When you're thinking about turning your passion into your own business, the pull can often feel too strong to ignore. You may have even considered leaving the comfort and security of your current job to pursue that passion. But before you do, you want to make sure you’re prepared for anything and everything to happen.
As highly successful business and career coaches, Forbes Coaches Council members can recommend the smartest way to successfully make the leap from a 9-to-5 job to entrepreneurship. If you’re thinking about leaving the daily grind to start your own business venture, read on for their words of wisdom.
1. Build A Financial Cushion
Our higher purpose, passion or meaning can be disrupted by a call toward basic survival. How can I live my dream but also put food on the table? These two parts of our psyche can become conflicting. Chronic worry is detrimental to a purpose-driven life. Have at least some financial cushion in the bank. You need to feel safe in order to reach for the stars. - Cheryl Leong, Leading with Consciousness
2. Understand Your True Motivations
First, hire a coach to help you get clear about your real motivations and do an accurate assessment of your temperament for entrepreneurship. If you answer those questions in the affirmative, put the critical pieces (strategic plan, marketing plan and brand) into place before you jump. When your business is ready for you, leaving your job will feel like a step rather than a leap of faith. - Kimberly Errigo, Genius Life Group
3. Be Sure Your Passion Is Profitable
You might be passionate about underwater basket weaving, but if there's no viable market for it, you're setting yourself up for failure. My advice? Figure out how you can complement your passion with your skill set. Maybe your passion is diversity and inclusion, but that hasn't been in this space. Think of how can you use your transferable leadership skills and connections to get your foot in the door. - Lizette Ojeda, Dr. Lizette LLC
4. Learn From Other Entrepreneurs
It’s easy to romanticize something you’re passionate about, especially if you’re unhappy in a current role. Before making any career leap, do your due diligence. Talk to entrepreneurs as much as possible to understand the pitfalls and possible worst-case scenarios so that you can plan for the worst and position yourself for success. Learning from other’s experiences will help you cover your downside. - Molly Walsh, Standout Consulting
5. Identify And Own Your Purpose
I work with many clients that ignite their purpose and, once they get clear on it, it's so powerful. One of the best things you can do is to own that purpose and connect it to a transition strategy. This means finding mentors to help you set up a timeline for living your passion, resources that will help you build your strengths to succeed and strategies for fiscally transitioning to your passion. - Dr. Denise Trudeau-Poskas, Blue Egg Leadership
6. Uncover Your 'Why'
It matters not how clear you are on what you want to do or who you want to serve. Your success—personal and professional—depends upon your clarity around your why. Why this business? Why this audience? When it gets hard, when challenges arise and when the 3 a.m. sweats come, your why keeps you going. When success comes, when the money flows, your why keeps you focused! - David Taylor-Klaus, PCC, CPCC, CTPC, DTK Coaching, LLC
7. Practice By Bringing Your Passion To Your Current Role
Tough decision: Leave my current role, with more safety, or leave to pursue my great passion. What would it take to incorporate your current passion into your current role? If you could do that, you would get to "practice" with a safety net and begin to try on your passion. Work in a volunteer position. Bring your passion to work. Then, when you're sure, make the full leap to your own gig! - John Hittler, Evoking Genius
8. Launch Your Business As A Side Hustle First
The top piece of advice I would give to professionals thinking about leaving their current jobs and starting their own businesses is to do it, first, as a side hustle. Just think of it as a proof of concept of something you might be doing for the rest of your life. Often, kids in college or graduate school intern in the industry in which they plan to work. This is a brilliant way to test things out. - Heather R. Younger, J.D., Customer Fanatix, LLC
9. Be Patient While You Build
Successful entrepreneurs don't achieve that success overnight. In fact, many are paranoid on a regular basis of failing! You'll need a "stick-to-it" attitude to weather the slow times. You'll need to focus on working on your business as much as working in your business. Finally, are you ready to move from the security of a regular paycheck to chase your dreams? - Ed Krow, Ed Krow, LLC
10. Find A Small Step You Can Take To Move Forward Right Now
I would encourage you to ask yourself, "What are some steps I can take right now that would lower the overall risk and increase the forward motion toward the business that supports my passion?" We often have a mentality that it is an either/or decision. Instead, consider both for a little while until it is wise to make the full jump. While you are taking those steps, utilize resources like the Small Business Development Center. - Sheeba Varghese, Coach Sheeba
11. Confront Everything That Could Go Wrong
Create a list of all the things that could go wrong. Yes, it is a downer, but also helpful. This list identifies the brutal realities, so you can build a plan that addresses the known hurdles. If you don't know what the likely pitfalls are, enlist the help of someone who does. Finding the holes now is better than after you leave. Passion and planning are required to build a business. - Leann Wolff, Great Outcomes Consulting
12. Pick A Date To Start
The fantasy of starting a business can feel simultaneously alluring and impossible. Pick a date in the distance by which you'd like to be gainfully self-employed. Slowly build your plan, letting it take shape as you have the time and inspiration. How much money would your business need to net monthly? Collect data, brainstorm and build lists about possible offers, pricing and target audiences. - Stephanie Hartman, Catalyst Consulting
13. Get To Know Your Strengths And Weaknesses
Over 15 years ago, I started thinking about starting my own business. Before I left my job, I spent significant time with mentors who helped me consider areas I knew well and areas I needed help and support with. This feedback and advice helped me get a number of issues in place before I cut the cord and became an entrepreneur. Many of these conversations are valuable if you consider a change. - Dan Ryan, Ryan Search & Consulting
