From Employee to Entrepreneur: 5 Steps to Make it Happen
Inside: Feeling the itch to make the employee to entrepreneur switch? Guest poster Cherie Mclaughlin offers tips on how to prep for this big move.
Do you feel like you’ve hit a dead-end at your current job?
Maybe you’d like to take on more responsibility at work but there aren’t opportunities to move up in your company. Or maybe your passions lie elsewhere, and you want to switch to a career track that will allow you to explore your interests.
If you’re ready to take charge and focus on doing what you love, it may be time to take the leap into entrepreneurship!
These tips can help you follow your passion as you transition from employee to entrepreneur.
5 Steps to Go from Employee to Entrepreneur
1. Boost Your Savings
If you’re trying to figure out when it’s appropriate to quit your job, you’ll need to go over your finances first. Ideally, you’ll want to build up an emergency fund before you leave. And once you’re running your business, you’ll want to continue contributing to this fund in order to prepare for potential slow sales months.
Smart Dollar recommends saving at least $1,000 in an emergency fund to cover minor issues. You can accomplish this by cutting unnecessary spending or even starting up a side hustle for a few months. With that solid start, keep on building that fund with your individual expenses and needs in mind.
2. Draw Up Your Business Plan
You’ve got a great business idea – but you need to get clear on the details. It’s time to create a business plan!
This plan will include an executive summary, descriptions of your products and services, your target market, your revenue streams, and your preliminary plans for operation and management.
In addition, you’ll need to outline your business budget. Jackson LLP recommends underestimating your revenue and overestimating your expenses in order to give yourself a cushion.
3. Business Formation
When you’re launching a business, you need to think about which structure will be right for your company. Using a limited liability company as your business structure will reduce your personal liability, offer pass-through taxation, and have less paperwork.
It’s possible to handle the business formation process on your own, but if you’re not sure how to get started, consider using an affordable online formation service. This will help you save time! A service like this will submit all of the required paperwork for your LLC Massachusetts, and then send you the documents you need.
4. Consider Outsourcing
If you start a business centered around your passion, you might want to do everything – but this is an easy way to burn yourself out!
Chances are, you can apply the transferable skills you picked up at your former job to many areas of your new business, but you don’t have to learn how to do everything else on the fly. Instead, you can outsource certain tasks to independent contractors, or hire your very first employees.
5. Start Networking
In order to grow your business, find reliable employees, and market your products, you can’t overlook the power of networking.
Your old coworkers and managers are probably interested in what you’re up to today, so don’t hesitate to reach out! In addition, you can attend industry conferences to get to know more people in your new field.
If the word networking makes you cringe, check out these five tips for networking for introverts and some sample email outreach messages.
You’ve Got This, New Entrepreneur!
Leaving your job can be nerve-wracking, but if you always feel like you’re just waiting for the weekends, it’s time to consider a new career direction. Chances are, you’ve already mastered the skills you need to run your own business! With these tips, you’ll be ready to embrace entrepreneurship in your desired industry.
Need a little more help?
Career Coaching can help you make moves forward. Sign up for your free consultation call with Becca Carnahan Career Coaching & Communications.
Thank you Cheryl for these valuable and practical tips! For more on entrepreneurship check out the articles linked below.
Read More on Entrepreneurship:
I Quit My Job and You Can Too!
