Transitioning from Full-time Employment to Entrepreneurship: How Networking Affect Entrepreneurial Survival and Success

This career shift from a salaried job to entrepreneurship is a significant change, having a number of associated challenges and opportunities. This paper examines the role of networking in enabling an entrepreneur to negotiate the challenges and succeed in his transition process. The influence of these networking activities on an individual's ability to navigate the intricate aspects involved in entrepreneurship, in enhancing the chances of survival and success in competitive business environments, is shown through analysis of already existing research and empirical evidence. In this paper, the theoretical bases of networking in entrepreneurship are analyzed as a way to explain its importance for access to crucial resources, information, and opportunities while carrying out entrepreneurial activities. Coupling the findings of previous studies, this paper will show how and why networking can help realize the transition from full-time employment to entrepreneurship and provide expansion and durability for nascent ventures. This work will further relate research on the different types of networks, such as social networks, professional societies, mentorship programs, entrepreneurial communities, and their inferences on entrepreneurial outcomes. The research was able to delve deeper into the details of networking strategies and the implications it had on entrepreneurial survival and success in pointing out suggestions to those intending to start a business while maintaining a full-time job. This paper makes a strong contribution to the entrepreneurship literature in respect of demonstrating the contribution of networking within the transition process and making the processes more likely to result in successful new businesses. Results show clearly the need for strategic networking activities by those moving from ordinary employment into entrepreneurship; this is not a passive activity, so there is an obvious requirement for the networking of active processes with different networks in order to connect with resources and opportunities that would support sustainable enterprise growth.