[dreamingat30fps]

OP I have a couple online ecommerce businesses. I'm also a web designer by trade so if you have any questions about that just let me know.

[Nkc]

I don't really agree on doing something you love. This usually gets in the way of doing sound business and making a reasonable profit. If you don't have any special skills then I don't think you can sell any services that gets you paid per job or per hour. You can start with trading something simple and turning a profit. It could be anything as long as you are willing to wait it out and persevere. If you are working 9-5 now, there's no need to quit your job yet because if you are willing to work hard, you'll find time to start whatever you need to start. One thing you will need is a bit of money and knowledge about starting/owning a business which is accounting/taxes etc and stay within the law.

Owning your own business will bring a lot more risks to your life. If you work 9-5 for someone, there's no possible way that you could lose money. If you start your own, you're likely to lose not because you're what your doing is wrong, it could just be a problem of financial planning and not having the resources to execute your plans fully. Failure is almost inevitable at different stages but these failures will give you the best lessons in business. Failures costs money, which is why some have mentioned that you need money to make money. Good Luck to you sir.

[dreamingat30fps]

What the above poster said is spot on. If I were going to work doing what I love I would be a professional food critic while moonlighting as a man-whore. Personally I think almost anything you "love" will quickly turn sour once you HAVE to do it everyday.

As for starting your own business it doesn't HAVE to involve a lot of risk. Start small, test the waters. IMO the biggest issue is people hate their jobs so much they jump with both feet into some new business venture and find out the water is boiling. As they say fail often and fail quickly. A friend of mine had his own businesses for many years and was successful with them. However on his last venture he invested every penny he had and then when that was gone borrowed more. The deal went south and the whole thing died. He was left jobless, pennyless and in debt. 6+ years later he is still trying to recover.

As others have said I would start your business on the side and keep your job until it's generating enough $$ for you to safely bail ship on the day job.

[amanda hor$t]

some greats points itt, i'll just add a few observations:

most would-be entrepreneurs suffer from 2 main fail points: lack of time, and running out of money. lack of time because they're locked into their current routines. when you work 60 hr weeks, there isn't much time left after sleep and some social/leisure activities. lack of money, well if you have a dollar society makes it very easy to spend two. dinner and a movie, or a home cooked meal and tv? new car every few years, or a good car and stick with it? expensive vacation, or a staycation and some local day trips?

i've known plenty of would-be entrepreneurs who simply can't give up the decent jobs they already have. others who can't control their expenses. and most of all, those who just don't have the balls to fail. i personally ate shit for almost 10 years before things finally came together. it was worth it.

[E90 87ss]

Get your feet wet, that's what matters most. A trial run will allow you to understand to complexities of a business + where you are weak and where you are strong... The trial run doesn't need to be related to anything you plan on doing either... It's not easy. Agree with above. I work 16 hours a day 7 days a week and don't really go out unless it is business related...

[Dkhan23]

At the start your going to be working LONG hours and be working 7 days a week