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Part-Time Becomes Full-Time
These days, many of us choose to work more than one job.  Oftentimes this involves a full-time job plus something part-time.  The 40-hour position pays most of the bills, provides needed benefits, and offers a stable work environment.  The auxiliary job might simply be a way to put more money into your pocket, but more and more it represents the beginnings of a dream career as a business owner.  At some point, your success in building that part-time work into something self-sustaining will cause you to make two of life’s tough employment choices—when do I quit my regular job, and how do I leave it without damaging the relationships I have built there?

The Great Quit-Work Fantasy is a Fallacy
For any budding entrepreneur preparing to take that giant leap from worker to business owner, one of the fantasies involves charging into the boss’s office, shouting out all your past grievances, and storming off by tossing an “I quit!” over your shoulder before slamming the door behind you.  That scenario is fine for the movies, but it is likely the first mistake you would make as your own boss.

Every Business Relationship Has Value
As an employee, you are involved in four distinct relationships every workday.  These are with:
1. Employer / supervisor
2. Coworkers
3. Clients
4. The company itself

Each one of these associations has value to you as a future business owner.  Your employer is someone who can serve as an excellent reference or advisor in your new position.  Your coworkers can send you business leads or recommend your venture to their friends.  The people doing business with your existing company fall into a similar category.  And the company you are leaving is a potential future customer.

Whom Do You Tell, and When?
No matter the size of a company, the “grapevine” is an active part of all of them.  Even if you have a contentious relationship with your supervisor or owner, you will want them to be the first to know you are leaving.  It is important not to simply tender your resignation, but actually share the fact that you will be running your own business.  As long as you will not be competing for the same customers, most people in positions of authority recognize what a challenging and exciting step this is for you.  After all, they may possess similar dreams or have already lived them out—by having started the business where you work!

It is important to give sufficient notice, especially if you are in the middle of a project that needs to be completed before you depart.  Turning this decision into a dialogue with your boss rather than simply saying, “My last day here will be such-and-such,” is not only good manners—it gives both sides a chance to look at this move in a positive light.  Two weeks is generally considered a minimum time frame and acceptable under most circumstances.  A longer transition may be necessary if your job is intricate and requires your replacement to learn especially complex tasks.

Make sure that your resignation is offered in writing—so that there are no misunderstandings regarding the terms of departure—and keep it short.  Whatever information you may have divulged directly to your supervisor as to future plans and such, there is no reason to repeat this information in correspondence that may be seen by other sets of eyes.  Be polite, upbeat, and make sure to mention at least one thing you gained from working at this company.  In other words, leave your full-time job behind the same way you would hope one of your future employees might depart.

Hitting the Road
Your final day on the job should be cause for celebration, not sadness.  Without taking away from the purpose of the job—after all, people are there to work—say your heartfelt goodbyes in a warm and professional manner.  You will look back on that day as the most exciting one of your life so far—the day you become your own boss and control your own financial destiny.

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