From employee to entrepreneur - An exit strategy
The Enterprising Employee
For the past few years, you’ve been thinking about branching off to start your very own business, you have the education, you have the experience and you’re ready to get paid your worth.
You've been working at Company "G" for 10 years, you’ve been promoted and gotten accolades, but you're no longer motivated, you feel like it's a dead end, the environment is toxic, Sundays make you nervous and you HATE Mondays!
Problem: You hate your job and you cannot stand to be there one more month, week, day! Okay, let's be honest, you mentally quit this hell hole months ago, but you have serious anxiety about quitting in real life to start your business.
Solution: If you don't like your job, just quit and conquer your empire! (If only it were that easy.)
Fear of Change
There are so many things to consider when you finally decide to quit your job and start a business. Add anxiety to the mix and you might as well shoot yourself in the foot. If you have ever experienced intense anxiety, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Anxiety can make you feel like you’re, blind folded and in the dark. You are literally frozen with fear!
I remember feeling trapped, like I was serving a prison sentence, but I wondered "what if I leave this job and everything is worse than it is now?"
For many clients, fearing the unknown outcome, not knowing what lies ahead and stepping out on faith is a scary thing.
Someone with full blown anxiety knows about the "analysis paralysis", overthinking, asking the what if's, the endless negative scenarios, the fears of uncertainty and unfavorable outcomes.
Feeling out of control and not knowing what will happen next is debilitating and this is the crux of anxiety.
Business Mindset Shift
If you are struggling with anxiety, the best thing you can do if you are unhappy at your job and you know without a doubt it's time to leave and build your business, is to first work on your mindset, manage your anxiety and then devise an exit strategy.
People with anxiety are not good at spontaneity and strongly dislike surprises. If this sounds like you, you need a plan and a way to manage the stress of resignation. Also, people with anxiety need a lot of preparation. It’s important to work on positive thoughts, positive affirmations, reading books, listening to podcasts and spending time around successful entrepreneurs. It’s VERY important to implement and practice what you learn, so that you actually start rewiring your thinking.
My client's that experience anxiety are able to leave their jobs with more confidence, because we work on creating effective coping skills, improving their mindset, managing their emotions and coming up with an achievable plan of action.
What helped to improve their mindset?
Expressive writing has helped to improved their mindset, so they can get through the obstacles of planning a business and resigning. They can gain insight and clarity into their thoughts and really come up with a plan that will work.
The key here is actively practicing a system for processing your thoughts and emotions. Expressive writing is a researched based method of improving emotions, founded by James Pennebaker. 1
I remember having so many questions that kept me up at night, gave me a headache, trouble sleeping, feeling panicked.
How will I take care of myself when I quit?
What if they need me?
How do I leave peacefully?
How do I conceal my plan to leave?
Entrepreneurial Spirit
Here’s your opportunity to test run that entrepreneur spirit!!!! It’s time to be “enterprising” to practice thinking like an entrepreneur. I've had clients, that reduced their anxiety and ventured into entrepreneurship, by monetizing their ideas and talents. So here are two things you need to do BEFORE you resign.
boost your finances
What will I do for money? This is a really important question. So, let's be real, you need to survive after you quit. You have bills, you must put food on the table, you need to take care of responsibilities. I know, I know, you cannot WAIT to break out and get free. But if you jump up and quit your job, you won't be getting unemployment.
Pay off as much debt as you can.
Keep your credit utilization under 30%.
Save 3-6 months of living expenses.
Create an emergency fund.
Develop Additional Income Streams
If your only income stream is this job you are leaving, then you need to brainstorm ALL the things you can do to bring in income (not just a job). This is anything that someone will pay you to do, something that they don't want to do themselves. When I first relocated from New York to Florida, I needed income in a hurry, so I found a part-time bridge job in retail. The bridge job doesn't have to be in your field, it's something to hold you over until you find something better or your business starts to bring in enough revenue. Don't get too comfortable in your bridge job, it's temporary. I also started freelancing. I did people's resumes, I found clients on online. Can you do hair? Can you bake cakes? Can you babysit? Can you drive kids to school? Cook for an elderly person? the list goes on and on. Write a list of all the things you can do to bring in money in the following 3 areas.
A bridge job
A part-time job
A side hustle
3 Step Exit Strategy
This is the exact strategy, I have used to resign multiple positions. I always parted ways with my employers on good terms. I successfully quit, the worst job experiences, with great references, because I was strategic and had a plan not to burn bridges. You need to create strategies to succeed, they help you organize your thoughts, manage emotions and give you calls to action.
First you need to set an ETA, Estimated Time of Achievement. Set a date 3 months to 6 months ahead and start working on your strategy daily.
Reclaim Your Time
Auntie Maxine Waters said it best. "I am reclaiming my time". Take off your super hero cape and stop trying to be everything to everyone. If you don't plan on being at this job for much longer, stop trying to do the most. This means not taking on any new projects, not volunteering for assignments, not creating more work. If you can start delegating tasks, do that. If you can avoid bringing work home, do that. If you can get someone else to cover you, ask for that help. If you work from 9-5, try not to go in early or stay late. Your time before and after work are the time you can use to start growing your own business.
preparing your move
Do you remember seeing those movies, where the person is carrying a huge box of stuff on the last day of work. If you deal with anxiety, you do not want this to be you. Can you imagine, feeling anxious on the last day, and dragging out your whole life in a big ole box?! LOL
Have you been uploading, downloading, sharing things on your work computer, that you don't want your boss to see? Clean up your computer, empty papers from your desk, start taking things home from your desk or office, a little bit at a time. I never really accumulate, too many things in my work space anyway. I remember taking things home daily, I'd carry a big bag to work, so it wasn't noticeable and didn’t raise any red flags. On your last day of work, you should be skipping out with a huge smile and both of your hands swinging.
The resignation Letter
This is not a breakup, please, please I beg of you, leave your emotions out of your resignation letter. Think of it as a formality for ending your employment contract. In your resignation letter, you express that you had a productive experience and you will be resigning from your duties in two weeks. You can offer to complete projects, sign off on assignments to make the transition easier. Even the worst job is a productive experience, I am sure you learned something, one thing, either it's what to do or what not to do.
Keep it simple, short and sweet. Whatever concerns, complaints or suggestions you had, save them for the exit interview (if they have one).
You will not turn in the letter when you are emotional.
You will thoughtfully provide a physical typed letter.
You’ll turn it in 2 weeks prior to leaving.
Hopefully, this is enough to get you on the track to quitting your horrible job despite feeling anxious, but if you need additional support to get through the process you may need to work with a counselor or coach. Sometimes, the support and accountability are necessary to keep you from psyching yourself out and staying another year at your job without working on your business. The worst feeling is being stuck somewhere you don't belong. Start creating a strategy now, you can exit your job in as little as three-six months. Reminder, you may want references and depending on how small your field is, it's possible you may cross paths again. Your reputation can make or break your career, so always be the bigger person!
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About The Author:
Seneca Williams, LMHC, CPC, therapist and coach, is the Founder of a premier membership network for women, to address entrepreneurship and emotional wellness. The Conquer Network was birthed, when she realized the distinct connection between an entrepreneurs success to her emotional wellness and mindset, which is not addressed in traditional business coaching. She helps women entrepreneurs, build confidence and improve their emotions, to improve their productivity as an entrepreneur. In the network, entrepreneurs gain strategies on personal growth and entrepreneurship from industry experts.
1.http://pennebaker.socialpsychology.org/