The Quit Number

The other decision

Going back to a job is not failure

4 min read

Going back to a job after self-employment is a planned outcome when you set exit criteria before you start. Write down one line, such as six months below your quit number with less than three months of runway left, and it tells you when to start applying.

Self-employment can feel like a one-way door. People go back to jobs for sound reasons, and you can go out again later with more money, more skill and a better business.

Treating the return as shameful can do real damage. It can keep you in a situation that stopped working long after the evidence was clear, because stopping would mean admitting something.

How do you decide whether to go back to a job?

You decide whether to go back to a job by writing exit criteria while you're calm, before you quit. For example: if my sales haven't cleared my quit number for six months in a row and my runway is under three months, I start applying.

Criteria written in advance come from someone with no stake in the answer. Criteria written in the moment come from someone frightened or exhausted, and they lean whichever way that person leans.

Exit criteria aren't a prediction of failure. They're what make it safe to commit fully, because there's a defined floor instead of an open-ended slide.

Which signals should make you stop reselling full time?

Six signals matter: a runway that keeps falling, a full year below your quit number, paying with credit, declining health, costs your household can't sustain and no longer looking at the numbers.

  • Runway falling for several months in a row with no cause you're fixing
  • Sales below your quit number across a full year, not one quiet quarter
  • Paying the business or your living costs with credit
  • Your health, physical or mental, visibly declining with the work as a clear cause
  • Your household carrying a cost it didn't agree to and can't sustain
  • Having stopped looking at the numbers, which can be avoidance rather than busyness

Which signals aren't reasons to stop?

A bad month, a bad quarter in a seasonal business, other people's posted results, boredom with what you sell, one fixable setback and other people's opinions aren't reasons to stop.

  • A bad month, or a bad quarter in a seasonal business
  • Comparing yourself with other people's posted results, which are selected and unverified
  • Boredom with what you sell. That's a signal to change what you're doing, not whether
  • One large setback with a clear, fixable cause
  • Other people's opinions about self-employment in general

Can you keep reselling part time after going back?

You can keep reselling part time after going back, and it can be a good version of the plan. A part-time job that covers fixed costs and may bring health cover, while the business keeps running, eases the pressure that can force bad decisions. The business can then grow on its own schedule instead of your rent's.

What should you keep if you go back?

Keep the business at a smaller size, your records, an honest write-up of what worked and the relationships you built.

  1. The business, at a smaller size. Keep listing, keep your selling accounts in good standing, keep the skills warm. Restarting from a quiet business beats starting from nothing.
  2. The records. A full financial history of a real business is useful for a later attempt.
  3. An honest write-up. What worked, what the real constraint was, what you'd change. Write it while it's fresh.
  4. The relationships. Suppliers, buyers and other sellers don't expire.

How should you think about going back?

Going back is the second-best outcome, and it beats staying too long because leaving felt like losing. You ran a business. You now know what it earns, what it costs, what it demands, and what held it back.

Going back with that knowledge, a rebuilt runway and a business still ticking over is a position to try again from, when the numbers pass.

Is it a failure to go back to a job after being self-employed?
No. Going back with better skills, a financial history and a business still running is a rational outcome, and you can go out again later in a stronger position. Treating it as failure can keep you in a bad situation long after the evidence was clear.
How do I decide whether to stop reselling full time?
Set exit criteria before you start: a specific number of months below your quit number combined with a runway threshold. Criteria written in advance come from someone with no stake in the answer.
Can I keep my reselling business if I go back to work?
It's possible, at a smaller size. Keep listing, keep your accounts in good standing and keep the skills warm. A part-time job that covers fixed costs eases the pressure that can force bad decisions.
What are the warning signs that full-time reselling isn't working?
Runway falling for several months with no cause you're fixing, sales below your quit number across a full year, living on credit, declining health, and having stopped looking at the numbers at all.

Disclosure The Quit Number is published by the team behind FlowLister. FlowLister writes eBay listings from your photos, which matters here because listing is the part of a full-time week you can't skip. It's AI, so it misses things. We make it, so read this as a disclosure, not a recommendation. Nothing on this site is financial, tax or legal advice.

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