Be your own boss (while you're still employed)

I've always wanted to do my own thing. And I did just that for some time. Then came the burn-out. I was left with close to nothing. Almost lost the house, the car, my sanity.

Enter day job. It was outside my field but it literally saved my ass. It was a very humbling experience overall that whole ordeal. I'm still employed at that very same job and I'm very fortunate (it provides me with full benefits). It gives my life structure and stability. I never knew I could be such a great worker bee. But that is when I decided I would never again be put in that same situation.

But the longing to start something that is mine and mine alone is still there. My dad did the same thing when he was younger, worked for a company for years then started to do his own thing while he was still employed full-time. My partner-in-crime has been juggling a full-time job and a small business as well and has been very successful with it. It's been growing in leaps and bounds.

I can't say that it's been easy trying to juggle a full-time job and starting a business but the longer I do it the easier it becomes. I'm trying out the method that I've read from the 4 Hour work week and testing it out. The low-information diet, getting rid of distractions. It's been working out quite well so far, although there's always room for improvement. (As I'm writing this, my work called me again asking if I could come in - I said no, I keep picturing a scene from Office Space for some reason).

As far as low-information diet goes: I've cleaned out my bookmarked sites and RSS feeds to those related to what I'm currently working on.Even then I pretty much scan pages for anything that is really of interest.
Get rid of distractions: I screen my phone calls (unless it's my immediate family), I only check my e-mail once a day.

The benefits of starting a business while you're currently employed:

1. Stable income - you don't have to worry about dwindling funds while you're working on your dream.
2. Free on-the-job training - a day job provides you with a structured way of doing things. You're currently on the inside which means you can see what works and what doesn't work for your employer. You can take that principle and apply it to your own ventures.
3. It teaches you to value the time you have - Since you don't have as much free time to work on your business ideas/ventures, you learn how to maximize the available time you do get.
4. It keeps your mind alert - Chances are, whatever type of business you're trying to start (brick and mortar/online), you're having to do a bunch of research in that field. There's a lot of reading, testing, writing, and some more testing.
5. It helps determine if you're in it for the long haul - all the work and effort you'll be putting into your labor of love will show if you're really passionate about what you're doing. If the thought of working for yourself still excites you even after the long work hours, and (at first) no money to show for your efforts, then you may have a genuine thing going.
   

So if you want to eventually be our own boss, the best time to do it is when you are already employed. Just make sure that you're keeping a proper balance between the two. You don't want your performance at your day job to suffer since you stayed up all night working on your e-commerce site or something.