Perhaps you’re thinking of breaking away and starting your own investment firm. Maybe this has always been your goal and you were just getting experience working at a larger firm. Or perhaps you assumed you would work for this firm for a long time, but now you’re starting to think that it would be a better idea to branch out.
Either way, what you’re wondering is how quickly you should do it. Should you try to leave immediately and just start your own business, using your skills and experience? Or should you begin planning in advance, even if that means you don’t necessarily get to push your career in the direction that you want?
The benefit of advanced planning
Every situation is unique, but there are often benefits to planning in advance. For instance, the Harvard Business Review talked with successful entrepreneurs who had started their own businesses. They asked these individuals when they wrote a business plan.
Those who had the most success were the entrepreneurs who had decided to start the company, and then, in the next six to 12 months, they had written their business plan. If they did so in this timeframe, the odds of success were 8% greater for their business.
In other words, you can be successful by acting quickly, but there is statistical evidence to show that taking your time and planning in advance gives you a greater chance of reaching your goals. This may mean that it takes another year before you can actually start your own firm, but that may be a wise investment of your time. Be sure you carefully consider all of your legal options as you decide how to proceed.