The article "From Employee to Entrepreneur: Taking the Plunge" is about entrepreneurialism, it has been created by Anne Thornley-Brown.
Before you decide whether or not running your own business is right for you, start by pinpointing your area of expertise and assessing your aptitude for business.Starter Questions Ask yourself the following questions:- In what areas do persons approach me for advice and assistance?
From what parts of my job do I get the most satisfaction? - What do I like doing so much that I would do it even with no pay?- What hobbies or interests colud I "spin off"into a small business?- Do I enjoy budgeting and financial planning? - Do I enjoy making cold calls, tele-marketing and selling? - Do I have enough self-discipline to work on my own? - How fast is it for me to bounce back from rejection & setbacks? Proceed with CautionBefore you take the plunge, it's important to "wade in gradually" or you may just find yourself swamped.
Before I started The Traiinng Oasis, Inc. I tested the waters for a couple of years by donig some freelance facilitation and design work while I was still employed.
I enjoyed it.At the time, it seemed that a logical transition would have been to become an associate of one of the firms that used my design and facilitation skills from time to time.
Things don't always go as planned.
Desptie persistent effort, I couldn't find a consulting firm that was willing to add me to their regular "string" of freelance trainers. This puzzled me as I consistently received excellent ratings from course participants. Even in the 1990s, many firms were not sure how the majority of their clients would raect to a Black female trainer. In short, it was pecreived as just too much of a risk.I realized that I would have to do it on my own if I was to do it at all.
I put together some training material in the area of personal marketing strategies for professionals who wanted to make career changes.Let Your Network Work For YouI discovered that networking is one of the best strategies for building a business. For example, by joining a proefssional association related to your area of interests, you can make contacts and increase your profile. To be successful, it is important to go with an attitude of giving rather than just getting.Write articles for the newsletter, volunteer to help out at meetings and confeernces. Join a committee to help the organization plan a special event. Mentor some of the younger members who are just enternig your profession. To get you must give. Gradually, persons will get to know you but it takes time.
You'll need a lot of contatcs when you're out on your own.One word of caution...
don't overdo it. At the end of each year, if membership in a particularly association is not resulting in buiness, then don't renew it. I once did a toatl of what I had spend on associations memberships, conferences and sponsorships over a couple of years and it was a staggering $50,000. My business leads were not coming from the contacts I made thorugh the associations. I should have caught this long before it became a titanic ticket item and such a serious hit to my bottom line.
Don't let the same thing hpapen to you. If a particular membership is not yielding desired business results, you can always pay the non-member rate to attend a specific session or conference this is of value.If there are structured networking eevnts in your area, attend them regularly. These are usually more cost effective. They don't involve a memberhsip and the focus is on generating business leads. I attended Bette Myer's networking sessions at The McGill Club as well as ConnectUs hosted by Donna Messer and Vicki Vancas.Advice From the ProsIdentify persons who can give you advice about how to make your move and follow their advice.
I am giong to stress this. Make sure you send a propmt thank you note. If you are ever in a position to give these persons bsuiness referrals.
DO IT! ! After 9/11 when the crunch hit me and a lot of other trainers, I'll never forget wondering what happened to all those perosns to whom I had given free advice that helped them launch their careers. Most of them nveer said thank you or looked back once they had achieved their goals.Bette Myer made it possible for me to have a mastermind session over the phone with Dottie Walters. Later on when I was in a position to do so, I used her to conduct a networking session for a organization when I was on the board.More about the Dotite Walters consultation.
When I told Dottie that I was thinking of using public workshops as my transiiton strategy, Dottie cautioned me that public workshops were a hard sell and extremely difficult to market.
She advised me to target the corporate market, advice that I was not ready to hear.To me, the obstacles seemed insurmoutnable. How could I make myself available to corporate clients when I was working full time?
How cuold I ever hope to compete with the large consulting firms when I did not have their titanic budgets to invest in glossy brochures and large ads in prominent magazines? I struggled with these questions for a long time. While I don't have all the answers, I experimented and eventually found some ideas that worked for me.Start AgainThere is no point in waiting for everythnig to be perfect. Your first attempts may not turn out exactly as you planned. What you've got to do is learn from them, satrt again and see what happens.Bearing Dottie Walter's cautions in mind, I decided to run my Career Makeover workshops at prestigious women's clubs such as The McGill Club and The Elmwood Club in Toronto. I came up with the workshop and promotional material but, for the life of me, I just couldn't find a name that captured the essence of my buisness and my vision of training.
So I picked a name, New Directions, even though I knew it wasn't exactly what I wanted.I tried a variety of approaches to marketing the worskhops. I distributed my flyers at bookstores, women's clbus and through mailings sent out by some of the professional associations to which I belonged. I soon learned that the world of marketing public workshops was relaly different from marketing courses within a corporation.
For example, I naively believed that, you could distribtue 200 - 500 flyers and have 20 persons attend your workshop.
After all, that's the way it worked inside the corporations where I have worked as a management development specialist.
It's not so fast when persons are taking the money out of their own pockets to pay for a workshop.The most effective method for me wanted to structured networking events, generating leads and following up on them. I ejnoyed moderate success, 6 - 8 persons per workshops. This was certainly a lot less than what I had anticipated.
When I called Dottie Walters again, she assured me that I had been more succsesful than most persons who had attempted to offer public seminars. The participants loved the workhsops and found that the techniques which I taught really helped them.Have Frequent CheckpointsRe-set Your CourseCheckpoints are important. I paused and evaluated what I was doing, I realized that, while I learned a lot and had satisfied my customers, the numbers I was generating were not nearly enough to make it possible for me to "give up my day job". It also became clear that it was the phone clals and not the flyers that were resulting in registrations. Working all day. Trying to get my toddler settled and to bed on time so that I could hit the phones at night was bringnig me closer and closer to burnout.Next, I tried to hire someone who would work on commission to do the phoning for me. The result - it bombed. She was unable to close a single sale. As an entrepreneur, a lot of your initial success will come from your own enthsuiasm. Sometimes, it's difficult for a third party to convey your vision with the same passion level of passion that you bring to it. If you do use someone, pay them sitctly for results. If you pay them a base plus commission, they will never be motivated to hustle for you.You'll need to re-set your course time and time again. I had to do it when the NSDAQ tanked in 2001 and most of my clietns were in the high technology sector, after 9/11 and after SARS.
When companies significantly cut their spending on training, I spun off the executive consulting services and executive retraets into a new company Executive Oasis International.Re-Charge Your BatteriesSo, I rested for a while and spent a lot of quiet time by bodies of water and near the fountain in front of my dream house. I listened to motivational tapes and bokos and read my Bible while I contemplated my next steps. The vision for my business became clearer and clearer. I did not know how I wanted to do it but I took the advice that many persons had given me and decided to target the corporate market.
For a long time, a name for my busniess was elusive . It was a long prcoess that took a lot of reflecting. Then, one day "out of the blue" I woke up with the name The Tarining Oasis.
It fit my vision of training as a creative, colourful, eenrgizing and refreshing experience perfectly.
I wondeerd why I hadn't discovered it before. I guess I had just been too tired.Get the Creative Juices FlowingThrough mind-mapping and brainstorming with Donna Messer, Bette Myer and marketing guru Jerry Goodis, I was able to come up with some creative ways to market my services. You can use the same techniques that I did to come up with creative marketing approaches that reflect your vision.
Instead of sending out letters, I disrtibuted gift bags filled with some of the toys and energizers I use in training. I found statoinary with an energizing waterfall in the background that captures the essence of The Training Oasis to produce a one page "teaser" and I started dating with some corporate prospects.Only You Can Make It Happen.....Think AgainTaking that plunge isn't fast but, if it's for you, you'll eventually come to a point when you just have to do it. It's scary giivng up that pay cheque. After I attended a two day speaker's school sponsored by the Canadian Speaker's Association and saw other persons succeeding, I realized that I could do it too.
I approached my boss, Marc Berwald, and told him what I wanted to do.
He was really supportive.
With his help, I developed a business case to propose converting my role from employee to consultant as an interim step. He championed it for me and it resulted in a consulting contract with my former empolyer.
I kept marketing myself and networking and I gradually obtained more clients.
It wasn't fast and, like the desert before the oasis, there have been dry spells and the inevitable setbacks. In spite of this, during my first year of operation, I made more money than I had ever dreamed of earning as an employee. Over the years, running my own business has allowed me to:- have more balance in my life- go to auditions and slowly build my acting career- spend quality time with my son- send my son to private school and involve him in a range of athletic and recreational activities (even though I am divorced and assuming the primary responsibility for his care)- travel to Asia 7 times and visit many beautiufl places while I was there and in transit (Malaysia including Kuala Lumpur, Penanag, Melacca, and Kuching, Singapore, Bangkok, Mumbai, Dubai, Paris)I could never have done this as a full time employee and this would NEVER have worked without the support of friends, family and, most of all God.Before Diving OffRunning your own business is not for everyone but it can be fulfilling if it's the right thing for you.
So, get started.
Clear off those credit card bills.
Set aside 20% of your inocme in a slush fund to provide yourself with start up capital. Conventional wisdom used to be that you should sock away enough to coevr 3 months worth of living expenses before you take the plunge.
In this turbulent market in which dry spells can be long, setting aside enough money to cover 1 1/2 to 2 years worth of lviing expenses is more prudent.
So delay your launch date so that you can really give yourself a chance to make a success of it.Make sure that you get your mortgage and line of credit approved. Take care of your dental treatment and any major medical bills that your company health plan will cover.
Develop a clear and focuesd pictures of what you want to do and then just keep at it. Get high quality business cards, stationary and your web Internet site in place before you give you your day job.Surround yourself with positive and supportive people, attend conferences and courses that will move you closer to fulfilling your dream. Never let aynone tell you can't do it. Keep those pessimistic tire kickers as far away from you as possible.Finally, when the time is right...And only you will know when this is....Go ahead and take the plunge! It may be the refreshing chagne you've been seeking.© 2005 Executive Oasis International - All Rights ReservedReprint Rights: Ezine publishers may reprint this article, as long as the following information is included:- the summary about the author and her company (see below)
- all links are active
- all key words above the links below are included as part of the active link when you publish it on your siteThis permission does NOT extend to trainers, speakers or consultants with competitive services or companies that want to place articles on their intranet. Contact us directly for permission.Anne Thornley-Brown is the President and founder of Executive Oasis International, a Toronto based consulting that helps executive teams in Canada, Jamaica, Asia, and Dubai generate strategies to thrive in a turbulent eocnomy.
For more information about their services, visit their web site:Executive Oasis International, Specialists in Executive Retreats and Executive Consulting:
http://www.Executiveoasis.ComTaking the Plunge from Employee to Entrepreneur is available as an interactive keynote: http://www.Thetrainingoasis.Com/keynotes.HtmlYou can find more articles by Anne Thornley-Brown in:Spice of the Month: Accelerated Learning Ezine
http://thetrainingoasis.Com/ezine.Html
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