Employee to Entrepreneur: 5 Lifestyle Changes You Must Make
by Kathy Seaton
The entrepreneurial drive within a lot of corporate employees is strong and can be evident when observing their behaviors in the workplace. In fact, you may find some of these characteristics within yourself. Usually the highly driven leader and visionary of a group is the most likely to take on an entrepreneurial endeavor in the future. Are you that person? There’s a certain mindset that one must hold in order to branch off from being an employee to becoming an entrepreneur, however. Venturing out on your own is no simple task but these five lifestyle changes can help get you on the right track to success.
Be prepared to take on all liability and decision-making.
When starting from the ground up, you’re in an incredible position to create something that is wholly your vision, backed by your ideas, blood, sweat, and tears. That being said, you are going to be in a position where all decisions, both good and bad, fall on your shoulders. You have to make things happen instead of waiting for lucky breaks to come your way. This is a vulnerable place to be both mentally and financially and it’s important to prepare yourself for difficult choices on the road ahead.
Brace yourself for rule-breaking.
When you’re your own boss, you can break the rules. You’re not bound by any HR guidelines that could potentially lead to your dismissal if broken. Doing your own thing means you can focus on your end-goals without having to walk on egg-shells or mind the status-quo. Don’t be afraid to try new things and gain new perspectives as you branch out with new ideas.
Get comfortable with “doing the math.”
Once you’ve started your entrepreneurial journey, you will quickly become very well acquainted with the numbers involved. Meticulous bookkeeping can be the difference between a successful first year and utter disaster. You will face each incoming and outgoing nominal value so prepare to get comfortable with your accounting skills, or hire someone who is qualified.
Stay objective.
Your own business will quickly become your “baby.” You will invest a lot of yourself into your venture and it’s difficult to not become emotionally attached to it. However, it’s vital to keep yourself grounded and rational, despite how many sleepless nights you will face along the way. Don’t allow yourself to fall into a trap of feeling like your project has become bigger than you and maintain control of important operations in order to navigate your project further into success.
Forget your “comfort zone.”
Branching out on your own means you’re leaving the safety of “thinking inside the box.” While working for an organization, you are molding yourself to fit their goals and ideas. Once you’re on your own, you have to be willing to break out and think adventurously. This is the time for risk-taking and facing adversity. You will face a lot of rejection and criticism along the way but being committed to your idea will help you forge on.
The road to entrepreneurship is one that requires a certain set of characteristics in order to help your business thrive. It’s important to recognize these behaviors and emulate them while you are preparing to start your business venture and see it through into great success.