Q&A: "Should I quit my job when the economy is bad?"

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

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Today I've got a question from a listener who's wondering about just a lot of uncertainty in the economy, uncertainty with the economy, uncertainty in the job market. Inflation continues to be something that we are all thinking about and affected by. Everything is just so expensive all the time. I'm sure you're well aware of that. And so basically this listener wants to know like with an uncertain economy or a downturn in the economy, is this the right time to quit my job?

And, you know, over the years, like I tend to hear from a lot of people in times of transition and they're always like, you know, do I go out on my own at this point? Is it safe to do that? What is the conservative choice, at least economically speaking, in terms of providing for myself or my family or so on, you know, what is the best short-term choice versus the long-term and so on? So I think it's always good to go case by case because everybody is a unique individual. But also like the reason we make this show is because one individual often serves as a proxy for lots of people who are wondering the same kind of thing.

So I'll do my best to be helpful. Just realize like I kind of go with the information that I have and I often only get like a little snippet of information. So if it doesn't apply perfectly to this caller or to you, I understand, but hopefully maybe something will get you thinking. I think the broader point is you always want to be taking steps to increase your odds of success, to increase your advantage, to create multiple sources of income, otherwise be less dependent on a job or a company or an organization or a government. In other words, you want to create self-reliance as much as possible.

So lots of different ways to do that. And that's why we have lots of different topics here. Let's hear the question from Sanjay. Then I'll do my best to provide a helpful answer after that. Stay tuned.

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Hi Chris, this is Sanjay from New York. I've been listening to the show for a while now and this is my first chance actually to ask a question. So I was about to make a leap from a corporate job to something more independent, kind of striking out on my own. I was very excited about it. But now I'm a little torn with everything that's going on.

On the one hand, I'm thinking, I'm making a move like this seems incredibly risky and maybe even a little foolish at a time like this when the economy is doing so poorly. But on the other hand, I recognize there's never really a good time to take a leap of faith and sometimes down moments are actually when the greatest opportunities arise. So I'm just curious if you have any thoughts or perspective for how do I think about that and determine if this is the right time. [Music]

Sanjay, thank you for the question. I'm glad you're thinking about these things.

I think ultimately it all has to do with your specific situation, specifically relating to the side hustle or business itself. When people say like, should I start a business? I'm like, probably. I mean, that seems like a good idea, but tell me about the business idea. Should you start this business and cash out your savings and put all of your hopes in that dream?

Probably not. But is there something you should do to, as I said in the introduction, build some dependence away from your employer? Then that seems great, right? So in this situation, we didn't hear what the idea was. And so that to me is the critical point.

Is this idea going well? Is it providing a sustainable level of income? Do we realistically think that it will continue to do that for six months and beyond? Also the environment is shifting as noted. So is this the kind of business that will thrive in an uncertain environment?

Many businesses are. In fact, so many businesses are started during economic downturns or times of recession or uncertainty. So if yes, great, but if no, probably not a good idea to go all in right now. And I think that's how you start making these decisions. I think far more important than the decision of like, should I go all in with this is what am I doing each day to invest in myself?

What am I doing on a constant recurring basis to invest in myself so that I have more security regardless of external circumstances? That is the goal for everybody. So it really is key to ask these additional questions about what's going on right now? What is the idea that I have? What other ideas do I have?

Again, how can I take constant steps on a regular basis to build my own security? That's what I wanna encourage you, all of our listeners, no matter your situation to do every day. And of course I'm encouraging myself to do that too. I try to do that every day on a regular basis. That's the overall message of Sada School School.

I think it applies regardless of what the economy is doing. And as always, I hope you do something today to get closer to a goal that's important to you. I'll be here every single day offering you different ideas, case studies, tips, models, et cetera. Tomorrow we're gonna talk about Etsy versus websites. Day after that we're gonna talk about an old school magazine somebody wants to start.

We've got Nautical Jewelry coming up. We've got a blog that makes six figures still. So many stories to get you thinking and hopefully, as I said, taking action. All right, my friends, that's it for now. New episodes come out every day.

My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]

From the Onward Project.