forward, because if he/she is not on board, then the harder you work on your dream, the more your spouse is going to end up resenting that dream (and thus you too).  Don’t sacrifice your marriage at the altar of your dream.
5. Do you have an emergency fund in place?  You’re gonna need it.  Even if you’ve been making money on the side from your dream it can still be a big jump when you quit your day job.  The better prepared you are for the uneven paychecks that can come with self employment, the better off you’ll be.  And let’s face it, if you’re not disciplined enough to have some financial stability before you made the jump, you’re not gonna suddenly get it.  Making the jump before getting some financial discipline in your life is a recipe for disaster.  Let your financial discipline fuel your dream instead of potentially killing it.
6. Don’t jump too early.  This goes along with #2 and #5.  Quitting your day job before your dream is fully ready and going for broke too often results in just that… ending up broke.

When you follow these steps to achieve you dream job, it can make your dream much more achievable.

When you still have a steady income, a supportive spouse, and some amount of financial stability, it gives you the power to say one of the best words in the English language, and that word is “no”.

When you don’t have to say yes to those questionable opportunities that inevitably com along that may cause you to compromise your ethics, your plans, or even your morals because you desperately need the money, you have the power to build your dream the right way, without compromises that could eventually serve to kill your dream before it even really gets off the ground.

There are a few good books that I recommend that expand much further on the subject and can aid you in developing your dream: “48 Days to the Work You Love” and “No More Dreaded Mondays” by Dan Miller, and “Quitter” by Jon Acuff.  These books are excellent and can really move you a long way toward developing your dreams.

I especially like “Quitter” because author Jon Acuff actually lived what he wrote he wrote about, so it all comes from first hand experience.  I’ve attended his “Quitter Conference” and was very impressed, I highly recommend it.

I truly believe that if you are careful with your dream and treat it with the care it deserves, you can make your dream come true and keep it from turning into a nightmare.

Have you had any nightmare experiences while pursuing a dream?