Join the queue: Having a regular job like everybody else may make financial sense

Quitting a secure job for the life of an entrepreneur is a big decision, but there’s a lot of information out there about how to take it. Less talked about, however, is the journey in the other direction, taken when self-employed people decide to return to traditional employment.

Whether it’s the result of a business failure, a change of heart, or the simple recognition that a regular pay cheque and the structure of corporate life is more appealing than fighting it out alone, moving back into someone else’s office — perhaps even into your old job — takes some thinking about if you want to get it right.

If you’re not sure, don’t. Gareth English, a consultant at the business psychologists OPP, says that returners need to overcome any disappointment with the failure of their enterprise before applying for permanent jobs. “If I can’t deal with the fact that I was not successful at something that I really wanted to do, I may resent having to come back to ‘the man’. You have to think very carefully about why you are going back — is it just necessity? If so, you may be better off coming back on a transactional basis, say as a contractor.” Accepting a permanent job means making a long-term commitment to traditional employment, while contract or interim positions allow people to earn enough to get back on their feet before taking on another entrepreneurial idea.

Returners are in it for the long haul. A strong performance at interview will convince an employer to give you a go, but they may continue to suspect that you’ll quit and return to entrepreneurial life for some time, says John Lees, a career coach and author. Look for ways to get involved in work that proves you’re back for good. “You have to show commitment to long-term projects of two to three years’ duration. That will show that you are planning to stay,” he says. “Make it clear to your employer that they are not second best, that they are not the consolation prize.”

Be prepared to change. Former entrepreneurs, used to being in charge, are likely to have to adjust their behaviour when they return to employee status. “You have to relearn how to negotiate your way around an organisation,” Lees says. “And as soon as someone reminds you that they are in charge and you work for them, you have to take that comment very seriously because it shows that there are worries about you conforming.”

Justin Cooper, who returned to Ernst & Young in London after spending five years setting up a successful game lodge in South Africa, agrees that being an employee again is challenging. “The way it’s structured here, there’s the capacity to be your own boss and manage your own career, but just going to work in a suit and tie is a challenge...there’s a different psychology and it can be exhausting. It’s a massive gear-change.”

But don’t change too much. Lees warns ex-entrepreneurs that they are unlikely to be able to keep switching between self-employment and the corporate career ladder with impunity. “If you go back into conventional employment for a while then go out into business again, that will muck up your CV. It will send all the wrong signals, both to future investors in your business and to potential future employers.” It can suggest that you aren’t committed to either path and are not, therefore, a good bet in either market. Instead, try looking for roles that allow you to be an “intrapreneur” — an entrepreneur within the business. This may mean looking for a relatively independent role that allows you to run your own team or business within the bigger corporation. “This idea is interesting because... you have a high degree of autonomy. Your department makes a profit and they leave you alone,” Lees says.

Think about your colleagues. Cooper says that his colleagues are “hugely positive” about his decision to come back, but in some situations returners can also elicit jealousy in colleagues who have stayed in conventional employment, English says. They may resent the fact that you were brave enough to try to live your dream while they stayed put; they may be negative about entrepreneurialism as a way of convincing themselves that no such independent venture can succeed and that they were right therefore not to try.