By Linda Stewart
If you’re one of the many people who dream of leaving your day job, quitting the rat race, and fulfilling your desire of being an entrepreneur this chapter is especially written for you.
Increasing numbers of successful professionals just like you have dreams and aspirations of breaking free from the restraints of the corporate world so that they can create the freedom and flexibility that comes from doing what they love and being their own boss. Often their dreams are fueled by their desire to make a more meaningful contribution and have a bigger impact. They literally want to BE the change they want to see in the world.
Sadly, many postpone making good on their dreams and others will never progress beyond the dream. Why? Because they don’t have a specific plan or know the exact steps they need to take to make it happen. In addition, they’ve likely fallen hostage to a variety of mainly fear-based reasons that they’re allowing to get in the way:
- Fear of failure.
- Fear of success.
- Fear of leaving the perceived security of a regular income and being able to provide for themselves, and their family.
- The list goes on.
However, by not taking action on your vision and making the contribution you dream of, you do yourself, your community, and ultimately the planet an immeasurable disservice. The truth is, those that make the leap quickly realize that “getting out of corporate” was one of the best decisions—if not the best decision—they ever made. With hindsight, they often wonder why they waited so darn long.
The best news is if you are committed, leaving the nine-to-five rat race and becoming a successful entrepreneur can happen much easier and much faster than you might think.
Below are just a few key steps and insights that can assist you to move forward with confidence and ultimately make the leap to creating the business and life you’ve so far only dreamed of.
Know Your Destination
The most important piece to actualizing your dream is to decide what it is you really want. Once you are clear about that you can bring your vision to life. You must have a crystal-clear vision of where you are going and exactly what you’re trying to achieve.
What are your specific long, medium and short-term goals?
If you need to generate an immediate modest income or if you want to build a multiple six- or seven-figure business, the steps you take will be completely different. Pinpoint where it is you’re going so your subsequent actions will be in alignment with that. It will be much easier for you to confidently navigate towards your destination if you have more than just a vague idea. If you don’t take the time to work out this crucial piece, you’ll simply end up going nowhere fast.
Protect Your Dream
Refuse to let fear, self doubt, procrastination, lack of confidence, past experiences, money, other people’s opinions, or anything else stop you from following your dream and living the life you truly desire.
When you’re ready to transform your life, none of these “excuses” will stop you.
And if you are truly ready, you’ll simply do what it takes and enlist the support and resources required to protect your dream and make it your reality.
You Don’t Have To Be Perfect To Begin.
Avoid getting stuck in analysis paralysis, trying to get everything perfect before you begin.
I’ve seen this many times in people making the transition from employee to entrepreneur where they’re attempting to get all their ducks in a row before they begin. Resist the temptation to over analyze and instead begin now. And don’t get caught up in busy work that offers no immediate return.
Building Your Business While Working Your Job
You can successfully build your business up part-time while still working in your job. That’s exactly what one of my clients did. She successfully renegotiated her working hours providing additional scope for her to focus on her holistic practitioner training business. By her third month she was impacting more people’s lives and generating more income than her full-time job. In this case, it allowed her to begin to build a contingency fund in savings, which made the transition to being a full-time business owner much easier and smoother. She is now fully self employed and has never looked back.
Open Your Mind to What Else is Possible
Think outside the conventional boxes about how you can leverage your time to help more people. One successful entrepreneur I know of has set up his location-independent business helping people live their dreams so that he now works just one hour a month and still generates multiple six figures while traveling and playing at the beach. He built a successful business—that helps hundreds of people around the world—around his most important value, spending quality time with his family. It’s a fascinating example of a freedom-based portable business and a glimpse into what’s actually possible.
The No. 1 Thing You Must Do to Leave Your Job in Record Time
You can go as fast or as slow as you choose with your business, but…
If you want to leave your job in record time you must focus first and foremost on income-producing activities.
When I first started my boutique consultancy business for professional women and entrepreneurs, it took a mindset shift, picking up the phone and actually speaking with potential clients. Just two phone calls later I had two new consultancy clients and had actually banked more money than if I had worked for a whole month at my previous full-time job. And the truth is, it wasn’t difficult.
I guarantee that you have at least one skill, more likely several, that you can put to work right away to generate an immediate income. So stop being busy, identify and get focused on the activities that will create momentum in your emerging business and catapult you out of employment and into entrepreneurship.
Linda Stewart, BSc is a #1 bestselling author, executive consultant and facilitator of transformational events for discerning professional & entrepreneurial women. From her home in the tropics of South East Asia, she runs a number of ‘portable’ location-independent businesses. Linda passionately champions and empowers her worldwide clientele to replicate the ‘portable business model’ in order to create their own sustainable businesses — marrying up what they love and living life on their own terms.Through her work with collaborative partners and her own business and lifestyle consulting expertise, she offers her international clientèle access to exclusive tropical transformational retreats, and networking opportunities at intimate events for women professionals & entrepreneurs. Visit www.ThePortableBusinessCoach.com.
This article is a chapter from the book Transform Your Life! written by 60 real-life heroes and experts and available at Amazon.com, BN.com, www.Transformation-Publishing.com and all ebook formats.