Should you quit your day job?

If you’re bitten by the independence bug -- do you quit your day job to start your own business, or do you string along a side gig for as long as you can manage?

Sometimes it seems like the best plan is to go for the gold and dive headfirst into entrepreneurship. If you devote yourself wholeheartedly to something, you’ll be able to make it succeed. Right?

A 2013 study at the Academy of Management showed that the risk and uncertainty associated with entrepreneurship deters many from starting their own businesses. Fair enough. But an easy way of reducing this risk? Holding onto that day job… for a bit.

Hybrid entrepreneurs, or people who start their own business while maintaining a day gig, learn from the transition and have a much higher chance of business survival when they eventually switch to full-time self-employment. That’s to say: the research shows your independent business will be a lot more successful if you don’t jump into it full time.

What do you think? Hang onto that day job, or mutiny and dive into the waters of entrepreneurship? Which way did you choose?

Tell your origin story in our Hive, What’s your going freelance story?, and debate away!