On a random October day in 2014, I was sitting in a coffee shop approximately 8,279 miles from home, staring at my laptop.
My face felt hot and I couldn’t stop tapping the table with my nervous fingers.
There was something I had to tell my dad and I wasn’t sure how he was going to react. Hell, I didn’t even know if I was actually going to go through with what I was about to tell him.
I dialed. My feet jiggled beneath me, following my fingers’ lead. I was too nervous to sit on the stool any longer and stood up to stretch as I waited for him to pick up.
After a few minutes of catching up, I got right into it.
“I’m thinking about quitting my job and starting my own company.”
It was the first time I have ever said those words out loud. They felt heavier than I anticipated.
At that point in time, I had been working with Empire Flippers for nearly a year. It was everything I could’ve ever wanted and more. Never did it cross my mind that I wanted to start my own business, at least not so soon.
Things weren’t perfect but they were damn good. The travel, the meeting other entrepreneurs, the banter around the table during our meetings, all of it was amazing.
That job gave me everything. It brought me into the very world I had been dreaming about for years.
And here I was admitting that I wanted more.
But I had no idea what sort of business I was going to start. Even if I had a viable idea, it would be risky and may take months, or even years to start seeing any profit. You don’t just start a business and suddenly become profitable.
Starting my own company and leaving behind my job would mean losing a monthly salary that came like clockwork. It meant cutting a big safety net and potentially failing in catastrophic fashion.
I looked at my bank account and sighed. I had less than $100 in my checking account. The rest of the money I had was maybe $700 dollars in cash. It was obvious that I’d have to move back in with my parents to save on expenses.
It was up to me to make the decision. I knew that and my dad fortunately understood. I had his support, which took a ton of weight off my chest.
Sure enough, I left my old job a month and a half after that Skype call.
Soon after, Growth Ninja was born on January 2, 2015 at approximately 6:30am Arizona time.
Happy Birthday, Growth Ninja. To another great year.
Woah, sounds like a tough decision to make! Congratulations on lasting a full year though – and for taking that first step towards making it happen!
It was but it all worked out rather well, fortunately! Can’t wait to see what happens in 2016!
happy birthday Growth Ninja!
Thanks, Trung!
That’s a lot more straight-forward – perhaps the word is honest, haha – than I was when I went to Thailand to try to do freelance writing full-time. I was like, oh yeah I’m gonna go travel and stay in CM for a while cause it’s cheap on savings and maybe do some more of that writing tutorials stuff you know I’ve been doing, ahahaha.
Congratulations on your first full year of running your own business Vincent! And good to see that you’re still going strong with your blog, looks like I have a lot of catching up to do, haha.
May the new year treat you and your business well!
Thanks, man! How have things been working out for you lately! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you drop by here. 🙂
It has been a while. I’ve been good, just kind ended up focusing on work and enjoying the time after work rather than moving forward with freelance writing and/or other endeavors. I did end up doing martial arts classes and enjoying them a lot which got me into better shape, and slowly gave me some more energy to work with, so here I am now, back at it.
Congrats on one year with Growth Ninja! Look forward to making the same transition in my own life!
Thanks, Jeff! Hell yeah and good luck when that time comes. 🙂
Congratulations! Very brave move. Would it have been more prudent to set up your business while you still had your regular job ? Wishing you more success in the coming years!
You know, I would always suggest to others not to leave their secure job behind until they’ve established something concrete on the side. But it’s one of those things that are incredibly situational, though.
Someone who has kids and a family to feed can’t afford to go without food because of a risky play. A young guy like me has much less to lose and so I went for it after weighing the risks. I also know myself and knew that if I stayed in the job full-time then I would never work on my own business on the side because there wouldn’t have been much at stake.
Vincent walks. It’s not just talk. Love to have more entrepre-generators like him on my team. No worries. Vincent is the real spirit. Enjoying your growth. Enjoying his growth. He’s going places. I will help him no matter what. You know why? He cares. Give him your support. Like he’s your own guru. Carry on.
Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk, I’m a businessman… No time to talk!
Prospects loud and clients warm, I’ve been referred around
Since I was born
And now it’s all ads, it’s OK
And you may hire another companaaay
We can try to understand
The Fast Company Mag’s effect on man
!!!!
Paraphrasing,
Yo don’t tiptoe slow an ginger
Shoot straight up like a Growth Ninja
Very inspiring,you are right that you have less risk but that doesn’t mean it didn’t take a lot of strength to make that leap.