The document provides 35 tips for things the author wishes someone had told him before quitting his job. Some of the key tips include: learn to say no to opportunities that will not help you focus; build relationships before quitting; read entrepreneurship books while still employed; expect things to go wrong and be prepared; maximize revenue while minimizing costs; and save money both before and after quitting your job. The tips cover a range of business advice focused on preparing to transition from full-time employment to self-employment or entrepreneurship.

1. 35Things I Wish
Someone Told Me
Before I Quit My Job
Ross Simmonds
Digital Strategist & Founder
GetCrate.co | HustleAndGrind.co | Foundation Marketing

3. Learn to say no more often than yes.1
Lots of opportunities will come up but picking the right ones is
more important than saying yes to everything and not being
able to focus on the things that matter.

4. 2
Show people that you (1)
care about their problems
and (2) have the ability to
help solve them.
Build relationships before you quit.
Escape the 9 to 5 in six months or less with the Hustle Manifesto

5. 3
Don’t wait to read books and blog posts on
entrepreneurship or accounting until after you quit. Read
now while you’re employed and have a steady paycheck so
you’re not scrambling for this knowledge
Invest in yourself and your
future today.
Escape the 9 to 5 in six months or less with the Hustle Manifesto

6. 4
Everything.
It might not actually happen but this mentality will help
ensure you’re prepared and doing the best you can to keep
things on the right track.
Expect things to go wrong.
Escape the 9 to 5 in six months or less with the Hustle Manifesto

7. 5
Sounds like basic business advice but too often will you find
entrepreneurs forgetting the importance of keeping costs
down. I’m not saying nickel and dime people but don’t be
afraid to ask for lower rates.
Maximize revenue.
Minimize costs.
Escape the 9 to 5 in six months or less with the Hustle Manifesto

8. 6
Everything takes longer than you
thought at first. Once you get a few
projects under your belt it will be
easier to estimate timelines.
Everything needs more time.

9. 7
Keep a couple thousand dollars in a separate bank
account for a rainy day. Trust me, rainy days will happen.
And before you quit, make sure you have 3-4 months
runway in projected revenue or in the bank.
Save cash before
and after you quit.

10. 8
As much as you might hate talking
on the phone; some of your clients
and partners will prefer it. Make it a
habit to pick up the phone and call
someone instead of relying on
email, text and instant message.
The phone isn’t your enemy.

11. 9
You’re going to be your own worse critic. It’s easy to
become paralyzed by critiquing your own work – Just
ship it. Whether it’s a blog post, proposal, email
campaign or media outreach – JUST SHIP IT.
Just ship it!
Escape the 9 to 5 in six months or less with the Hustle Manifesto

12. 10
These projects and clients might not pay as much but
during your early days, it’s important to take on work that
will help differentiate you from the crowd.
Take on amazing clients and
projects as early as possible.

13. 11
Streamline your workload with the right technologies in place.
Use a tool like Freshbooks for invoicing, Basecamp for
managing projects, Dropbox for storage, WPEngine for your
website hosting, GetCrate.co for managing social media and
Slack for communicating with partners and suppliers.
Embrace the right tech.

14. 12
Tools like Boomerang that will help you schedule emails
to go out at a later time. People don’t like emails at 2AM
so use Boomerang to schedule it to go out at 8AM the
next morning. Other tools include FullContact.com,
Sidekick from Hubspot and CannedResponses.
Hack your inbox.

15. 13
You get more done by
simply focusing on one
thing during a set period
instead of attempting to
do 2 or 3.
Multi-tasking is a myth.

16. 14
I like to call mine a “kill list” and it highlights the
various items I need to do the next day every night
before bed. Start with the most difficult items and
cross them off your list one by one as you do them.
Embrace The “To-Do List”

17. 15
When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached,
don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.
- Confucius
Make goals and revisit them
every month.
Escape the 9 to 5 in six months or less with the Hustle Manifesto

18. 16 Ask for help.
Don’t be afraid to reach
out to others for advice,
mentorship and
support.

19. 18 Remove distractions.
"No enemy is worse than bad advice.”
- Sophocles

20. 19 Learn to handle criticism.
Never take it personally. Whether
it’s a project or an idea – isolate
the criticism from yourself as an
individual and recognize that it’s a
vehicle for you to improve.
Escape the 9 to 5 in six months or less with the Hustle Manifesto

21. 20 Charge what you’re worth.
Understand that your time is worth something.
Understand that the service you’re providing has
value.
Understand what the industry is charging and don’t
be afraid to go against the norm with higher pricing.
Escape the 9 to 5 in six months or less with the Hustle Manifesto

22. 21 Know at least two
good stories or jokes.
Memorize a story or joke
you can use at networking
events, meetings and first
time encounters with folks.
Escape the 9 to 5 in six months or less with the Hustle Manifesto

23. 22 Keep your word.
Never make a promise
that you're not 100%
committed to fulfill.

24. 23 It’s okay to delegate.
People who help you might do things differently than you but
they will still get it done. It might not be exactly the way you
wanted it but sometimes you just need to walk away and let
people learn on their own and do their own thing.
Escape the 9 to 5 in six months or less with the Hustle Manifesto

25. 24 Drink more water.

26. 25 Don’t take on projects
you don’t believe in.
The opportunity cost is too high. If they’re haggling for a lower
price point, it’s likely that they don’t value your work as much
as a client who you actually believe in, but because you said
yes to this project won’t have time to take on that work.

27. 26 Spend less time with talkers and
more time with doers.
Lots of people will talk about what they are
going to do in the future. Few people actually
step up and take action. Spend more time with
those who take action and it will rub off on you.

28. 27 Meet more people.
Go to events but don’t spend all your
time hanging out with the same folks.
You build your net worth by building your
network, so meet new people.

29. 28 Keep your mental
health in check.
Entrepreneurship is filled with highs and lows. It’s filled
with Gutters & Strikes as Tomasz Tunguz once said. Stay
sane through personal reflection, spending time with
great people, journaling, meditation, etc…
Escape the 9 to 5 in six months or less with the Hustle Manifesto

30. 29 Public speaking is a great
business development tactic.
The conversion rate at events for new business is higher
than the conversion rate of tweets and LinkedIn updates.
Escape the 9 to 5 in six months or less with the Hustle Manifesto

31. 30 Streamline your process.
Create a proposal and process at the beginning that can be
used in a very cookie cutter approach from one client to the
next. The steps you take to onboard a client should be so
straightforward and automatic that someone else could come
in and run that process without you. The goal here is simple:
create a business that could some day run without you.
Escape the 9 to 5 in six months or less with the Hustle Manifesto

32. 31 Understand how to give
effective feedback

33. 32 Challenging work is
the best work.
When you take on a project that sounds very challenging –
you’re either going to do something awesome or learn
something new. Say yes to challenging work because it’s
going to look amazing in your portfolio when you’re done.
Escape the 9 to 5 in six months or less with the Hustle Manifesto

34. 33 Invest in those who
invest in you.
Escape the 9 to 5 in six months or less with the Hustle Manifesto
If someone is willing to take a chance on you
during the early days, don’t forget them. If
someone is willing to invest their time into
your business, cherish it and pay it forward.

35. 34 Get a good lawyer.
Escape the 9 to 5 in six months or less with the Hustle Manifesto
Contracts can be tricky.
Ensure that they’re tight.

36. 35 Read these books.

37. Additional Reading…
Blog Post For Freelancers
The Hustle Manifesto: Available Now
Get more from Ross at RossSimmonds.com