Not So Crazy Advice for New Business Owners

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I grew up in a self-employed family. My father built his business through years of physically and mentally demanding work. As a contractor doing mainly commercial work, he travelled a lot and was gone for weeks at a time working in remote locations in northern Canada.

My dad did not have a privileged upbringing. He quit school and moved out before most kids nowadays get their first car. He created his own success and he worked very hard to attain it. He also worked hard to hold on to it when the recession of the 1970s hit, interest rates jumped through the roof, and people abandoned homes and building projects because they could not pay for them. He built it back up again and worked hard to hold on to it when the stock markets crashed, not once but twice.

So coming from a self-employed family, you may think that I was encouraged to start a business. The truth is most of my family and many friends thought I was crazy to walk away from a highly paid and coveted job.

You see, I was the first person in my entire extended family to get post secondary education. I climbed the corporate ladder quickly and earned double my age before I was 30 years old. I had benefits, lots of holidays and all the trappings of the “good life”.

So when I would get restless and dissatisfied in my career, I convinced myself I must be crazy. It was the only reasonable answer to explain why I wasn’t happy with what everyone seemed to think was the American (and Canadian) Dream.

This went on for 20 years. I quit a government job for a corporate job, then a corporate job for a non-profit job, and so on. To make a long story short, I accepted a position at an international company. I very much enjoyed it, but physically and emotionally, I felt drained. I became very sick with pneumonia, and it wasn’t the first time.

I realized something shocking. I felt relieved to be at home instead of at work. So two months later – a very long, painful two months – I summoned up to courage to tell my husband, and then my boss, that I wanted to quit. I didn’t tell my parents right away, that’s a whole other topic! Ironically this was the first time in a long time that I didn’t feel crazy, but everyone else seemed to think so.

When you quit, you’re making an unexpected and uncommon choice. Most people would rather stay in jobs that consume their souls than take a chance on their futures.

This risk is what stops other people from making the same choice, and what makes them fear for you. So expect that your closest family and friends may be less than thrilled by your decision. Give them time to understand and don’t take it personally if they don’t throw their 110% support behind you.  Most importantly don’t let their doubts become your burden.

Here are my personal tips for coping with this transition.

Be Yourself – If you are thinking of quitting your job, never do it on impulse or based on strong emotion. Take the time to explore what you really and truly want. As Escape from Cubicle Nation author Pam Slim wisely reminds us, “hating your job intensely is not a business plan”. Once you have quit, allow yourself to detox and don’t expect to be a rockstar business owner overnight. Do use the time to think about what your passion is, who you’re ideally suited to serve, what your ideal business could look like, and then put practical structure around it.

Be Realistic – Rome was not built in a day, and contrary to popular Internet myth, neither was any successful or sustainable business. It takes time and planning to create a business and to get clients and make a profit. There are steps you can take to make this happen more quickly, like getting help and professional advice, but most people are not likely to replace their previous income for several months. There are certainly exceptions, however it is more realistic to expect a cash flow trickle for a while until you can build the foundation of a solid business. 

Be Prepared -  I have yet to meet a corporate fugitive who has followed the totally impractical advice spouted by the mostly employed of saving up six months’ worth of living expenses. But it’s good to have some game plan. This is why it’s not smart to make any rash decisions. In my case, once I knew I was going to quit, I was able to quietly look for potential contracts, put out some feelers and plan financially. To borrow the Scout and Brownie motto of “Be prepared in mind and in body”, do what you can to plan for potential scenarios, prepare a strategy to grow your business, and have the discipline to stick with it. Being prepared in mind is a little trickier.  If you’re like most of us, you’ll alternate between wild exhilaration and gut wrenching fear.  You may feel, as one Corporate Fugitive subscriber described it, “optimistic with a shade of anxiety” akin to a low-grade fever.  Another client described it as a rollercoaster ride alternating between “abject terror and excitement” that requires her to “hold on to her dreams with a death grip!”

Whatever you do, don’t give up. There’s a whole world out there and with time and skill you will attract and provide value to that first ideal client, followed by many more.

Sherri Garrity is the Chief Corporate Fugitive and creator of the Five Keys Success System^TM for ex-corporate employees and aspiring entrepreneurs who want to break free from the confines of their corporate experience and  live outside of the ordinary. The Corporate Fugitive system demystifies the business of setting up, managing, marketing and growing a successful and extraordinary business. Visit www.corporatefugitive.com for information and step-by-step resources to take you from overwhelmed employee to extraordinary entrepreneur.