Photo courtesy of John M. P. Knox and Flickr
“All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath.”
– F. Scott Fitzgerald
This week is the fourth in my series of articles about transitioning from employment to doing work that’s more fulfilling and on-purpose for you (I find that most people who want to make this move don’t have a clear sense of exactly how they’re going to do it, and what it’s going to look like). We’re walking through the five main “transition strategies” involved in starting your own venture, and highlighting some of the key advantages and disadvantages of each. As you read through the five strategies, you’ll start to get a sense of which strategy (or combination of strategies) makes the most sense for you.
Transition Strategy 4 – Jump and Hold Your Breath
Build up sufficient cash reserves from your existing job to pay your bills for a period of time (Eg. 6, 12. 18 or 24 months) so you have the time and space to get your new venture up and running. Then leave your job and build the new thing.
Pros / Advantages
– For a small number of people, the clear financial and time-constraints help to sharpen their focus.
– Potential for high levels of motivation (“sink or swim” can be highly motivating for some people).
– Maximizes available time to work on your new venture
– Lends itself to a highly experimental approach, with rapid iteration and bold action.
– Encourages rapid development of an entrepreneurial mindset.
Cons / Disadvantages
– Fear of failure can have a worrying and even paralyzing effect.
– Many people who use this approach end up back in full-time employment within a short period of time.
Occasionally I meet someone who has used this approach successfully, but they are few and far between. If this one’s for you, you’ll know it.
Next week we’ll be looking at Transition Strategy 5. By the way, if you’re looking to transition, I’m researching something new, and I’m looking for the right group of people to take part in it. Here’s how you’ll know if you’re right for my experiment (and vice-versa):
– You are currently in full-time employment, but…
– You want to transition from your job to something more fulfilling and “on-purpose”
– You sense that it’ll probably take 1-2 years to complete the transition, but…
– Your goal hasn’t been getting much closer; it seems to stay the same distance away
– You want to make progress, but lack clarity about either the ‘what’ or the ‘how’
– You know that if you were clear on those, with a solid plan, you’d do what it takes to make it happen
– You’ve been thinking about it for long enough, and you’re ready to do something about it NOW
If that’s you, send me an email at info@jamiesmart.com, create the subject line with “Project Jupiter” so I know what it’s in relation to and tell me a bit about yourself. I’ll be choosing people in the next week.
Big love
Jamie
Jamie Smart
Sunday Times Bestselling Author, Speaker and Executive Coach
PLUS: Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you get the clarity and results that matter to you:
1. Hire me to speak at your event
If you want an entertaining and impactful keynote speech or breakout session for your conference, offsite or town hall meeting, email Nikki at info@jamiesmart.com and type “Keynote” in the subject line.
2. Apply for the 2017 intake of the Certified Clarity Coach Training Programme
If you want to be part of the class of 2017, this year’s intake of the Certified Clarity Coach Training Programme starts in September. You can find all the details and get your application in here: https://www.jamiesmart.com/clarity-coach-training-sh/
3. Join the Profitable Coaches Group
Join the Profitable Coaches Professional Group and connect with the growing community of like-minded transformation professionals who are passionate about exponentially increasing their grounding, impact and their livelihood. You can join for free at https://www.jamiesmart.com/profitable/
4. Join the next intake of Project Glasswing
We’re putting together a new practice-building case study group at Coaching Package Power this month. Stay tuned for details… If you’d like to work with me and my team on growing your practice… email Nikki at info@jamiesmart.com and type “Project Glasswing” in the subject line.
PLUS: check these out :
Get your free Exponential Practice Scorecard book www.JamieSmart.com/scorecar
Listen to the Results Mindset Podcast www.JamieSmart.com/resultspodcast
Listen to Your Exponential Practice Podcast www.JamieSmart.com/pod
Read the first 2 chapters of my Sunday Times Bestseller RESULTS: Think Less, Achieve More www.JamieSmart.com/instantresults