Choosing Passion Over a 9-to-5 Job
By Nikita Garia
Ever thought about quitting your job to pursue your passion instead?
Maybe becoming an artist or working for the greater good of humanity at a non-profit organization? That’s easier said than done, of course, because many of these options don’t exactly provide a life of luxury.
But some people take the plunge– how do they do it? We spoke to three individuals who quit their corporate careers for unchartered territories.
Take individuals like Deepak Dhamija, a 28-year-old who graduated from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta: he left his investment-management job in late 2009 to start a theatre production company. Or Anshu Gupta, who quit a career in corporate communications to start Goonj, a non-profit organization which provides clothing for the poor.
They say that despite the hardships it’s all been worth it. “I don’t want to work five days a week and then enjoy two days,” says Mr. Dhamija.
“I would rather do five days of work which I’m happy about.”
Here, they share advice on three issues that need to be tackled when leaving a job:
The Money: Perhaps the biggest deterrent to leaving a cushy job is the fear of losing financial security. Especially when your passion doesn’t pay well. “You cannot survive on theatre,” says Mr. Dhamija.
“Very few are able to do that.”
Goonj
Anshu Gupta, founder, Goonj
Still, when he found himself spending more time reading play scripts in the office than working, he knew it was time for change. Mr. Dhamija wanted to set up a theatre group, and estimated how much money he would need to last six months minus all “distractions” like shopping and eating out. “I just took care of the basic necessities,” he says.
He also met with people in the theatre industry to get an idea of how they were surviving. By early 2010 he had enough savings to launch Shoelace Productions.
Simultaneously, he set up a legal and financial consulting firm for start-ups, “partly because of the money,” says Mr. Dhamija. He added that whatever he earns at the consultancy goes into theatre. That year, he earned less than he did in just a month in his previous job. Still, he has no regrets.
Like Mr. Dhamija, others who quit their corporate jobs are now earning a fraction of their earlier salaries. They had to cut back on their lifestyle expenditures and dip into their savings.
SaveLife Foundation
Piyush Tewari, founder, SaveLife Foundation
Piyush Tewari, 30, former managing director of private equity firm Calibrated Group, in the last year had to fire his driver, start spending less on food and drinks, and move in with his parents. Mr. Tewari was still at Calibrated when he set up SaveLife Foundation, an organization that focuses on providing immediate care for victims of road accidents, in 2008. Mr. Tewari set it up after one of his cousins died in a road accident.
For three years Mr. Tewari worked at both places, partly “because the foundation had to be funded.” He also wanted to prove that “full-time professionals could make a meaningful contribution to society,” says Mr. Tewari. He finally quit Calibrated in May when he won a global award for individual enterprise. This provided recognition and monetary support for his organization.
Still, for now he doesn’t take any salary from the non-profit, relying on his savings for personal expenses. To keep the non-profit going, he hires a skeletal staff (relying mostly on volunteers), and hopes to tap more fellowships that support social entrepreneurs.
Mr. Tewari warns that anyone wishing to enter the non-profit world needs to carefully think through their finances. “You can’t get too emotional,” says Mr. Tewari. “If you can’t take care of yourself, how will you take care of others?”
Married people can sometimes rely on their partners to provide a steady income. Mr. Gupta, who quit his corporate communications job at Escorts Group to start Goonj in 1998, relied partly on his working wife to pay the bills for the first few years. “There were no separate wallets for Goonj or the household,” says Mr. Gupta. He also drew from his retirement savings for money.
Over the years, however, his organization has been relatively successful and money pressures have somewhat eased. “I’m not worried about the future,” says Mr. Gupta .
Social pressure: Even if you are prepared to leave a corporate career, it can be tough to convince family and friends that you have not gone completely mad. That’s what Mr. Dhamija’s parents thought when he quit his job. “Why don’t you get a “normal job?” he says his father asked him. “There’s nothing abnormal about it,” Mr. Dhamija responded.
Still, he has made it a point to avoid any discussions about his work – especially any problems that come up. Despite his consultancy, he thinks that his parents are still worried because he “doesn’t have a big brand behind him,” says Mr. Dhamija.
For young people like Mr. Dhamija, or Mr. Tewari of SaveLife Foundation, a non-traditional career can potentially hurt chances of marriage since parents typically look for financial stability in grooms. But both of them dismiss the idea, saying they have no plans to marry right now.
Mr. Tewari says he is “on a mission” and wants to devote all of his time to that. In case he does marry in some years and sustenance proves to be an issue, he might consider going back to the corporate world. “It will be a tough call,” he says.
The Back-Up Plan: Individuals who leave the corporate career are determined to make their new lives work, but some have vague fallback plans. For Mr. Dhamija, the theatre artist, it’s his M.B.A. degree from the prestigious Indian Institute of Management. He calls it a “parachute” that he hopes would land him a job in the corporate world, in case he needs to go back. He rarely thinks about it though, saying he’s more focused on getting sponsorships for his theatre.
Mr. Tewari feels his previous position as a managing director could come in handy if needed.
Mr. Gupta, after 13 years at Goonj, says he is too long gone to have any fall-back plan. He recalls their initial struggles and the difficulty in getting funding for Goonj when it was starting out. Now, however, the non-profit has an annual budget of 40 million rupees ($800,000). Mr. Gupta is assisted by his wife, who left her corporate job to join him in 2005. “My wife is a big back-up,” says Mr. Gupta.
Culled from wallStreetJournal.com
