The Best Time to Plant a Tree

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now”. – Chinese proverb

You’ve been thinking about it for a long time, going out on your own. The corporate grind is less and less rewarding and feels less and less secure.

But is this the right time to start a business? Do you still have enough gas in the tank? What if it fails?

Even the most secure jobs – those that seemed impervious to market trends, like government jobs – now feel insecure and unpredictable. These days, with all the instability in the job market, what used to feel like the riskiest route to earning a good living is now the smart move. This might be the best time to start your own business.

One thing I know for sure after helping people become business owners is that it’s never too late to start. I recently spoke to a corporate finance executive who was laid off and considered starting a franchise business. But within six months, he’d found another job and decided against entrepreneurship. While I respect his decision, here are the reasons I think he’d be better off running his own business:

Starting a business while you’re still employed reduces the risk. First, you have your employment income, so your ability to care for your family remains intact. You’ll be able to take time to develop your business and find out what works while the stakes are comparatively low. The worst-case scenario is that you’ll earn extra income from your side gig. The best-case scenario is that you’ll be able to transition to full-time business ownership on your own terms without putting your financial well-being at risk.

Lenders also consider an employed entrepreneur a better risk for financing. They can calculate and predict your income reliably. They know that you can afford to invest your profit back into the company because you have a steady income of your own. Most financial advisors would agree that the best time to start your own business is while you still have a job.

If you become unemployed a few years down the road, you’ll be forced to make a choice again. Only now, it’s two or three years later. I often see people who choose to return to traditional employment, only to see their company or the market change again, leaving them to wonder what they could have, would have, and should have done. They often face the very tough choice of moving to a new market to find a job or staying where they and their family have put down roots. Self-employment eliminates the need for that binary choice.

If you don’t take any steps toward your dream of becoming an entrepreneur, you’ll be sitting in the same place when the calendar flips to the new year. You will never know for certain where you might be if you had taken the first steps a few years ago.

You’ll be in charge of your exit strategy instead of leaving it to your employer. Education, performance, or experience don’t make you layoff-proof anymore. Even the top tier of workers will eventually find that they’re replaceable; technology, and now, AI, is eating jobs at a rapidly accelerating pace. If you have a business of your own, you always have a way to earn income. You will make the decisions about when and how you exit your corporate career. You’re in charge of your own destiny.

Waiting until you are laid off means that you’re going to make decisions based on fear instead of strategy. You’ll rush into entrepreneurship, and you’ll feel like your entire future hangs on every business decision – or mistake – you make. You’ll be stuck in a reactive mode instead of being proactive. That’s not a recipe for success.

There are business opportunities that provide a path to success with less risk. Franchises offer a business model for almost any kind of lifestyle and wish list. You can customize your business to meet your needs, whether they’re professional, financial, or personal. The franchise concept takes much of the risk out of business ownership, as you’ll be backed by a company with a proven business model and a record of building jobs and wealth.

If you’re ready to take charge of your future this year, start by taking the franchise assessment. There’s no obligation to go any further, but you’ll be able to consider another option for becoming financially independent.