The idea of being your own boss can be very attractive, but there are some preparations you are wise to make before making your move.
Avoid the Skewed Perception
The first involves taking cognizance of the fact that our brains operate just like those of animals: before we make a decision, we assess whether the opportunities outweigh the potential threats.
But there’s a problem: again, just like animals, our brains tend to recognize more false positives than actually exist. This makes sense in the animal world, where extra caution may prolong a life. But in our human domain, it can work against us.
Any situation where we assume that there will be more ups than downs, or vice versa, can result in a skewed perception.
That’s often what happens in the minds of would-be entrepreneurs – many of whom turn to entrepreneurship precisely because they feel unhappy in their jobs.
The truth is that any job encompasses responsibilities that are engaging, and others which aren’t. It’s when the downsides become exaggerated that our perceptions become skewed, leading us to create fantasies of what it might be like to be a business owner.
Make a List of your Current Responsibilities
This can be misleading, because if this is the basis for leaving a job, you may be tempted to jump into the new venture without first conducting due diligence or wise and proper planning. If this happens, you may once again find yourself in a situation where the downsides are exaggerated.
The solution is simple, however: before handing in your notice, make a list of all the responsibilities in your current job, and ask how each current job responsibility will assist you in fulfilling your next job or career endeavor.
Keep asking yourself how each will serve your next step forward and find the links so each are perceived as ‘on the way’ instead of ‘in the way’. Ask yourself how each specific job duty will ultimately fulfil your next move or how each will fulfill your current top three highest values and ‘ or new business mission?
Finding out how each activity serves you will help to calm your anxiety and tame the impulse to escape and help you plan your transition more smoothly.
Appreciate your Current Job
If you can find ways to appreciate your job as a transition on your way to your next challenge, you’ll stop seeing it as a mistake and a drudge. Instead, you’ll understand what it presents in the way of learning opportunities and business potentials. Perhaps it can help you gain skills, experience or contacts that will lead you to the next step.
Make sure that you amass as many of these as you can before making your move – and put them to use in also wisely conducting research to make sure that the market needs, and wants, what you’re proposing to offer.
Don’t simply project your assumption on to the marketplace; find out what your targeted business clients are looking for. That doesn’t mean you can’t innovate and sell something novel, but take care to package your innovation in a way that speaks to people’s needs.
Compile a Business Plan
Compiling a business plan will be useful in this regard, helping you structure your thoughts so that you can be sure you have considered all elements thoroughly – important, because fear and anxiety are often born out of lack of research and strategy or executive planning.
Build Start-up Funds
Next, work to address financial challenges.
Because capital is often an issue for entrepreneurs, it may help to build a cushion before launching, either by pre-selling your product or launching your new company while still working your existing job – anything that will help you build at least six months’ worth of capital.
Ask yourself how can you make money or get handsomely paid doing each of the essential steps forward instead of how can you afford or borrow money for each step, which could burden you will additional and risky debt.
Find a Mentor
Finally, engage the services of a mentor or coach who has had a similar experience, and can provide insightful advice. Why reinvent the wheel when you can purchase one and get on a roll.
It’s wise to ensure that you follow all of these steps before embarking on your entrepreneurial career, as each enhances your ultimate chance of success. For more of Dr Demartini’s teaching, visit www.drdemartini.com
