Torn about going part time

[Neron]

I am going back and forth about this and I really need some brutal honestly/advice/comments.

I have always worked full time, I earn ok, not a big amount but also hate my job. I've qualified in something I love and have been doing it on the side on evenings and weekends to build it up. It's killing me managing the both and I'm stressed.
DH thinks IABU and need to go part time, we can cope on his money and the PT money I'd earn. It would mean being demoted though, as speaking with my boss today it's not possible to do my job full time. It bothers me a bit I guess.
I'm worried about the loss of income (about 15k drop to go PT) and if I don't earn enough to make it up or my business doesn't do well etc.
I do get it's a nice problem to have, but I'm really scared to make the jump even though it seems most logical and I have DH support.

That’s a tough one. Where do you see your side business going? If this would be a brief stepping stone and you’re hopeful that the side business would become your only job then this makes a lot of sense. If going part time will just mean doing 2 things half heartedly indefinitely, including taking a demotion in a job you hate, then I really wouldn’t do it. Better still would be to look for a new job, either full or part time depending on where you see the business going. Good luck!

My business is something I want to move to full time, it is the end goal. It's just getting there because that's self employed work and more volatile but it would make me happy. I know I could look back on that career and be happy with it, but my current job definitely not

Is the new job something that people are likely to cut back on spending on if there’s a recession? I’m all for dreams but I’d be worried about building a business in something people can easily cut back on with the current political shambles

If your dream is for your business succeed to being full time then surely you'd have to go part time at some point?
You need to think how much quicker your dream will become a reality if you make the jump now, rather then later.
If the business doesn't work out you can always get another full time job if you really needed to doing what you are currently doing.

I'd say go for it. If you can make finances work then I don't see why you wouldn't
X

I have a friend who has a very successful business. He started by dropping days at his 'day job' bit by bit and scaling up his business until he was ready to drop the day job altogether. It was a good safety net - seems like a good opportunity for you here too. Go for it, I say!

I dropped a bit more than £15k to go part-time and it was absolutely worth it. Eventually I was in a position to go fully self-employed. I'm in my 4th year and now on about $60k a year.

Why can’t you do your own job part time OP? Is it really impossible to do or has it been done as a full time post for so long that management would be reluctant to try part time? If they could you could use some annual leave for the next month or so taking days here or half days there to allow you to start your business. That would keep you solvent for a bit longer until things pick up. Dont forget that we don’t know how things will go with Brexit etc. Who knows how that will end up. This may not be the best time to reduce hours?

So it's not really going part time? It's splitting fulltime between work and your own business rather than trying to do both

Go for it

Go for it, go for it, go for it! Life is far too short to slog five days a week in a job you hate unless you have no other options. You do have options, take them!

It's a hard one OP. Could going part time not mean you can spend more time on your new business and hence hopefully make it more of a success?
I recently went part time for a different reason it is tough there have been lots of spending cuts. Having said that I've coped a lot better than I thought!

If easier to understand, I'm currently an executive assistant for a massive international company with a very demanding (but lovely) boss who is hard work. I work 40 hours at week just on that plus I'm on call on evenings and weekends if he needs me. My business is a soft tissue therapist so it's definitely something that people could cut back on. I primarily work with the disabled in care homes and I'm doing cancer massage after my course on the weekend. I do that on evenings and the weekend. I'd do 3 days at 'work' then 3 on my own business. I'd have more time for it, can market myself etc where as I can't advertise as I don't have much time to offer currently

Do people pay out of pocket with that or is it the sort of thing that charities and the govt funds? I’d hope that with the main parties all promising more money for the nhs, benefits increases maybe you’ll be ok - i can see why it would be a fulfilling and worthwhile thing to do.

@magicautumnalhues the resident's/family pay for me themselves

I’m risk averse - I suppose my concern is if you can’t make it pay, then you go back to your demoted job FT you’ll end up in a worse position. If brexit and another hung parliament or rancid coalition wasn’t looming I’d be more optimistic.

It’s not like makeovers and life coaching, i’d like to think you’d weather the economic storms better than easy to cut back on things.

Have you talked to any other business owners in your area about how long it took them to get to a decent financial position and what they think about future prospects?

If it doesn't work I could always get a new job @magicautumnalhues, go back to FT. I work in the city and support c suite so there is always work at decent pay IYSWIM. Just obviously I don't want to do this job anymore but if I had to I would.

I have, some started like me so they had a guaranteed income, some went to a clinic - for which I've been offered a job but I can't make the money work. The best way seems to be having an income so you can rent a room in a gym etc, know you can pay your bills etc and it gives you the time to get out to events and such. I love my work with the less able so that's where I would concentrate my time

Well that minimises the risk a bit if you know you can go back to your old profession easily enough if bad times do hit for people with small businesses.