Take the Leap and Go Entrepreneur

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This is a guest post courtesy of Bianca where she talks tips about going all entrepreneur. 

She also talks about the exhilaration and fear of taking that plunge to personal freedom. 

I thought it appropriate food for thought for a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

Please make her feel welcome in the comments below. 

I’ve jumped out of a plane- twice; and spent all my money traveling throughout Europe with wild abandon, under the impression that real life was lived this way- oh to be a twenty again!

I operated as though the world couldn’t touch me, living a carefree life as most young adults do; the threat of car payments, rent and creature comforts weren’t on my radar.

Fast forward five years.

I was twenty five years old, running in the rat race most of us find ourselves caught up in; working long hours with the hope of climbing the corporate ladder, living paycheck to paycheck and hating life.

As a disclaimer, I understand that for some this is their dream, but this post is not for them. This post is meant for those that are fed up and ready to take the leap!

What qualifies me as an expert on leap taking, you ask? Well two years ago, after some planning and with a huge lump in my throat I gave it all up for greener pastures and quit my job.

To many, including my well meaning parents, I appeared to have lost my mind; many blamed the epidemic that is the quarter life crisis, but I knew that there was more to life and I was determined to find it!

The following points detail how you can take the leap and land on your feet.

Don’t Be a Jerk

For months I had envisioned quitting like they do in the movies, thus leaving behind a lasting legacy as the coolest quitter ever; but despite wanting to quit like Jerry McGuire, I exercised my better judgment and refrained.

I gave appropriate notice to my boss and let her know that my heart simply wasn’t in the job anymore, which she respected. Now she’s one of my best consulting clients! Had I jumped on her desk and told her where to go, this would not have been the case.

The lesson here is do NOT be a jerk. Your goal is to create freedom for yourself, not make enemies; besides you never know who your (former) boss may know.

Be Clear

Sitting in a cubicle and dreaming about, the ever elusive, freedom is quite nice, but it requires real focus to determine what you are going to do once you have all this, said, freedom.

Unfortunately, most of us aren’t trust fund babies and need to support ourselves somehow; so before you make any drastic moves, figure out what it is that you are going to do.

If you haven’t already done so, take stock of your abilities; do you have skills that you can leverage into a freelance career? Is your hobby a legitimate business waiting to happen?

It’s very important to be real with yourself; sure you can lie, but the proof is in the pudding. Being honest with yourself at this time will determine whether you are ready to make a move or not. Rushing this step may mean you have to go crawling back to old bossy boss.

Plan Ahead

Teenagers are impulsive beings and most of us responsible adults envy them for their blissful naivety; but with age comes wisdom- the wisdom to know that big risks must be calculated.

You wouldn’t jump out of a plane without double checking your parachute, the same applies here. I lived alone when I decided I had had enough of the rat race, but I knew that I couldn’t afford to put money into my new venture and carry my living costs; so I found a roommate.

This cut my housing costs by 45%, which freed up some money for me to start my website and join networking groups. Although I consider myself to be a reality TV junkie, I opted out of cable; this blow was cushioned nicely by Netflix.

The lesson is plan ahead; and understand that you will very likely have to sacrifice certain luxuries; but if you play your cards right, it won’t be for too long.

Be Realistic

Honestly, this was a challenge for me. I envisioned my business taking off right away because I was devoting my time completely to it; but, as with most things in life, it took time.

Nobody wants to hear this but it’s true. As clients slowly trickled in, I had to dip into my savings and I was forced to change my lifestyle- this is the reality that very few people talk about.

It took me a full eight months before I was making the same kind of money that I was making working for “the man”.

The truth is that being self employed is not for the faint of heart, especially in the beginning; it scared the living hell out of me seeing my bank balance dwindle, but I kept at it; because I knew my hard work and sacrifice would pay off.

The Dream

This tale, although cautionary, has a happy ending. Today I have a thriving consultancy business, where every single day I am the author of my own life.

If I want to take a vacation, I take it; I don’t have to put in a time off request to my boss. And I live life knowing that I hold the key to my success; no longer do I wait for a position in upper management to open, or kiss butt to impress whomever, just so they put in a good word- nope!

I’m free because I took the leap; now the question is, are YOU ready to jump?!

Over to You

Howdy. Are you ready to jump? Regardless, I’d really love it if you’d help share this post. Only takes a sec and BGB loves you for it. 

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Tagged as: big step, business, entrepreneur, faith, fear, taking the leap