How You Can Quit Your Job and Win $50,000!

What are you waiting for? Intuit is giving away $40K cash and $10K in business resources to someone that will pledge to resign and start their own company!

Okay, don’t get carried away and give your two weeks notice yet. However, you should put together a video or an essay that answers the following questions:

• What’s your idea for starting your own company?
• What you will resign from?
• What you would do with the winnings to pursue starting a business?

Submit your business overview at IWillJustStart.com and checkout the contest rules.  Below are some of the business ideas submitted so far:

• Coffee Shop
• Nail Salon
• Golf Website
• Organic Hot Dog Stands
• Doll Clothing
• Comic Book Venture
• Clothing Line
• Law firm
• Personal Shopping Business
• Yoga studio
• Job website
• Social website

Remember it’s a competition, being judged by Anita Campbell, John Jantsch, and Ramon Ray so make a convincing argument.  The grand prize is valued at $50K and two other people will win $5K each.  The deadline for entries is December 15, 2007 and the winner will be announced  on February 10, 2008.  Even if you don’t have the time to enter, you can always sign up for a free copy of Quickbooks Simple Start 2008.

Who is Participating?
I was browsing the video entries and heard a variety of interesting stories.  There were mothers that wanted start their own company so they could set their own schedule and spend more time with their families.  Some entrants got laid off and decided to take the plunge into working for themselves.  Another set of people weren’t happy in their job and knew they needed something different.  One teacher started a business over summer break and it did so well that she never went back to teaching.

Entrepreneurial Advice
I was surprised at the number of people who were greeted with words of support and understanding from their boss when they gave their two weeks notice and described their new venture.  I guess I just assumed most bosses would be upset an employee was leaving.  It’s smart to leave cordially and not burn any bridges since you never know how the venture will work out and if you may need a job again in the future.

One lady made the point of saying it’s important to take the risk and be aware that it might fail.  If it doesn’t work out you can always go back to what you were doing, or something similar, and you will have gained valuable experience.

Another piece of advice I thought rang true was to start with small steps and build a business over time.  She began by working out of her kitchen in her spare time figuring things out as she and her business partner went along.  It seems intimidating to think about everything required to run a successful business but if you look at it one step at a time the task seems much more manageable.

Just Start!
Most videos end with the contestant smiling into the camera and advising us to “Just Start”.  If you’re interested in getting started, enter the contest or at just sign up for your free copy of Quickbooks Simple Start 2008.  Good luck!

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