How To Successfully Transition Into Doing What You Love
More than 10 years ago I officially retired my professional Pharmacy license and left the corporate world. At the time I had a 6-figure salary, expense account, perks as well as a job offer on the table from a large pharmaceutical firm. I had had an inkling to be a truly independent entrepreneur for MANY years but it took me awhile to allow myself to actually step into it full time without the “security” of a job. Fear of failing was a huge reason I hadn’t taken action sooner although I did dabble in some of my own ventures during this time. The truth is, trying to launch a successful business while working full time in a job is not the most realistic expectation to have, yet many hold onto this strategy nonetheless. Something has to give, and it’s usually your dream if you’re not willing to leave a job for it. I started experiencing greater financial success and joy when I made the commitment to FIRST transition out of my full time job to work full time in my own consulting business. I’ve never looked back from that point on and over the years I’ve had the opportunity to reinvent myself several times as I started different businesses and step into newfound financial abundance each time. This information may or may not apply to you today but I’ve noticed I get asked the “how did you do it” question quite often so I thought I’d share some of my secrets with you here.
1. Make a list of all risks involved and begin eliminating them. Most people have an intense fear of making the “leap” so the best thing to do is to address anything that would hold you back and work on eliminating each of those risks. This will help eliminate some of your fears and keep you moving forward. The more courageous and passionate you’re feeling about your choices, the easier your transition will be. 2. Immerse yourself in your new industry. If you’re starting something new, start learning everything there is about that industry, talk to the influencers within that industry, and attend tradeshows and networking events related to it. This new-found familiarity will help you
build your success plan, especially regarding the marketing and promotion of your new venture.
3. Create a vision of what you want your life to look like. It’s extremely important you start living with intent, and not by default. With complete certainty that it will happen, create an image of what your new life looks like-- this is just as important as working on your business plan. Your company revenue? Personal income? How do you see yourself spending your days? What kind of customers do you serve? What does your team look like? The greater the detail, the faster you will manifest. Also have a clear understanding of what matters most to you….location, lifestyle, money, etc. You don’t have to know the HOW at this point but make sure your business goals are in alignment with your personal goals.
4. Create a daily regimen of positive reinforcement. Start conditioning your spirit! Besides focusing on the business, you want to take specific steps each day to build your self-confidence and to maintain a high energetic vibration. Read or listen to positive messages, be kinder to yourself, listen to your heart more, remove negative elements from your life, seek out positive people. This is KEY to helping you manifest success in an accelerated way.
5. Modify your existing working conditions to accommodate your new transition plan. You may not be able to make a smooth transition from an existing job if it is consuming all your time and energy. You might need to reduce your existing responsibilities or consider changing jobs to something less demanding and more flexible ---remember it’s only a “means to an end.” Perhaps work in your field of interest for awhile to get acclimated. The goal is to shift your job to accomodate your new life.
6. Give life to your new Company, become the CEO. Make your new project/business as tangible as possible by bringing it to life with a name, corporate structure, a look, a mission, etc. Even if it’s still a work in progress and you’re only using working titles.
7. Fund your transition. You want to get on payroll in your new business as soon as possible so you can be working on it full time. Consider a loan to your new business and then pay yourself a salary from that, create new business lines of credit, reach out to others to fund this transition period, pre-sell if possible, put together a private investment offering or tap into one of the dozens of ways to fund your business.
8. Establish a transition date or other milestone so you have something to look forward to. For years I said “someday I’ll leave the corporate world…” and never really set a date. The moment I did, the opportunity to transition out of it became readily available. If it’s not a date, then what is it? When you make your first sale? Bring on your first investor? Land that big contract?
9. Ask for help. You don’t have to travel this path alone and quite frankly I recommend you DON’T. There are plenty of people out there that would be willing to open doors for you, show you next steps, offer mentoring or even moral support.
10. Keep it simple--Focus on creating at least ONE core revenue stream. I’m all for thinking and planning big but when it comes to launching a business, getting early traction by focusing on a small segment of your plan will help to build some nice momentum. That means promoting one product or service into a specific market segment that would seem easy for you to penetrate.
To discuss next steps to creating a profitable and rewarding new business, email simone@passion2prosperity.com for a private consultation. You may reprint this article in its entirety with the author's contact and bit information.
About Maria Simone -
Maria Simone is a dynamic speaker, author, and transformational business strategist. As the “Passion To Prosperity Diva”, http://passion2prosperity.com , she helps entrepreneurs package and monetize their talents to create 6 or 7 figure businesses. Maria has started 4 businesses, has had online and offline success, and raised over $1.5 million in funding for various projects. She’s appeared on ABC News, Fox TV, and in Business Week, Success Magazine, and many other publications.
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