Take The First Step To Start A Business But Don't Quit Your Day Job

Puneet Mehta - The hardest part about becoming an entrepreneur is deciding you’re going to do it—cutting ties with your current comfortable lifestyle and taking the first step. I have friends from business school who, in my eyes, are as smart or smarter, more disciplined and with more potential than some people I know actually running successful companies, but they lack the guidance or confidence in making that first move. They say they want to venture out on their own, but then five years will pass and they’re still working for the same giant companies.

I always knew I wanted to started something on my own, but just like those peers of mine with so much potential, I had no idea how. I held lots of conversations with business owners, but not much seemed to help. I was scared of taking that first big step—quitting my job with my comfortable salary and lifestyle. Luckily, I found a way to start the company I dreamed of without having to take that risk.

About three years after I’d completed my MBA, I was working for a really good mid-size company. I kept quite busy and was happy; my hard work was really paying off for them. I was making more than any MBA three years out would expect to make, and I was spending upward of three hours a day strategizing with the CEO. I was making the company a lot of money it clearly wouldn’t have had without me. I could tell I was appreciated.

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