The ONE THING You Need to Make a Successful Leap Into Consulting or Coaching

If you are interested in leaving your current job for the potential of running your own consulting or coaching practice, there is only one thing you need. You may think you need a lot of money in the bank and a "rolodex" of potential clients and referrals.

While those things are important, they are not nearly as important as your wholehearted commitment to the adventure of running your own practice. In my experience, there is a direct correlation between the most successful consultants and coaches and their ability to commit fully to their practice and making it a success.

There is a big difference between having a yearning to start your own consulting business or coaching practice and actually making the decision to leave the comfort and security of your day job for the unknown world of entrepreneurship.

The fear of the unknown is to be expected. There are many sources of help to overcome these type of predicable fears but there is only one response if you are going to be truly successful as a consultant: Again, by act of the will, you commit wholeheartedly to the adventure of running your own consulting or coaching practice.

Commitment includes aligning your mind, heart and guts towards your own success.

Mind:

• Starting a consulting business or coaching practice is a new job AND as a result, be willing to invest in developing the new skills.
• Perceive the marketplace through the filters of abundance (there is more than enough work to go around, there are clients who are willing to pay) vs. scarcity.
• Hone your rationale belief in your expertise and the value you ALREADY create...right now!

Heart:

• The root of the word courage is cor—the Latin word for heart.  Courage originally meant “To speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.”
• Therefore, to work for yourself, you need to have the courage of vulnerability.

Guts:

• Having the guts is literally having the ability to take action everyday towards achieving your vision.
• There is a big difference between “being busy” on related activities vs. meaningful and significant actions towards building your practice.

So if you have the commitment, here's a few additional tips to ensure a seamless transition from employee to business owner:

1. Get your family on board

• Like you, they will have a fear of the unknown
• The best way you can help them is to engage in a mutual partnership discussion about this move that affects everyone

See what worked for my friend, Dan Weedin, when sharing with his wife 15 years ago about starting his now thriving consulting business.

2. End your current job well

“Celebrate your accomplishments so thoroughly as to burn the bridge to whom you were before. This is extremely important, especially on a lifelong journey. You must stop from time to time to lay claim to the progress you have made and close off the option of retreating to a smaller version of yourself.” Alison Armstrong

3. As a new business owner, you need to learn business development skills. There is no way around it. Work may magically come your way for a while, but to sustain success, you have to know how to run a business (vs. being an employee.) Therefore seek out specialized support, mentorship and education from others who have "been there, done that" and encouragement from others who are in the same boat you are. There are three types of people you need:

• Mentors: People have been consultants or coaches and run their own practices longer than you have and can show you the way
• Guides: Specialized support that can help you specific things you need such as finances, web development, legal issues, social media marketing, etc.
• Allies: People who are seeking the same type of success you are.

Considering a leap into your own consulting or coaching business?

• If you have the commitment to starting your own practice, act on that commitment by taking the first steps. Find someone who can guide you towards building the practice of your dreams, how to quickly replace your current income with your business income and avoid wasted time and money on spinning your wheels or activities that won't get you the traction you seek. 
• If you want see about my mentoring and programs to start the right business for you, set up a call with Jen to find out what it takes to get started.

Related Resources:  

• Case Study - Why Smart People Start A Consulting Business
• Want to Start a Consulting Business?  10 Reasons You Should
• How to Start a Successful Consulting/Coaching Business