Leaving a job to do this full time is a financial decision before it is a creative one, and the creators who make it successfully have almost always done the arithmetic first.

The floor is higher than the salary you leave

You are replacing not just take home pay but employer contributions, benefits, paid time off and the equipment somebody else used to buy. A realistic target is meaningfully above the salary rather than equal to it, and pretending otherwise is how people end up back in a job within a year.

Recurring clients matter more than a good month

Three clients who send work every month is a stronger position than one large project that happened to land. Before leaving, look at whether the income repeats rather than at whether the total was good, because the total is the misleading number.

Build the buffer before the jump

Several months of expenses in reserve, because payment terms mean the money from your first full time month arrives well into the second or third. The gap between working and being paid is the part that catches people out.

Winter is the wrong month to start

In Canada the quiet stretch is the depth of winter, and starting then means the first months look worse than the business actually is. Leaving in spring gives a summer and autumn of activity to establish a base before the first slow season.

What you lose besides income

Employment insurance eligibility works differently for the self employed, and there is no employer pension match. Those are worth understanding rather than discovering, and an hour with an accountant before deciding is cheap.

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Frequently asked questions

Do I need to match my salary?

No, aim meaningfully above it.

What matters more than a good month?

Clients whose work repeats.

How much buffer is needed?

Several months, because of payment terms.

When should I make the jump?

Spring, not the depth of winter.