Entrepreneurship success requires stability in life

DEAR J.T. & DALE: I have a business idea that is so good I want to quit my job to work on it full time. But my wife wants me to wait until we have more money in the bank. My fear is that the idea will be stolen by someone else. What should I do? — Jesse

J.T.: I think your wife is wise. Contrary to what most people think, successful entrepreneurs aren’t huge risk-takers. In his book “Originals,” Dr. Adam Grant explains that most successful entrepreneurs create strong stability in other areas of their lives so that they can take a calculated risk with their startup ideas. For example, make sure your finances can cover you for a year or two, and ensure that your relationship with your spouse is solid and can handle the stress of startup life. The more secure you are in all the other important areas of your life, the better position you’ll be in to succeed.

Dale: Even so, there is plenty you can do right now to increase the odds of the eventual success of your enterprise. The first thing is to focus on potential customers. A business doesn’t start the day you create a spreadsheet, file a patent or get business cards; no, it starts the day you have a customer. If you involve potential customers in your planning, and they are ready to write checks, then your wife may start being the one urging you to speed things up.

Best of career resources

J.T.: Every so often, we step back and offer suggestions on career resources. This time it’s the website remote.co.

Dale: Yes — that’s dot “co,” without the “m.” And, as you would guess, it’s about working remotely.

J.T.: It was started by the folks at flexjobs.com, and has lots of helpful information for those who work remotely, or want to.

Dale: If you take a look at the photos of workspaces that remote workers have sent in, you’ll yearn to join the movement. (To see those photos, use the main page’s search box and type in “personal work environment.”) So we asked the folks at remote.co to give us their best advice on persuading your employer to let you work remotely. Here’s our summary of what their writer Brie Reynolds put together for us:

1. First and foremost, assess which parts of your job could be done remotely. Come up with a percentage range. Because most companies don’t have formalized policies or programs in place, it may be up to you to design your own remote work situation.

2. According to job listing data on FlexJobs, only about 30 percent of remote jobs are 100 percent working from home. It’s important to think about what your particular job, boss and work culture might allow, and what you’d actually prefer. Create a business case for remote work.

3. Calm their fears. Bosses are concerned about several issues when it comes to telecommuting. Remote.co interviewed over 100 remote team leaders and asked them their biggest concerns. Trust, communication and productivity are three biggies. How will you show them you can be trusted to work independently at home? What methods of communication will you use? When? How often? Are you ready to keep track of your work and demonstrate your productivity to your boss?

4. Overall, the most persuasive argument for your boss is showing how it benefits the company. Your boss already is well aware that you’ll benefit from working at home. You need to show him or her how it’ll also benefit the team/company. Be specific about how you’ll get more work done and save the company money. This is a business issue, and you must present a business case. Suggest a trial run. Ask management if you could test-run your plan one or two days per week for a month, then meet with them to evaluate your performance and move forward.

J.T.: Our thanks to Kathy and the folks at remote.co. If you approach management with the remote option, please let us know how it goes.

Jeanine “J.T.” Tanner O’Donnell is a professional development specialist and the founder of the consulting firm jtodonnell. Dale Dauten resolves employment and other business disputes as a mediator with AgreementHouse.com. Please visit them at jtanddale.com, where you can send questions via email, or write to them in care of King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019.