The transition from job to business is the most difficult phase in entrepreneurship. There are many fears and uncertainties that get in your way of success. Nothing anyone says is going to make this transition less scary, but you can follow all practices that successful businessmen followed at this phase of their career. It will give you more confidence to take this step.
Remember, delaying is only going to make this more difficult. If you have been thinking about leaving the job and starting a business of your own for some time, it’s a sign that you can no longer work for anyone with a routine of 9 to 5. Today’s generation has the mind of an entrepreneur.
We don’t work for survival as our grandparents did. For us, the job is about quality of life. However, most businesses are so greedy or incompetent that they don’t care about their employees. Their only focus drains all energy of their employees without considering how they are repelling away all skilled people.
There is a chance that your job might be killing you from the inside, but you have to tolerate it because you are scared. Since you have that entrepreneur’s soul inside, it’s time that you motivate it and follow your dream. Here are some experienced-based tips to help you transition from an employee to a businessman.
Start Learning Entrepreneurship
If you want to become an entrepreneur, then you must learn about this field. We are not taught anything related to it in schools. If you have studied business in school, you might have a little know-how of how these things work. But even you were taught how to help other businessmen expand their businesses.
Schools don’t teach you how to make money; they teach you to make others money and get a little fraction of it for yourself. That’s why you have to educate yourself. You must learn how to start a business from scratch and ensure it reaches all its goals.
There are some good online courses that will give some useful knowledge that you should definitely attend. Other than that, there are many great books by the most successful businessmen in the world that you must read. You develop a habit of reading and make sure you are always learning.
Since you are doing a job while trying to work on a startup, the chances are that you don’t have much time in your hand. For that, I suggest you get audiobooks for your favorite business authors and listen to them while traveling and before going to sleep. Replace your social media time with books.
Don’t Share Your Ideas at Office
You might have some good friends at your workplace, but it is best not to share your startup plans with anyone, especially with your employer. If you have shared it with your colleagues, it’ll reach your boss. We don’t live in a world where your boss will appreciate and help you build a business of your own.
He will immediately get defensive and keep an extra eye on you. He would want to make sure you don’t steal any of their clients or resources. Besides, your boss might not be very supportive when you tell him that you don’t want to be his employee and want to become your own boss. You should have something to fall back on, so you should keep good links with this company even after you leave it.
Do What You Would Love to Do
Many will tell you to look for a market where there is a demand for your skills or products. They are not wrong, but that’s not the only thing you should look for. It’s the same advice as choosing a field of study that has a demand in the market.
You need to look for a field that has a gap, but it also attracts you. By gap, I mean the demand should be higher than supply. It should be attractive for you in the sense that you will enjoy doing that work. You can’t pull all-nighters and utilize your full potential if you are doing something that is not fun for you.
It’s crucial that you put your heart into the work if you want to succeed. If you don’t love the niche of your business, then it’s just another job that will keep making your life miserable.
Design and Follow a Detailed Routine
All successful businessmen have one thing in common. They all follow a routine and don’t waste even a tiny little portion of their time. They are either working or doing something refreshing, so they can continue working.
You also need to create a plan that shows what you should be doing every 30 minutes. It should start from getting up early in the morning and include the time it would take to shower and eat breakfast. If you have a night shift job, you can manage your timings accordingly. Just make sure you don’t put unrealistic deadlines and challenges for yourself. If you fail to follow the routine, it will demotivate you. Keep it easy and simple but detailed.
Reserve Three Hours After Work
The job takes all your time, which makes it difficult to work on anything else. That’s how your employers want it to be. They want you to spend most of your day in the office, even if you are not working, so you don’t work on anything else.
They want all your time and energy for themselves. You need to reserve two to three hours for your startup after the job. This is something you make a compulsory part of your routine. You may take a loss on the job, but don’t ignore these hours.
If you have the option, you should get to the office as soon as it opens and leave as soon as your working hours complete. If you go to the office around or after 11 AM, you should work on the startup in the morning.
Make Saturday a Working Day
Most people get two holidays on the weekends. If you also have two holidays, you need to reserve one for your business. It’s best to work full time on Saturdays to everything that is holding your business back. A full working day means you must put in at least 8 hours. However, since you don’t have to travel to the office and you were working an extra three hours after the job, you should work at least 12 hours on Saturdays.
It’s impossible to work continuously for these long hours, so make sure you get proper rest and breaks in between. But, working hours should be at least 12. You might think about leaving some work or hours for Sunday. However, I would advise against that.
You need rest and Sunday should be the day of rest. Don’t engage in any activity that doesn’t relax you. Sunday should be your day, and you should waste it however you want, so you can have the energy to work the next week.
Save Time and Energy
You have limited time, and you most probably recognize that. You have 24 hours in a day and you need 8 for sleep and 10 for the job, including the travel time. This doesn’t leave you with much time, but you still manage to take extra for work.
Even with the time, you might not have the energy to work. Just like time, we have very limited energy. You can increase your energy by eating healthy and exercising regularly, but you also need to watch where you spend your energy.
Don’t work more than you have to in the job and save your energy. Remember, even driving and arguing with people take energy. You have to avoid all unnecessary activities and save as much energy as you want.
Create a Detailed Business Plan
If you are just working on the startup without a plan, you are wasting a lot of your time. Remember, even a bad plan is better than no plan. That’s why you need to learn how a business plan is created and design the most detailed plan that covers every aspect of your business. Everything from product design to invoicing needs a plan to ensure you’re not flying blind. If you want to set up a healthcare business in Australia for example, you’ll need to research things as seemingly small as ndis invoice requirements to ensure you remain compliant. There’s a long list of laws and regulations you need to be aware of when setting up a business, so it all needs to be included in your plan.
It takes a lot of time, research, and brainstorming, but it will show you what you need to do every day. You will learn how to prioritize things in your business. This also makes it clear where and how much you need to spend and if your idea is actually worth the effort or not.
Focus on Just One Startup
Many people with the soul of an entrepreneur might start working on more than one idea. They might have so many great ideas that they want to work on all of them. However, it’s not a very good practice. Multitasking is a great way to sabotage more than one thing at the same time. You should pick one and make it a success. Once you have complete one goal, only then should you move on to the next.