Digital Nomad, Entrepreneurship, Mindset, Online Business

How To Know If I Should Quit My Job, Start An Online Business, And Move Abroad For A Better Quality Of Life?

February 18, 2026
By itssophiebiggerstaff.com

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Should I REALLY Quit My Job, Move Abroad and Start An Online Business?

If you keep asking yourself, should I quit my job, move abroad, start an online business, I want you to know something straight away – that question doesn’t come out of nowhere.

That question usually presents when you’ve outgrown the version of you that built your current life, and you are starting to think about new options for yourself. Probably some of these questions have been eating at you for a while, such as “should I quit my job?”, but you’ve been debating what you would do next.

Move abroad? Start an online business? The options really are endless, but when you’re in the midst of questioning and this transition, it’s hard to know which path to choose. This post is going to help you identify IF quitting your job, starting an online business, or moving abroad is really for you.

Why Am I Constantly Questioning Should I Quit My Job? Start An Online Business, And Move Abroad?

I’ve been where you are right now – in that weird limbo stage more than once in my life, and honestly, it’s uncomfortable.

The questions that eat at you over an extended period of time, like “should I quit my job”, for example, usually mean you’ve outgrown an old version of yourself, but haven’t fully stepped into the new version yet.

It makes you question everything. Your job. Your business. Your location. Your identity. But what I’ve realized is this: that questioning is often the beginning of you choosing yourself.

When you’re asking, should I quit my job? What you’re often really asking is: Am I allowed to want more for my life?

When you’re asking, should I start an online business? What you’re really asking is: Can I really make money on my own terms?

When you’re asking, do I want to move abroad? What you’re really asking is: Would someone like me really be able to make that work?

I don’t believe we randomly wake up one day thinking about moving abroad or starting an online business for no reason. That question usually appears when you’re ready for an identity shift, normally because you’ve seen it to be possible for someone “like you” and have started thinking it could be a possibility for you, too. Expansion is powerful, and it’s the first step to manifesting a life you always dreamed about.

Often, this constant background questioning of yourself happens when you’ve outgrown the version of yourself that once felt safe, but now… It’s too small!

Despite what society has probably conditioned you to believe, WE GET TO CHOOSE HOW WE LIVE OUR LIVES, we don’t have to ask permission, you can choose yourself and design a life you love waking up to every single day. Whether that looks like you starting an online business, changing jobs or moving abroad – if you’re questioning whether it’s possible, you probably already know deep down it is!

Something to remember, however: if nothing changes, nothing changes; if we don’t walk forward, we either stay stuck in the present or we stay stuck in the past. So if these questions are really LOUD right now, you know what you’re going to have to do to move past them…

You have to choose yourself and shift your current reality!

Choosing yourself isn’t about burning everything down overnight. It’s about moving differently. Slower. More intentionally. In authenticity. Letting go of ways of working that were built from stress and providing energy.

If you’re seriously considering whether you should quit your job and start an online business, I want you to do it properly. Not from panic. Not from pressure. But from alignment. That’s exactly why I created the Freedom Founders Playbook – to show you how to safely navigate the transition from 9-5 employee to entrepreneur!

Even If You Do Quit Your Job, Start An Online Business AND Move Abroad - You Need To Remember This…

A lot of people think that when they do eventually quit their job, move abroad, start an online business, that their whole life with suddenly feel magically better.

All the things they’ve been questioning or doubting will go away.

But here’s what I learned the hard way…

When I first started an online business during lockdown in London and then moved abroad to Bali, I took my London hustle energy with me. I was trying to run a London-paced business on Bali time. It made no sense. And I burnt out. All my questions came back just in a new way. My anxiety was still there, just my external circumstances had changed.

Unfortunately, you don’t automatically become a new person just because you quit your job, start an online business and move abroad. You take your conditioning and mental health challenges with you.

Your limiting beliefs
Your habits
Your “not enough” “imposter syndrome” narrative
Your need to prove yourself

If you don’t shift the internal operating system that is asking those questions in the first place, you’ll just recreate your nine-to-five inside your online business.

That’s why the real question isn’t just should I quit my job and move abroad. It’s: who do I need to become to build a life where I choose myself, that actually feels like freedom?

Because freedom isn’t external. It’s not just the location. It’s not just working for yourself. It’s the relationship between your values, your lifestyle and how you show up every day.

When I finally stopped working seven days a week and structured my online business around my energy and who I wanted to be, my authenticity, everything changed. I worked less. I was more present. And the business grew.

Doing less can actually create more. But only if you’re willing to stop building from fear.

If you think these questions are presenting because you want to run away from your old life, it’s not the best approach.

If these questions are presenting because you know you’re ready for more, I think you’ll LOVE my Freedom Founders Playbook – an 80+ page resource that will help you easily navigate the transition from 9-5 employee to entrepreneur!

Do I Need To Become A Different Person To Quit My Job To Start An Online Business?

One of the biggest misconceptions I see is women thinking they need to become someone completely new to make the changes in their lives, like starting an online business.

Not exactly, or at least not in the way you might think…

Let’s put it like this – you already have:

Skills
Lived experiences
Knowledge
Stories
Resilience

You are already qualified to build something around who you are.

So when you’re asking should I quit my job to start an online business, understand that you’re not starting from scratch. You’re pivoting. You’re evolving. You’re repackaging your experience in a way that works for you.

But here’s where it gets a bit tricky.

Right now, your brain is still in employee mode.

It has not yet programmed itself to entrepreneur.

In which case, even when you start asking yourself, “should I quit my job?”, “Should I start an online business?”, “Should I move abroad?” – your brain is going to give you a million and one excuses as to why you should not do these things.

The most annoying part is that it’s probably your subconscious talking consciously. You might believe you can do all these things, but if your conditioning doesn’t, that’s when your internal and external reality will fall into conflict.

Conflicts like procrastination from making the changes, which might look like thinking you need more qualifications before you start an online business.

Conflict, like intrusive thoughts around not having enough money to move abroad.

These thoughts are trying to keep you safe because the outcome of the actions you would take to achieve these things is unknown, and the unknown to your subconscious is unsafe.

So do you need to become a new person?

NO, but you do need to choose yourself, build self-confidence and regulate your system to believe all of these things you’re questioning ARE indeed possible for you.

Choosing yourself means accepting that you don’t have to stay the same. Nothing in nature stays the same. Seasons change. Plants grow. Skin sheds. And yet we cling to old identities because they feel safe.

If you know deep down you want to quit your job, start an online business and potentially move abroad, don’t ignore it, instead choose yourself, choose to do any inner work that allows you to override the internal safety mechanism your subconscious is putting up around you so you can take action to create your new reality properly.

Read more on this in the Freedom Founders Playbook.

How Do You Start Choosing Yourself?

Let’s talk about what you’re going to need to do to allow all of these thoughts to become a reality: Ultimately it all comes down to choosing yourself.

Choosing yourself might look like:

Walking away from or setting boundaries in jobs that drain you
Taking action to build the life you want
Slowing down and getting clarity instead of speeding up and living in misalignment
Questioning whether your work is working for you and your life
Rebuilding your life instead of pushing through a situation just because it’s familiar

Choosing yourself isn’t about bubble baths and morning routines. It’s self-respect in the present moment**.** It’s being honest about your capacity, what you want, and not forcing yourself to stay in situations that don’t work for you anymore.

Choosing yourself means asking: who do I want to be in six months?

Not what salary you want to earn. Not what follower count you want to have. They’re ego metric.

Who do you want to be?

How do you want to feel?

Where do you want to be?

And then taking one tiny action every day that moves you toward that version.

Every single action either takes you closer to:

The woman who quit her job
The woman who moved abroad
The woman who started an online business

Or, on the other hand, it keeps you stuck in the current version.

This is the identity shift you’ll need to transition from 9-5 into entrepreneurship, and I’ll guide you through it in my Freedom Founders Playbook.

Summary: So Should I Quit My Job, Move Abroad, Start An Online Business?

If you keep asking should I quit my job, move abroad, start an online business, it’s probably because you’ve outgrown who you’ve been.

Moving abroad won’t fix everything. Starting an online business won’t magically change your life overnight. But choosing yourself – consistently and intentionally – will change everything.

Here’s what I want you to remember:

You don’t need to become someone new to start an online business.
You don’t need to quit your job overnight if you don’t feel safe to do that yet.
You do need to shift your beliefs and patterns if you want freedom.
Moving abroad only works if your internal world is aligned.
Choosing yourself is the bravest and most loving decision you can make.

If you’re ready to shift away from the 9-5 you hate and choose something more aligned.

If you’re serious about quitting your job and starting an online business.

If you’re done with living out of alignment, knowing you’re meant for more.

It’s time to choose yourself and take micro action towards the life you really want.

Your first micro action is to download the Freedom Founders Playbook, and I’ll guide you through your entire transition from 9-5 employee to entrepreneur.

Now it’s your turn to decide whether you’re going to stay where you are – or finally walk forward.

The version of you asking these questions already exists for a reason.

meet the writer

I'm Sophie

Online business coach, podcast host, mental health advocate, speaker, founder of TINAH, community builder, full-time digital nomad, and general trailblazing, rule breaker…

I tried to live a “normal” life: I spent 11+ years working my way up in the fashion industry, working for brands like Ralph Lauren and Burberry. I had the apartment in the city, I lived for going out at the weekends, spent money on designer bags and holidays – until I realized this lifestyle DID NOT FULFIL ME – I was waking up with anxiety every day – surviving, but definitely not thriving.

So I quit. I left my 9-to-5 behind to start an online business that supported the lifestyle I actually wanted. Now that looks like slow mornings, daily beach walks, co-working with like-minded entrepreneurs, yoga, meditation, and lots of social connections.

Since 2020, I’ve built multiple online business offers – from online business coaching and consulting to online courses, digital products, and a mental health marketplace – all while travelling the world and living life, and earning money on my own terms.

Now… I’m on a mission to help more people break free from lives that don’t feel good for them and create more freedom through starting and growing an online business.