Starting a Business – Enjoying the Entrepreneurial Ride

I grew up on an acreage in Central Canada, and enjoyed the serenity of nature and freedom of wide open spaces. I have always been an animal lover, and was horse crazy from my very first steed (his name was Pokey and he had springs and a metal frame).

When I was old enough, my dad gave in and bought me a beautiful Welsh pony, and one led to another. Having my own horse was a dream come true but like many young girls, as I grew older, I had less time for my horses, and the time came to sell them.

Twenty-five years later, I’ve returned to this childhood passion of mine and fulfilled my dream of owning my own horse again (that’s me with my beautiful curly horse Spirit, above).  Much has changed for the better in the past 25 years in the field of horsemanship, not to mention my brand new awareness of fear and the potential of getting hurt, and all of the things a mother with a mortgage thinks about when doing something with an inherent degree of risk.

Becoming involved with horses after so long has brought a new dimension to my life that I couldn’t have imagined. The ripple effect of this one action is incredible and could fill a book full of experiences, observations and lessons learned – personally, professionally and physically! It has been transformational for me, and I believe it makes me better at my work as a business strategist as well.

You see, several things had to happen for this experience to materialize – and the parallels to the entrepreneurial journey are striking. First, I had to make the decision that I wanted to be involved with horses again, even though I had no idea how (at the time, the sheer logistics of owning a horse again seemed impossibly beyond my reach – where would I find one, where would I keep it, would I know enough to do this on my own, what about my travel schedule, let alone the cost…and so on); then, I had to take a first step (I decided to start by replying to an ad to someone I didn’t know, who was looking for someone to ride her horse over the winter); next, I had to face up to my own limitations (the distance to the ground multiplies, I am convinced, for every decade we are on this earth); I also had to find my inner strength while literally shaking in my boots in order to command the attention of a powerful 1,100 lb animal (walking confidently and calmly to catch a snorting, prancing horse who has gotten away from you – when you are 130 lbs and “two apples high”); and above all, I had to be willing to be a student again (the first time I put my foot in the stirrup, I realized how clunky and unnatural it felt). Had it not been for my sheer joy and determination, I might have let discouragement overtake me. But how amazing it felt to be riding like the wind, without the security of a saddle, seven months later.

When you choose to start your own business, especially after a long career, you’re faced with the new challenge of running a business in addition to performing your craft and serving your clients. Starting a business involves a believing in something you can’t see or touch (the ultimate definition of faith), and changes every aspect of your life. It pushes limits and pulls muscles you didn’t even know existed. Doubts arise, obstacles are encountered and you sometimes feel like the weight of your world is on your shoulders. And like a living, breathing, powerful animal, it can melt your heart and break it, all in the same day.

It may seem incongruent coming from someone who has spent 20 years working in a highly creative, yet methodical and strategic profession – but the biggest lesson I’ve learned from horses that helps me help entrepreneurs is the concept of harmony and what a favorite writer and horse trainer, Mark Rashid calls “the art of going with.”

“Going with” requires the ability to move without resistance, instead of bracing yourself against it. It’s about going with rather than fighting situations and being able to see what’s working and using that positive force, instead of concentrating on what isn’t. It requires a great deal of self awareness and often includes swallowing a huge serving of pride.

In the world of business, as in horsemanship, many people expect to achieve great heights without first mastering the skills they need. They also frequently resist change at all costs, even while outwardly insisting they want it.

On a horse, pushing beyond your ability and being inconsistent or wishy-washy in your cues can cause injury or even death; in business, it can cause you heartache, financial setbacks and possibly, failure of a dream.

“Going with” means accepting where you are at a given time, while still being committed and doing the work that will get you to the next step. When you can truly define, without judgement, your limitations, and areas where you need improvement, and be willing to accept and learn from them and accept help from others, you are moving with the change, rather than letting yourself be pulled, pushed or controlled by it.

“Going with” also means you learn to rely more on finesse than force. There is a fluidity and magic to business that you can only experience when you are paying attention and are still enough to catch it.

When I work with entrepreneurs coming from a corporate background, I see the results of years of conditioning in going against. The methodical, linear, progressive and controlled steps of education and employment do little to prepare us for our new roles to “think outside the box”. Inside, we expect to carry over the high level image and position of our career that we hold up as our proof of attaining a certain level of skill in our profession – especially if we’ve attained a senior executive level and high salary. We fail to acknowledge that when it comes to the art of entrepreneurship, we don’t know what we don’t know – for any variety of reasons. After all, saying “I don’t know how to do this” is extremely difficult for someone who is used to being the boss or being at the top of the game for many years.

Add to that, the personal boundaries encountered when becoming your own boss, and you can soon be going against instead of going with.

There is a wonderful anecdote Mark Rashid tells in the book Horsemanship Through Life about a woman attending one of his workshops. When he asked her how long she had been riding, she answered 22 years. Over the course of a few days, the skilled teacher could see gaps in the woman’s basic fundamentals although she had been able to compensate in other ways. At the end of the event, she told Mark that she had realized that she had been in such a hurry to master the next level of skill, that she jumped from one thing to the next, and to the next, never truly understanding what she was learning and grasping the reasons behind each step. She also confessed she had never allowed herself to be happy and accepting of her abilities, no matter how much she progressed. Going against instead of “going with” got her to a certain level but stopped her growth, and actually made the whole process much more difficult than it needed to be.

At the end of the clinic she reflected “Well, after these four days, what I’ve come to understand is I’ve actually only had one year of experience…22 times.”

As you approach your business and the transitions you’ll be facing, recognize that it’s often less about “muscling through” and more about finding the peace and harmony of what you naturally excel at and who you’re meant to best serve, and facing your limitations and getting help when you need it, without putting judgement upon yourself. Most of all, accept that there will be falls along the way, and instead of bracing yourself, enjoy the ride!

Want to use this article? You can as long as you include this footer: Sherri Garrity is the Chief Corporate Fugitive and creator of the Five Keys Success SystemTM 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.

Are You in the Wrong Business?

If you’ve left a career to start your own business, you’ve made what likely amounts to one of the biggest decisions of your life, next to getting married or divorced, or having children. That decision is not made lightly, I know. It’s a frightening yet exhilarating time when most people think you’re crazy, and you have moments where you wonder if they’re right!

Fast forward to a few years down the road. You’ve gotten past the early phase where your number one concern is getting clients and making enough money to make it worthwhile.

So you’ve made it past that point, and what happens next? You may feel as if you’ve fallen into a predictable routine, except that you can’t seem to break past the plateau you seem to be anchored upon. No amount of muscling through or trying umpteen new ways of doing things seems to work. You start to get tired of doing the same things with the same type of client.

I can describe this so clearly, because I hear this all of the time. And because I felt that way at times, when I mainly did corporate consulting in the early years of my business. You’ve basically built a business that starts to feel like the job you left. But you feel trapped because you’ve now invested your life, heart and soul into getting to this point.

If you feel this way, know that you aren’t trapped. In fact, you hold the keys to releasing yourself, and the good news is, the decision is usually nowhere near the scale of the major ones you’ve had to make up until now.

When I provide small business consulting services to people who find themselves at this point, I always go back to the basics. Here are some things we discuss together to explore whether the business needs a slight adjustment, or merits a complete redo:

• What matters most to you?
• Why did you want to start a business in the first place?
• Who do you like to work with?
• What do you love to do?
• What would you do all day to make you feel giddy at the thought of actually being paid for it?

This may seem a little soft coming from someone who specializes in diagnosing what’s working and what’s not in people’s businesses, and strategizing all areas of the business to make it work better. But here’s why I LOVE working with small business owners who want to design a business that feels good to them and makes money: they are emotionally invested in their businesses. This means there is little or no line between what makes the person tick, and what makes the business thrive. So before we can get to the hard core business and marketing strategies around target market, pricing and packaging, best marketing approaches, and the how-to’s of marketing and selling, we need to look inside first! This is where the magic begins (and it is also why I love working so closely with entrepreneurs).

So if you are feeling a little lost in the business you built, go back to some of the basics of you. Allow yourself to explore if the reason the business doesn’t fit may be because it was built on the old you. Starting your own business involves incredible personal growth and challenges you in ways you can’t imagine when you’re not there yet, so it’s 100% normal to feel as if you’ve outgrown your business. Once you get a handle on what’s missing, you can look to your business with a more honest perspective and see whether you want to adjust it or transition into something completely new. Most of the time, there are assets (such as your brand, your contact list, your network) that allow you to transition in a natural, evolutionary way, rather than a sudden severing. Make sure you don’t abandon what’s good without at least looking at it clearly, and if you lack the perspective on this, get an outside opinion.

Whatever you decide, remember that it’s your business and your life, and it is entirely possible to build it in a way that makes you money, and brings you much joy.

Want to use this article? You can as long as you include this footer: Sherri Garrity is the Chief Corporate Fugitive and creator of the Five Keys Success System™  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.

Best Small Business Advice – Interview with Kelly O’Neil

This is the final interview of the Best Business Advice Ever interview series featuring successful entrepreneurs. I’ve asked each of them what’s worked, which mistakes they learned from the most, and the one piece of advice they have to share with you.

Award winning Speaker, Author and Marketing to the Affluent Expert, Kelly O’Neil, is passionate about helping entrepreneurs think big and play bigger to build thriving six and seven figure businesses. Kelly O’Neil is no stranger to the good life. Having been raised in an affluent family in the Silicon Valley where private planes and luxury vacation homes were a way of life, she set out after college to create her own wealth…and succeeded.

In 2000, she left a thriving career in corporate public relations and founded UpLevel Strategies (now Kelly O’Neil International™) where she works exclusively with thousands of small businesses and entrepreneurs as both a coach and consultant to help them design businesses where they earn more and work less through her Marketing to Millionaires™ programs.

While Kelly grew up in an affluent family, she did not always have the privileges associated with money. Listen to the interview to learn:

• The lesson she learned renting her first apartment after graduating from college
• How an unexpected reaction when she decided to quit her six-figure salary job made her even more determined to succeed as an entrepreneur
• Why she succeeded financially but failed miserably in other areas of her first business
• The one thing she would have done much sooner if she could start over again
• What an important mentor told her (this advice is invaluable, and one of the hardest lessons to learn)

To get a complimentary download of this and other Best Business Advice Series interviews, enter your name and email here (it’s free and there are no sales pitches or upsells in these presentations – enter your phone number if you’d also like to get early notice of upcoming events). You will also receive a subscription to popular articles published by Corporate Fugitive and Sherri Garrity.

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Best Small Business Advice – Interview with Jennifer Bourn

Until March 31, I’m running the Best Business Advice Ever interview series featuring successful entrepreneurs. I’ve asked each of them what’s worked, which mistakes they learned from the most, and the one piece of advice they have to share with you.

Jennifer Bourn specializes in working with leading entrepreneurs, speakers, authors, and information marketers to support them in achieving big business results. As founder of the web design and online marketing management agency Bourn Creative, Jennifer offers full service design, marketing strategy, and implementation services to emerging small businesses who desire big marketing results on a small business budget.

Jennifer founded Bourn Creative 2005 to give her the freedom to stay home with her children and continue to build a career doing what she loves. She immediately jumped into the branding, web design, and marketing arenas to fulfill her passion for helping smart, savvy business owners create powerful brands, attract more clients and get found more often online. Today she is a savvy mompreneur and Bourn Creative’s Marketing Manager, Art Director, and Chief Strategist, and is constantly reading, experimenting, and learning to expand her knowledge-base, keep informed of the latest trends and tools, and provide a high-level of service to Bourn Creative’s clients.

By the time Jennifer graduated from college, she already had five years of full-time graphic design experience at an advertising agency, moving from production grunt, to creative services director. And, she had completed internships at a printer, a newspaper, a magazine, and a marketing agency. So starting her own business was a natural step, although it was not a simple decision to make. Listen to the interview to learn:

• Why it took her six months to work up the courage to quit her agency job, and what the idiosyncracy was that set her off to resign
• The challenges of working at home with children, and how she used to try to hide this from her corporate clients
• How wearing jeans set her free and turbo-launched her business
• Why you shouldn’t cut costs on your accountant or your website
• How little she used to sleep and how different her life and business became once she allowed herself to hire help
• A simple SEO tip to get more traffic to your website

To get a complimentary download of this and other Best Business Advice Series interviews, enter your name and email here (it’s free and there are no sales pitches or upsells in these presentations – enter your phone number if you’d also like to get early notice of upcoming events). You will also receive a subscription to popular articles published by Corporate Fugitive and Sherri Garrity.

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Best Small Business Advice – Interview with Linda Miller Zellner

Until March 31, I’m running the Best Business Advice Ever interview series featuring successful entrepreneurs. I’ve asked each of them what’s worked, which mistakes they learned from the most, and the one piece of advice they have to share with you.

A veteran of investment banking, fashion and publishing, Linda possesses the business savvy and creative inspiration that propels Hamptons Creative Group into a much sought-after advertising, marketing and special events firm serving the Hamptons and other niche markets with similar brand cache. Linda chose to exit a groundbreaking career as one of the first women to hold a position in the male-dominated firm Goldman Sachs in the 1970s to form a magazine publishing company which was eventually purchased by a well-known media giant. At the helm of Hamptons Creative Group, Linda’s skills as a community organizer, marketing concierge and “Brand Therapist,” leverages her call to action in a new way, benefitting like-minded businesses, solopreneurs and organizations.

After selling the publishing business, Linda worked with her husband Bob Zellner to publish The Wrong Side of Murder Creek, his memoir of being a white southerner in the freedom movement before she established Hamptons Creative Group. Listen to the interview to learn:

• What she learned from the “school of hard knocks” as a woman in the business world of the 1970s
• Her personal “24-hour rule” that she learned after making a bad business investment decision
• Why face-to-face contact is still so important in business in this online world, and how you can maintain this sense of connection and community
• How to stay true to yourself in your business

To get a complimentary download of this and other Best Business Advice Series interviews, enter your name and email here (it’s free and there are no sales pitches or upsells in these presentations – enter your phone number if you’d also like to get early notice of upcoming events). You will also receive a subscription to popular articles published by Corporate Fugitive and Sherri Garrity.

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Best Small Business Advice – Interview with Ali Grace

Until March 31, I’m running the Best Business Advice Ever interview series featuring successful entrepreneurs. I’ve asked each of them what’s worked, which mistakes they learned from the most, and the one piece of advice they have to share with you.

Ali Grace is the CEO of Guilt Free Goddess and Graceful Living Retreats. Ali’s transformative work as a coach, speaker and retreat facilitator shows women how to transform and realign their lives. Having survived cut-throat Corporate America, a major health crisis before the age of 30, devastating relationships, and financial crisis – a few times, Ali draws on her own exploration of spiritual psychology and her continual commitment to learning to inspire others to live peacefully and gracefully. Her lifestyle today bears little resemblance to her former six-figure, seven days a week sales career for a Fortune 500 company. Ali’s private coaching practice is dedicated to working with women and men in life transformation, co-dependent relationships, early life trauma and moving into life purpose.

As the first person in her family to graduate from college, Ali grew up adopting the belief that working hard equals success in life, and that it was achievable at a price. Her first job was at the age of 14 and she worked her way through college. Early in her career she climbed to a position as a sales manager for a Fortune 500 company responsible for a $1billion sales goal. Travel around the world, high income, and working seven days a week became the norm for her and was simply the cost of success. At age 28, she had a mild stroke and took time off work for the first time in her life. But that was still not enough to make her stop. Listen to the interview to learn:

• How she went from the proverbial corporate fat into the corporate fire (and why a new career only made things worse)
• Why we often think doing things the safe way will guarantee success, love and happiness (and why it often doesn’t)
• How being skeptical and “mainstream” kept her focused as she began the profound spiritual journey that changed her life
• What her Masters advisor told her about her “Triple A” high achiever work ethic and how her thesis experience turned into her new business

To get a complimentary download of this and other Best Business Advice Series interviews, enter your name and email here (it’s free and there are no sales pitches or upsells in these presentations – enter your phone number if you’d also like to get early notice of upcoming events). You will also receive a subscription to popular articles published by Corporate Fugitive and Sherri Garrity.

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Best Small Business Advice – Interview with Gina Bell

Until March 31, I’m running the Best Business Advice Ever interview series featuring successful entrepreneurs. I’ve asked each of them what’s worked, which mistakes they learned from the most, and the one piece of advice they have to share with you.

Gina Bell brings new meaning to the word multi-passionate entrepreneur. She is the founder and visionary of IAWBO, the International Association of Women in Business Online, host and producer of the Official Women in Business Online Podcast and creator of the Equity-Rich Women Online Blueprint, a step-by-step marketing and business-building system designed for multi-passionate internet-based women entrepreneurs. Gina teaches motivated women entrepreneurs how to create success online quickly with authenticity and confidence. Her equity-rich methods are a catalyst to the freedom-filled life and business her clients truly desire. A successful author, speaker, coach and teacher, Gina inspires women in business online around the globe through her electronic newsletters, teleclasses, in-person workshops and private coaching.

Gina is a former corporate employee from the media buying and advertising background who dipped her toes in the entrepreneurial waters first by purchasing a franchise.  After building up and then selling that business, Gina and her husband have created several successful enterprises. The common denominator is she is committed to helping women business owners succeed.

Gina recently established the International Association of Women in Business Online. Her work with the association and with clients through her coaching and consulting business brings together what she has learned and applied over the years. But this destination wasn’t always clear, nor was the journey free of obstacles.

Listen to the complete interview to learn:

• The early signs that she was destined to be a multi-passionate entrepreneur
• How choosing one path or the “niches to riches” model of business can either set you free or confine you
• The best advice she’s ever received to deal with rejection (and why you should trust Don too)
• Baby steps you can take to stretch your comfort zone

To get a complimentary download of this and other Best Business Advice Series interviews, enter your name and email here (it’s free and there are no sales pitches or upsells in these presentations – enter your phone number if you’d also like to get early notice of upcoming events). You will also receive a subscription to popular articles published by Corporate Fugitive and Sherri Garrity.

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Best Business Advice – Interview with Jeanna Gabellini

Until March 31, I’m running the Best Business Advice Ever interview series featuring successful entrepreneurs. I’ve asked each of them what’s worked, which mistakes they learned from the most, and the one piece of advice they have to share with you.

Jeanna Gabellini is a Master Business Coach who assists high achieving entrepreneurs and their teams to leverage fun, systems and intentionality for high-octane results. Jeanna excels at modeling and teaching that business is meant to be passion filled, exhilarating and profitable. Jeanna´s coaching and seminars marry vision, divine guidance and proven strategies. She started MASTERPEACE Coaching and Training in 1996 after starting several other successful businesses and selling them. In 1998, she was one of the first coaches in the world — and the youngest — to receive the designation of Master Certified Coach by the International Coach Federation. Jeanna is the co-author of Life Lessons for Mastering the Law of Attraction with Eva Gregory, Mark Victor Hansen & Jack Canfield.

Jeanna is a high energy, accomplished coach who did not follow typical or traditional business and marketing advice to create her business (read her site, and listen to her speak to experience her refreshing, contagious style). In fact, before becoming a certified coach, she worked for a major seminar company, as a volunteer! Listen to the interview to find out:

• Why she feels being naïve about business was an asset that helped her get clients quickly
• How she built a successful coaching business in a natural and completely fun way
• When she found her “fun factor” and changed her business outlook forever
• What to do if you feel like something is not working or happening fast enough

To get a complimentary download of this and other Best Business Advice Series interviews, enter your name and email here (it’s free and there are no sales pitches or upsells in these presentations – enter your phone number if you’d also like to get early notice of upcoming events). You will also receive a subscription to popular articles published by Corporate Fugitive and Sherri Garrity.

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Best Business Advice – Interview with Barbara Winter

Starting today and continuing through March 31, I’m running the Best Business Advice Ever interview series featuring successful entrepreneurs. I’ve asked each of them what’s worked, which mistakes they learned from the most, and the one piece of advice they have to share with you.

Barbara Winter of Joyfully Jobless is the bestselling author of Making a Living Without a Job: Winning Ways for Creating Work That You Love and Jumpstart Your Entrepreneurial Spirit. For 25 years, she’s been writing and inspiring audiences to go after their dreams while showing  them how with practical, step-by-step advice.

What may surprise you is what this Las Vegas based author did before her writing and speaking career.  Growing up in Minnesota, Barbara tells me she always imagined herself having an exciting life. She found out that the early career she had chosen as a school teacher was not delivering the excitement she had first envisioned.

After a few twists and turns (her career path will surprise you) and time spent at home with young children, Barbara read a magazine article that literally changed her life. The moment she realized she could run a business from home, and still teach, was the moment her new path was set.

Barbara founded The Successful Woman, a pioneering training and development company which conducted programs on self-esteem and entrepreneurship for women. She went on to start several small businesses—all with the intention of passing  along to others the lessons she had learned.
Like many of us, the business she started was not the business she ultimately ended up in. Listen to the complete interview to find out:

• What she’s an absolute maniac about
• How to deal with the “downs” as well as the “ups” (and why you’ll get better at both)
• What piece of advice her first business mentor told her that she still follows today
• What comfy old husbands and exciting new lovers have in common with being an entrepreneur (I told you these interviews are full of surprises)
• The difference between an expense and an investment

To listen to the interview, register here (it’s free and there are no sales pitches or upsells in these presentations).

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Entrepreneur Beware – How to Find the Right Help

Many corporate fugitives start their businesses with a solemn vow to live footloose and fancy free and to fly completely solo. Self-motivation is good, but getting the right kind of help when you need it makes a world of difference. Entrepreneurs who are willing to invest wisely generally grow their business much more quickly and avoid expensive and time consuming detours.

But like any other consumer purchasing decision, buyers of professional services need to be savvy and aware.

Let me give you one recent example. I was speaking with a business owner who I’ve come to know. Although he has never been a client of mine, I’ve had the opportunity to watch his new business develop from an idea to a reality and I enjoy speaking with him from time to time.

He did all of the right things before he started his business. He researched his market well, and he took steps to develop services for the market based on what he learned, and not on what he thought they needed.

He was also willing to invest in hiring a business consultant. He had met this consultant through a university, and this person had credentials.

One of the consultant’s recommendations was to lease office space, so that potential clients would take him seriously.

Well, it didn’t take very long to realize that despite getting good response, the high overhead was really limiting his ability to get his business started off on the right foot.  This expensive detour set him temporarily off course and tied up money that could have been used to grow other areas of the business.

You see, the business owner in this example was dealing with a consultant who was very familiar with traditional business models, but not versed in the world of online marketing, membership and event based programs. So his advice might have been sound for someone else’s business, but not this particular one.

I’ve seen other examples of business owners spending a fortune on various marketing materials, and others who have used up their last available credit or savings to join the “hot ticket” program that they think will change their lives and businesses forever.

I hear stories like this all too often. The truth is, there is a real range of business and marketing advice to be had out there. Some are highly qualified, and some aren’t. Even a well respected business advisor can steer you in the wrong direction, if you haven’t chosen the right one for you.

Other entrepreneurs simply find themselves have been disappointed when their results did not add up to their expectations.  So what’s at the bottom of this? How do you know you’re making the right choice? Here are some tips.

Invest at the right time. Don’t spend randomly. Invest only in those services or programs that will help you get further in the area you need help with the most right now or in the next short while.

Be very clear about what you need before you go looking for it. All of your decisions should be based on your strategy and where you want to be. Make decisions that are in 100 per cent alignment with your goals. So if you know you’re weak in one area, for example, how to price and package your services, and that is your immediate priority, then don’t sign up just yet for that top notch speaking coach. All of the speaking and marketing in the world won’t generate sales for you if you don’t have the business foundation in place.

Perform your due diligence check. Before you sign the contract or whip out your credit card, check out the business. Is it credible? Does the provider have demonstrated expertise? Can they supply references beyond testimonials published on their web site? Are they well respected within their industry? Have they taken the time to speak with you and get to know you to be sure there is a good match on both sides? A reputable advisor will want to work with the right kind of client, and will want to be sure that they will be able to work successfully together, rather than simply make the sale. An advisor who turns you away and refers you to someone else views this as adding integrity rather than losing business.

Check your expectations. Before you commit, be sure you are very clear what your intentions and expectations are and that this service is the right match. Sometimes disappointment is the result of unrealistic expectations or simply a premature or mismatched investment.

And most of all? Remember that in the end, it’s your business. Seek trusted advisors, but never abdicate your seat as the CEO of your business and your life.

Want to use this article? You can as long as you include this footer: Sherri Garrity is the Chief Corporate Fugitive and creator of the Five Keys Success SystemTM 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.

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