Do you need to quit your day job to start your dream business? Not necessarily, says best-selling author and mentor Gary Vaynerchuk.
“I’m an immigrant,” Gary explains. “I wasn’t born in America. I lived in a studio apartment with 11 family members. Our American Dream came because my dad worked his face off and had his own little liquor store business.”
The narrative of quitting your job to begin a business is a popular one, especially among creative entrepreneurs. But that’s just not plausible — or even smart — for everyone.
“I know what it feels like to work for 15 hours a day behind a cash register,” says Gary.
But things have changed since he launched the store’s website in 1996 (the first of its kind for any individual liquor store in America). Gary points out that today it is truly possible to start a business in your own leisure time, without quitting your day job. You just need to find the time, which you can probably totally handle.
“You’re going to do this at the expense of playing Madden 25th Anniversary,” Gary explains. “Can’t you give that up for a year to change your entire life?”
Watch more from Gary Vaynerchuk in this interview:
Still not sure about whether or not you’ve got it in you to start a business? Check out the talks and writing of other Build a Business mentors, including Richard Branson, Seth Godin, and Marie Forleo.
And since March is all about taking risks here at CreativeLive, I thought I’d share the following opportunity. Shopify is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to set up an online store. Through March 31st, you can open a Shopify store with a 14-day free trial and enter their Build a Business competition. Plus, winning involves going to an island. ‘Nuff said.
