Let’s face it, transitioning from a full-time employee into a full-fledged Entrepreneur is going to require a little bit more than proof of concept and connections. While those are necessary, the mental shifting you’ll require to dive into your business is going to be the key to your success.

Have you ever noticed how people enter a swimming pool? They get in there one of two ways; they either DIVE or DIP. This is a perfect metaphor for how people enter decisions, and for this particular subject, make the dive into being an Entrepreneur.

Toe Dippers like to take their time and gently dip their toe in the water, checking the temperature, and then slowly walking into the pool. And once their body agrees with the temperature, sometimes they’ll dive in. They’re a little more hesitant and take more calculated risks.

Divers jump right in! They don’t care about the temperature of the water,
they just want to make a huge splash!

They are risk takers and enjoy the thrill of landing in uncharted territory because they believe they can swim.

I’m a huge proponent of encouraging people to dive into their business, even if they are traditional toe dippers (and assuming they are financially ready) because there comes a point when you’ve got to just go for it and stop straddling the line. When you fully dive into your new business, then you are saying YES to fully committing to being an entrepreneur. Otherwise if you straddle the line between employee and entrepreneur, your employer will always get your time and your business will suffer.

1. When you fire yourself from your 9-5, you are setting a very clear Universal intention that you have faith in your business.
   

   Where your attention goes, energy flows.

2. Once you take that dive, you become your own safety net and have the power to manifest your own abundance.

Still Unsure?

Experiencing reluctance is a natural emotional response to diving into something that feels scary, and maybe even a little unstable. Your 9-5 has created a place of shelter, benefits, security, that you may think you can’t create in your own business. But look around you! Do we live in ‘stable’ times? The reality is, the only thing that is guaranteed is RIGHT NOW.

Two things will happen if you continue to straddle the line between Employee to Entrepreneur:

1. You’ll get yourself fired – The Universe will help move you and you will create a situation of getting fired or laid off. I don’t like to burn bridges and neither should you. Plus, by getting yourself fired, you may be creating unnecessary financial strain if you haven’t yet financially prepared yourself. And most importantly, burning bridges is not how you want to leave the building. Your employer may end up being one of you customers!
2. You’ll stay stuck – If you choose to stay stuck then it may be time to take a deeper dive into your willingness, readiness, and mostly GRIT (this links to my webpage for them to take learn more). I’ve seen it happen, you’re ready dive and plunge right in; you put in your notice and all of a sudden that promotion that you’ve been waiting for or the new schedule that you’ve been asking for comes your way. You may think it’s a sign to stay, I believe it’s a test to see if you are ready to go from comfortable to courageous and do the dive.

If you aren’t ready to DIVE just yet
then let’s get you ready by following these 5 steps:

1. Set A Schedule – You’ll need to create a schedule that includes working your business in addition to all your other responsibilities. Don’t treat this business as a side-line, treat it like you would your full-time job! Get your business in your schedule and hold yourself accountable to working it like a boss!

2. Start saying NO – People need boundaries and so do businesses. You’ll have to begin saying NO to other people so you can say YES to your business and the time it’s going to take to start generating revenue. If saying YES to someone else, no matter the request, conflicts with your scheduled time to work on your business, then you are essentially saying NO to your business.

3. Release Perfectionism – Don’t hide out in making your business ‘perfect’ before you are willing to share it with others. I’ve watched countless wanna-be Entrepreneurs work on their website or their messaging for over a year, and some have yet to share their business because they feel they want it to be perfect. And once they feel they’ve achieved their own perceived perfection, they raise the bar to a newly identified definition of perfection. It’s a vicious cycle and will not end until you end it. The only way to end it is to get real about what perfection really is: fear. Think about it, if you don’t have to share it until its perfect, then you won’t have to worry about putting yourself out there. You think you’re escaping judgment or criticism but you’re not because you are judging and criticizing yourself. Successful entrepreneurs realize this is an illusion and are much more interested in getting themselves out there and refining based on client needs, not their own needs.

4. Create A Quit Date – Yep. You have to create a stop date for your 9-5. If you are doing the steps above, you should have no issue with creating this date. If you don’t, you’ll increase your chances of staying stuck and if that is the case, you’ll need to embrace that you are going to be one heck of an employee not an entrepreneur.

5. Create a Fund – You should be already generating money for your business. So what do you do with the money you are earning on your business? You don’t squander it, you save it! Budgeting is a KEY organizational MUST HAVE for your business. If you want to take the plunge and dive into Entrepreneurship, you’ll have to develop some self-discipline and delay the gratification of spending to meet your quit date deadline.

6. BONUS: GRIT – Grit is what supersedes talent, skill, and intellect. It is the muscle that every successful entrepreneur flexes. By definition, grit is mental toughness to persevere; passion for long-term goals. Firmness of character; indomitable spirit. Download your FREE Grit GUIDE: Five Characteristics of Successful Gritty Entrepreneurs and enjoy the bonus test inside to measure your grit!

When we face each moment as sacred it sets us up to make some monumental choices that ultimately can be predictors of our future. Tune into your truth and use your soul’s knowing as your compass to guide into Entrepreneurship. Whether you choose to DIP or to DIVE doesn’t matter. What matters is you take the plunge.

XoXo~