What I Started to Escape the ‘Salaryman’

Are you thinking about starting your own business or ditching the grind?

This article shares tips for starting your own business through my personal experiences. If you haven’t read the previous article yet, I recommend checking it out first!

How I Realized I Wanted to Start My Own Business

After reading this article, you’ll know what actions you need to take to start your business.

I Didn’t Know Where to Begin

Exploring My Options

I decided to try a side business and investment, aiming to break free from my current situation. However, when you’re thinking about starting your own business, you might wonder, “How do I even begin?“

That’s a completely natural question. Most people don’t know how to start a business because it’s simply not taught in school. Of course, I was in that exact position myself at the time.

So I decided to first explore options that a salaryman could start.

Side Businesses a ‘Salaryman’ Can Do

Start small with a side job

I decided to start small because I was truly afraid of losing money due to my own mistakes (I’m quite a chicken!). Also, I knew I couldn’t just quit my office job suddenly. So, my initial approach was to look for any businesses I could start as a side job.

Looking back, I believe this approach was excellent. It allowed me to start businesses with minimal risk and pressure. My point is, you don’t need to begin your entrepreneurial journey with a huge investment, like borrowing money from a bank. You also don’t need to take on immense risk or feel overwhelming pressure.

Of course, if your dream is to become the CEO of a global company comparable to Amazon or Apple, you’ll need significant capital and a large team. However, I won’t be recommending such massive ventures in this blog. You only need a bit of seed money, a laptop, Wi-Fi, and a dash of courage.

Nowadays, you can truly start many small online businesses with almost no risk. And remember, even if your business isn’t large-scale, you can still experience excitement and fulfillment.

Businesses and Investments I Tried

Next, I’ll list the businesses and investments I’ve tried (or attempted to try). These are all relatively easy for a salaryman to start as a side business.

Although I tried these things, I quickly realized it wasn’t easy to break free.

While I won’t go into detail this time, here’s a brief overview. I was too afraid to try Stock Investment and Foreign Exchange because of the moderate risk. Virtual Currency was incomprehensible to me. Real Estate Investment required a large amount of startup capital, and when it came to programming, I always felt sleepy while studying it (I was a liberal arts major, after all!).

I’m not denying the value of any of these things. Just like we all have foods we dislike, I simply couldn’t get into them. The most important lesson I learned is that you should try various businesses and investments until you find something you can genuinely stick with.

Eventually, I found that I enjoyed blogging and reselling enough to keep going. I’ll share more about them in the next article.

Conclusion

Beginning a side business can seem overwhelming, but my own journey taught me that you don’t need a huge investment or a perfect plan to start.

Instead, the key is to begin with small, low-risk ventures and explore various options until you find something you’re passionate about and willing to stick with.

True success isn’t about the scale of your business; it’s about the courage to take that first step and find a path that brings you genuine fulfillment.

I truly hope this blog inspires you to change your life!