Wanting to Break Free?

I just read Guy Kawasaki’s interview of Pamela Slim, the author of ‘Escape from Cubicle Nation’ at Open Forum. It is an interesting read on a widely discussed topic these days. Corporate instability and the present state of economy has a lot people out there looking into alternatives. Making the jump from a corporate job, where everything is well defined and monetary compensation is guaranteed, is not an easy one. I have had this discussion countless times with friends who talk about breaking free and setting up something on their own. Most of them often end up reaching the conclusion that ‘we need a little more time’. As Pamela mentions in the interview ,there will never be a ‘perfect’ time to start. At some point, one needs to take a leap of faith and just jump. I have never really experienced the feeling first hand, apart from the job offers I turned down straight after graduation and ventured out on my own. I can however understand that there is a lot of pressure in making this decision. Whenever I am faced with a tough decision, I like to break it down. Somethings you may need to evaluate are :

1. Why are you wanting to make the jump? Before making any major decision we have to ask ourselves what is the motivating factor. Is it fear that you may lose your job? Is it because you have found something that you are truly passionate about? Is it all about the money you could potentially make? Is it because everyone around you seems to be making the jump? List down all the reasons why you think this may be the right or wrong decision to make at the time being. This brings balance to our reasoning and helps us avoid making any irrational decisions.

2. Are you truly passionate about the business you have selected to pursue? I have talked about the importance of passion, time and time again on my blog. Doing anything without passion, more often than not leads to disappointment and loss of interest, very quickly. When an individual has that inner desire to learn and give more, it has a positive effect on their work. Everything becomes richer, more meaningful and work is no longer viewed as just “work”. Finding what you are truly passionate about, often requires a trial and error process. Experiment frequently until you find something that you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life.

3. Do you have a plan? As mentioned in the interview, it is not essential for you to have one of those business plans with all the bells and whistles that VCs require. What you do need to do is define your business concept, who you are going to be selling to, and why, and how you plan to achieve your target sales figure. It is important that you chunk the business plan down into manageable components for it to not become overwhelming. In the first couple of days it is important that you see yourself making some progress. Getting off to a good start puts you in a stronger mental state, and boosts your confidence levels.

If you are wanting to break free I do not think you could choose a better time to do so. The internet has made starting a business a lot easier than it used to be. However, with competition scaling back and many people too scared to make that leap of faith at the present time , it is a great time to get a head start. Things will turn around, and when they do, you will be positioned a lot better than the competitors who join the race later on.

I would really like to hear from readers who have made the jump recently and started their own business . What were some of the main hurdles you had to overcome and how did you do that? Look forward to your comments and feedback.

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