Start the business RIGHT NOW on the side, and have it growing by Axe Time. ("Castle Early in the Game.") I did that before Going Away at 62- Department closing.
Self-financed, no long term debt. It has ups and downs, but I'm doing OK. Working for a real @sshole, though-as always, long hours, and crummy benefits.
My wife told me she had never seen me this happy. Tired, look like crap, but smiling every time I look at the traffic report at commute time.
I'd have some tough thinking to do. What business do I get into? What "life" things do I give up in order to have the time required to run a business on the side? How do I handle customer needs that come up while I am working my regular job? I'm not good at sales and marketing, so how do I manage getting help with those things? So far, I haven't been able to solve those problems.
Self-financed, no long term debt.
Except for my emergency fund and my retirement funds, I don't have ready cash. I'm not willing to empty either fund to risk it all starting a business. Unless I can find something I want to do that doesn't require much initial investment (and I haven't found anything yet), I'd have to get a loan.