I’m scared to give up my salary

Dear Biz

I’ve got an idea for a business but I’m worried about giving up my fulltime job and salary when the economy is a bit rocky and there’s no guarantee it will be a total success. I’ve got a young family to support. Any advice? Peter, by email

Biz Replies

Is this idea something you can set up in the background and could focus on, say, in the evenings or at weekends? That way you can test the waters to see if there is a market, if you can make it work and earn enough to replace a salary.

If it’s an online service you will need to automate as much as possible so you don’t end up losing customers if you don’t get back to them immediately.

Or maybe you could try a pop-up shop if you have something to sell – a pop-up shop will help to keep your overheads low as you start out. You could find a busy shopping centre and catch the weekend footfall.