Are you ready to take advantage of the New Year and finally get rid of that 9-5 so you can focus on your adventures as a digital nomad or remote based entrepreneur? Well, you’re in the right place because in this article we are going to help you to move the needle forward in your business and to take things to a new level in the coming year. I know it may seem complicated or even a little overwhelming, but It’s always in reach, even when you think It’s not. All it takes is the drive and motivation to move past your blockers and to overcome the fears that have been holding you back. Believe it or not, I started out right where you are; Afraid to leave my 9-5 and fully commit to my business.
But after I worked my a** off over and over again, I was not only able to overcome my blockers but to also grow my business. It was an uphill battle but I have never looked back. So, grab a pen because I am going to let you in on my secrets and tell you the steps I took and that you can take so you too can push the needle forward enough to leave your 9-5!
How To Move The Needle Without Quitting
To start with, let’s talk about where you should be going into the New Year (aka how you can move the needle) and how to get there.The place I like to start and that I recommend my clients start is with uncovering opportunities in the remote work realm that can help support them in their transition from full time employee to full time entrepreneur.
These opportunities are jobs that won’t require the 40+ hrs a week and are meant to help you ease into your escape. Oftentimes all we see is the “black and white” but sometimes, we need to think about the grey area a bit more in order to truly reach our goals, especially when it comes to making the transition from employee to business owner.
One of the easiest ways to reach your goal of leaving your full time 9-5 is to find other opportunities that allow you to work a remote based flexible schedule and give you more time to focus on building your business. When you’re working 50 hours per week, commuting 5+ hours per week, it’s no wonder that you are too exhausted to put your full effort into your business.
Finding Opportunities
Do a quick self assessment to truly understand your skillset and what types of work you may be able to do to help bridge the gap between full time employee to full time business owner. It is easier than ever to find remote work, this may be an actual employee relationship or better yet, a freelance relationship with a potential “employer.”
Just be careful when looking for opportunities that you don’t set a trap for yourself by locking yourself into a job like a call center rep where you are tied to a phone for 8 hours per day. This may seem like cheating but for those who have a fear of the unknown or are afraid to leave the financial stability of their job, gaining alternate remote based work to allow you more time to build your business is an amazing way to ease in and to help you move the needle forward in your business.
Becoming a Goal Getter and a Goal Setter
Taking inventory on your goals and coming up with a plan to achieve them. This not only includes setting goals BUT creating actionable goals. Setting actionable goals helps you to hold yourself accountable, giving you a clear plan with deadlines and measurable markers to gauge your success.
The best way that I have found to create and actually reach actionable goals is to use the SMART goal model. If the terminology is new to you, SMART goals are SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ACHIEVABLE/ATTAINABLE, RELEVANT/REALISTIC & TIMELY. You start with your big goals and work your way down to small, easily achievable goals to help work towards the more important ones.
A great way to start planning your SMART goals easier is to take your annual goals and then set smaller quarterly goals and from there go a step further to break them down into smaller bite-sized pieces.
Next Steps to Goal Success
Once you put the pen to the paper and define your goals, you are going work towards cementing your plan by breaking them down into monthly, weekly and even daily goals and tasks. Having the “big” plan is needed so you have an idea of what steps you are going to need to take in order to be able to leave that 9-5 and to plan where you want to be by the start/end of the year.
Your plan will include your goals which should include specifics for completing things like your business plan, determining the amount of work for the first month and how to achieve it, setting a target date to quit your 9-5 as well as the steps necessary to get there, and whatever else you feel like would be important to know going into January.
Don’t stop with January, when you have your goals for the year and the 4 quarters set, it is time to create a plan for the year with important dates you already know of and to set the bigger target dates and milestones including dates each quarter and month to reassess and plan for the upcoming period. If You haven’t been using a calendar, the New Year is a perfect time to start! A calendar will be uber important for writing goals that stick!
Overcoming Obstacles and Actually Leaving Your 9-5
There are many steps to leaving your 9-5 and here, I will give you a few of those steps and tips on HOW! As discussed above, it takes a plan, without it, you risk ending up worse off than you were with the 9-5.
One of the first steps in successfully walking away from the 9-5 life is starting work on overcoming your blockers such as fear of failure, lack of confidence, and fear of judgment from friends and family. This is something that I see holding people back all too often. These are all things that we have or will face at some point and can seem impossible to overcome but with the right methods it is possible and is easier than you would expect.
There are many fears you will face as an entrepreneur and it is 100% normal but how you choose to tackle them and overcome them is what will determine whether you will be able to not only face them but also move PAST them. Being prepared for the fears that you will face is step number one in this journey.
So what should you expect?
- Fear of Failure
- Fear of the Unknown/Fear of Change
- Fear of disappointment
- Financial fear
- Imposter Syndrome – fear of not being good enough.
Failing Up
Our deeply-embedded fear of failure forces us to play it safe. We feel stuck, shackled and unable to break free from the chains. Unable to cut the cord that binds us to our fears. Never quite being able to reach the other side of the rainbow. The truth is that when you live in fear you will always play it safe. The other options are too painful, too difficult. But let me ask you this….What are you so afraid of? What is holding you back from pushing the limits of your comfort zone? I’ve been there but you know what? It is ok to fail, really it is. Failure, or the obstacle, is the way to success. I like to call it failing up.
When you are going through failure, it definitely hurts. But what’s worse is the fear of failing. When you actually reach that point of no return, it isn’t so bad. Actually, failure fuels you way more than success ever will. Some of the most famous people have failed before making it big. Oprah was fired from her “dream job”, Michael Jordan was cut from his highschool basketball team and heck, Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star because his editor felt he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas….WALT DISNEY LACKED IMAGINATION???
Do me a favor, The next time you hear that negative voice in your mind, fight back. Do something outside of your comfort zone. Don’t play it safe. Go out there and throw caution to the wind.
Announcing That You Are Ready to Leave Your 9-5
One of the hardest parts of starting out is announcing your plans to start a business and/or become a digital nomad (gasp! How could you!). When you first start out and tell them what you plan to do they will most likely look at you as though you are crazy.
Is this because they really think you are crazy? Unlikely. It is because they don’t understand the lifestyle, what it means and why you want to live it. You will likely be convincing them of why this is the best thing for you for some time to come. It’s possible they may even convince you that they are right….many entrepreneurs fall into this trap.
People who love you and are afraid for you to fail or worse, are jealous of your happiness will make it a mission to stop you from moving forward.
So what will they say?
What Will Your Friends and Family Say
Our core support systems can become less supportive when they think you are doing something risky and/or that will pull you away from them. The first line of defense tends to be scare tactics; They will ask you why you would want to give up your job/security/etc. They will warn you about how so and so lost everything, or how only x% of businesses actually succeed, or how much you will be giving up in your career.
They will grasp at straws and keep going until they break you or until you stand up to them.
Is it possible to overcome this? Well, yes. Will it be easy? Well, this depends on you.
If you are close to your family/friends they will likely have a bit of a hold on you and their tactics will grind you down. It may even cause you to have second thoughts, but, we are the masters of our own lives and the path we take is ours to determine.
Additional Steps to Leave Your 9-5
As part of your goal setting, you will have outlined the steps you will be taking to quit your 9-5. This includes things like putting more hours and focus into building your business and putting in the time to fully understand what you will be doing. This may also include things like taking a course or hiring a coach.
If you haven’t already, now is the time to set your ideal date to leave the 9-5. Try to set an exact day, so you have a day to set goals around and work towards. After you have a date, start taking action with your goals and prepare your mind and yourself in general for the work that will come.
Be realistic with your dates and make it achievable, remember you have 12 months to accomplish this journey so no need to rush and set unreasonable goals. Do yourself and don’t wait to start, set a SMART goal after you read this article. This could be something small like, schedule time for my goal planning session by next Friday. And after that I would set a bigger goal for the first of the month. In all, to leave your 9-5 you will have to take action to make the new year.. your year.
If you are ready to make the new year your year, join our community of high achieving entrepreneurs and take the first step to starting your new life.
