Should You Quit Your Job to Start an Online Business? Weigh These 3 Purposes First
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After learning how to find your niche, this article turns to purpose and to a big question: should you keep your job?
Many people dream of quitting their job to start an online business. Social media makes it look common and easy. Lynnaider recommends a different path for most people: start an online business while working, and let it grow in parallel. In this article, the purpose section of Lesson T1, we explain why, and introduce the three parallel purposes to keep in mind.
1.2 Purpose: where are you headed?
Did you feel any goosebumps while identifying your own version of a simple idea? If yes, you may already be on the right track. If not, there is no need to worry, because most people do not feel them yet at this point.
The goosebumps may also come while you pair your idea with a purpose. They come even more often once you start to act. Action makes ideas feel real.
Besides potential, an equally helpful question to answer when starting an online activity is where you are headed. What is the purpose of your journey?16 Knowing your purpose helps you make better decisions at every later stage.
Three parallel purposes for your online business
In our beginner’s trail, we describe three types of outcomes you can keep in mind and work toward. We consider them all parallel to one another.
- Valuable self-occupation. Being active and pursuing something valuable to you is perhaps the most important outcome of the whole experience.
- Joining communities. Entering or re-entering communities, online and eventually offline, with the new skills and experiences you build along the way.
- Pursuing additional income. The earning element. It comes third because it is the least guaranteed of the three, even though it matters a lot.
When all three purposes are present, your online business has a solid base. Even in months with low sales, you are still learning, occupied with something meaningful and connected to others.
Lynnaider’s view on employment
While you figure out your business idea and its purposes, think of your current workplace too. You may be able to apply what you learn there right away. With new skills, you bring new conversations, and you rejoin a familiar community with fresh perspectives.
In our view, salaried employment is still more suitable and certainly more secure for most people. Online entrepreneurship is best seen as something you do on the side, if possible. That is why we recommend that you start an online business while working, rather than leaving your job first.
What the algorithms do not show you
Readers interested in online entrepreneurship see a hugely disproportionate number of entrepreneurs in their feeds. This is simply how algorithms work. It can make people believe they would be much better and easier off as self-employed entrepreneurs.
Even people who know this is an algorithm effect can be influenced without noticing. In reality, entrepreneurs make up around 15%17 of the global adult population. And that figure does not mean all entrepreneurs within it are doing well financially.
Keeping this number in mind protects you from unrealistic comparisons. Most people you see online are not representative of a typical entrepreneur’s life.
When you start an online business while working: signs you could reduce your hours
For a few people, the online business eventually grows enough to consider reducing working hours. Good signs include several months in a row of stable income, a clear source of steady traffic, and savings to cover a few months of lower income. Even then, reducing hours step by step is usually safer than leaving all at once.
If you are currently unemployed
Beyond seeing your current job as a new playground, there is another way to use the Lynnaider teaching. If you are currently unemployed, consider it a handbook of new skills for your next job application. Digital skills are valued in many industries today.
You may even find yourself approaching new industries or sectors you had never considered. Running a small online project shows employers initiative, organization and practical digital knowledge.
How growth works in online solo entrepreneurship
So how should you look at growth in online solo entrepreneurship? It unfolds over time. There is often a lot of emphasis on scaling quickly, but in our teaching, real growth is about creating meaningful value.
That value is for yourself, for the people you serve, and ultimately for the people around you and society more broadly. Growth takes time, even for experienced entrepreneurs.
There is also a real risk in entrepreneurship, with income that fluctuates or does not exist at all for a while. Regular employment, by contrast, pays you every month or every week. This difference is the main reason we suggest growing your business in parallel.
Practical tips to start an online business while working
Protect a regular time slot to start an online business while working
Choose two or three fixed slots per week, even if each is only an hour. Regular small sessions are more effective than rare long ones. They also keep your business from taking over your evenings.
Choose a model that fits around your job
Some income techniques suit part-time work better than others. Digital products, print-on-demand and affiliate content can be built in small steps. Freelancing works too, as long as you accept only projects that fit your schedule.
Keep your costs very low
When you start on the side, you do not need to spend more than about 20 dollars on your setup. Free routes and small one-time fees exist for most techniques. Avoid monthly subscriptions before anyone knows about your business, because they add pressure without adding customers.
Spend your time on traffic
Your limited hours are best spent on bringing people to your offer. Marketing your business is a skill you can learn yourself, step by step, without an agency. A simple, repeated routine works better than occasional bursts.
Check your employment contract
Some contracts have rules about side activities. Read yours, and ask your employer if anything is unclear. This avoids misunderstandings later.
Set a realistic first goal
Instead of aiming to replace your salary, aim for something smaller and concrete. Your first goal could be one sale, or covering your own setup costs. Small goals keep you motivated and are much easier to reach alongside a job.
How to start an online business while working and stay private
Many employed people prefer to keep their online business separate from their professional identity. That is completely possible. If the idea of self-branding is what held you back so far, Lynnaider recaps the alternatives for you.
Your next step
The next article looks at income itself: what your first sale really means, and the three phases online income tends to go through. For the full Lesson T1, see our products page. If you would like help planning an online business alongside your job, visit our services page.
Frequently asked questions
What are the three parallel purposes?
Valuable self-occupation, joining communities, and pursuing additional income. Lynnaider recommends holding all three in mind, in that order, rather than treating income as the only test of whether it is worth it.
Why does income sit third, not first?
Because it is the least guaranteed of the three. Placing it third gives it a stronger foundation to rest on, rather than making it the only reason to continue when results are slow.
Should I quit my job to focus on online entrepreneurship?
For most people, no. Employment remains the more secure occupation, and online entrepreneurship works best pursued in parallel, not instead of a stable job.
What about people who are already unemployed?
The teaching is worth reading as a handbook of skills for the next employment as much as for the online activity itself. Many of the skills transfer directly into organisational roles.
Does Lynnaider show step-by-step tutorials for the 10 online business models with no or minimal setup costs?
Based on interest, these tutorials may be made. If you would like to see them, please sign up to the waitlist, so we can see that there is interest. Everyone on the list will be informed as soon as the tutorials are available.
Why does Lynnaider mention the 15 percent statistic about entrepreneurs?
To counter the algorithm-driven impression that everyone online is a self-employed entrepreneur. In reality, entrepreneurs are around 15 percent of the global adult population, and financial outcomes vary widely inside that group.
What does “real growth” mean in this context?
Creating meaningful value for yourself, for those you serve, and for the people around you. Real growth unfolds over time, not through rapid scaling.
Is there a low-cost way to start an online business with Lynnaider?
Lynnaider teaches setup routes for each of the ten online income techniques that cost nothing, or very little (under 20 dollars), to go live, so you do not pay setup costs long before you earn. Our free AI agent, Lynnaider Compass, guides you through them step by step, in the same logic as the whole Lynnaider teaching.
References
16. Martela F, et al. What makes work meaningful? Longitudinal evidence for the importance of autonomy and beneficence for meaningful work. J Vocat Behav. 2021.
17. GEM Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2024/2025 Global Report: Entrepreneurship Reality Check. London: GEM; 2024. Available from: https://www.gemconsortium.org/report/gem-20242025-global-report-entrepreneurship-reality-check-4
Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and should not be regarded as legal, tax, or business advice. Pursuing an online business does not guarantee income; results depend on many factors including the business environment, individual effort, skills, and consistency. Some links on this site may allow Lynnaider to earn a commission at no additional cost to the reader.
