Normally when people start a business they not only lose their salary they often using their savings to get started. So in the worst case they are initially losing money, they are may be doing well if they break even and are certainly doing very well if they are making a profit which equates to their former salary.

So why is it so difficult to replace what you would be earning in a job why do so many businesses operate with the owner not drawing a full salary? This may be obvious if the business is not attracting enough customers, but not if the owner is working flat out. This may be because the owner has not written a good enough business plan. If you cannot write a business plan for your future business it means you don’t understand what you are going to do, having no business plan is usually fatal.

The business plan defines what the income and profit levels of the business should be if all goes well. So for instance I can produce a maximum of 10 tables a week and if I sell them all that will earn me x dollars I will have y dollars costs leaving me with z dollars profit. So even before his business he must ask himself if this is enough? can he and his family live on it can he justify all the risks he is taking? A business has to make enough money to pay good salaries and to ‘easily’ survive a few hard knocks, bad debts, unexpected tax bill, a hike in the rent etc.

So how can we earn multiples of our former salary? Well there has to be some leverage somewhere, can I buy a machine which will allow me to a hundred tables a week? Can I outsource the difficult time consuming parts and concentrate on marketing and sales?

Many are therefore attracted by operating virtual businesses on the Internet especially affiliate marketing where you need no premises, no stock, deal with no customers but can you really make a living from it? I think yes it is possible but you need ruthless focus to really hunt out excellent affiliate products to promote that are not already heavily promoted by others you then need to be utterly professional in how you promote them yourself. If you get it right however the possibilities are infinite and of course on the Internet the more successful you are the more Google will send you traffic the difficulty is getting the ball rolling in the first place in rising out of the mass of also rans.

If you are planning to quit your job and start a business you must be fully aware of the risks to your financial security, you must create a sound business plan, discuss your idea with as many knowledgeable people as possible, finally you must be aware of how few make it the the other side of that great gulf called “replacing your salary with income from a business”.

So have I tried to put you starting a business?  yes and no  but I have tried to make you aware of the bumpy road and difficulties. Of course if you get it right you win the glittering prizes of fulfillment, satisfaction and an income much higher than you could earn in employment!

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