Unleashing Your Entrepreneurial Spirit

Unleashing Your Entrepreneurial Spirit This article from ChangingCourse.com was just too good not to post. The step-by-step advice Brian provides for branching out on your own is spot on. Enjoy! -meb By Brian Kurth The realization youre in the wrong career does not hit like a lightening bolt. Rather, it festers within you for a long time, slowly worming its way into your consciousness, until one day you realize youve known it all along. For years, I sat in a ninety-minute-each-way commute in Chicago rush hour traffic to/from my telecom job in product management. I dreaded every Monday. It never occurred to me I could start over. It never occurred to me I might be an entrepreneur at heart, and I could create my own destiny. However, after the dot-com bubble burst left me on my own, the thought of another position in my field was finally too much to bear. I left my career and my horrible commute behind, and embarked on a new journey filled with questions, uncertainty and elation. Its romantic to think the heavens will offer up a sign letting you know when the time is right to unleash your entrepreneurial spirit and start your dream business. Unfortunately, reality often doesnt work that way. Launching a business is risky, and those risks can easily overwhelm your senses and weaken your confidence. The fear of failure pervades your psyche, and when the safety and security of your family is on the line, happiness seems like a selfish luxury you cant afford to indulge. Many people live their entire lives this way. For others, their work frustration grows a little every day until they realize their need for happiness is suddenly greater than the fear that comes with making that change. Once fear can be overcome or at least overwhelmed thats when great things can happen. However, merely conquering your fears is not nearly enough to ensure success in starting your own business. You might have all the desire and motivation in the world, but there are still many steps that need to be taken, and many questions that need to be answered. So once the desire outweighs the fear then what? 1. Start Researching Starting a new business demands acquiring a vast amount of information that literally no one can figure out entirely on his or her own. Luckily, our modern world is packed with resources and assistance for dedicated and passionate entrepreneurs. If youre willing to take the time, youll find the facts you need. The Internet As recently as ten years ago, compiling information on a given topic would mean an exhaustive process of scouring books in a library and talking to strangers on the phone. Luckily for entrepreneurs, the Internet has blown it all wide open. It is the entrepreneurs best friend. The business you are considering might be new to you, but its important to realize that its not for others. Get on the Internet and find everything you possibly can on your newly chosen field. Read it all, take notes, and write down questions that arise. Any piece of information you can get is one tiny step closer to being ready for your big change. But dont get stuck in online analysis paralysis. At some point, its time to take the next step toward becoming an entrepreneur. A Mentor There are people who work in your dream business who are willing to help you on your journey. You may need to find them in another city and may even have to sign off on a non-compete clause to get their advice, but theyre there for you. Find several people who work in your newly chosen field, and initiate discussions with them. Tell them you admire what they do, and ask if you could learn from them as you look to make a career change. When someone agrees to be a mentor, schedule a visit to their workplace where you can observe the process in action, take copious notes on all you see and hear, and ask a ton of questions. When starting a new business, there are absolutely no better lessons than those taught from someone within the field. Theyll tell you everything you want to know, plus much more you need to know. 2. Raise Money One of the reasons why people so often fail to leave unpleasant work situations is the money; they simply earn too much in the job they hate, and fear a dream business of their own wouldnt provide the same level of security. This is a legitimate fear, but there are things that can be done to mitigate the risk until the income matches the level of happiness and desired lifestyle. Save Up Change doesnt have to happen all at once. Merely planning for the switch can improve the situation in the short term. Put money aside out of every paycheck so youll have a nest egg for when you finally decide to take the plunge. Find Outside Funding No matter how much money youre able to save, it might not be enough to get a business off the ground. Luckily, there are other avenues for raising the needed capital. Look into finding government grants, private investors, or even bank loans to help you get started. Set Some Limits No matter how strongly you believe in your new business and your ability to make it work, you dont want to throw all your eggs into that basket. Be careful about putting up your personal assets as collateral. Keep some of your assets be it your home, your pension, your 401K, etc. off the table. Dont invest your entire net worth into your business. In the event that something goes wrong, it will be a HUGE comfort to know some of your assets are protected. 3. Get to Work Once the research is done and the money is raised, its time to get to work. New businesses take an extraordinary amount of time and effort if theyre going to make it. Dont be afraid of the hours, and dont shy away from the commitment. Remember: eighty hours in a job you love is still FAR more rewarding than forty in one you hate. There will, of course, be obstacles along the way, but with enough passion, dedication and foresight, anything can be overcome. Keep reminding yourself you deserve to be happy, and your dream business is ultimately worth the time and effort it takes to get there. And once you do, youll never dread a Monday again and as I like to say, everyday is a Friday! About the Author Brian Kurth, a former Dilbert, worked for the phone company in Chicago. After realizing there was more to life than telecom calling plans, he founded VocationVacations (ChangingCourse.com/recommends/vocationvacations). He is the author of Test-Drive Your Dream Job A Step-By-Step Guide to Finding and Creating the Work You Love (Hachette, 2008) and is a sought-after speaker on how to pursue and attain ones dream job and lifestyle. He has shared his wit and wisdom in appearances on NBCs TODAY Show, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and FOX News, and has been featured in articles in O, The Oprah Magazine, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine and many more. Kurth co-executive produced This Jobs A Trip for the Travel Channel in 2006. A native of Madison, Wisconsin, Kurth lives in Portland, Oregon. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)