Business Coach Griselda Kumordzie Togobo tackles your questions about enterprise

Q:   What advice would you give someone who is thinking of quitting his or her job to start a business in this climate?

A: There is no immediate need to quit your day job before starting a business. You can always start working on your business idea whilst still in full or part-time employment. There is a lot of planning and groundwork that can be done whilst still in the day job, ensuring that you have the best foundation possible to succeed.

In fact, in some cases, you can use your day job to finance your business venture until the business is ready and able to support you.

In my opinion, there is no perfect or bad time to start a business. Once you’ve done your research, anytime is a good time to start. The recession calls for more creativity and perseverance but it’s no reason not to pursue one’s dreams.

I quit my job in the recession - by choice - to start my business. Before you quit a job, you need to research the market and how you see yourself or your products fitting in and performing in the market.

Your research should cover areas such as:

Research and good planning is key. Writing down your plan will give you clarity and crystallise your thoughts. There are no strict rules when writing a business plan - especially if you are not using it to seek funding from the banks or investors. If it’s for your own use, just write a plan that you can work with. You can start off with a one page document and then add more details as you do more research. You can download a comprehensive list from here http://www.awovi.com/starting-a-business-how-to-spend-your-first-year/.

Before you quit the job, you MUST have a financial plan (savings, other investment or income) that you can live off whilst waiting for your business to take off. Without this, you may find yourself back in a job in no time. Good luck and I'm always happy to have a chat to share my experience.