10 Mindset Shifts For Going From Employment to Entrepreneurship Successfully and Peacefully

It’s been 2 years since I left my consulting job in London and embarked on an entrepreneurial journey and WOW, what a ride it’s been so far, with so many invaluable lessons learned and experiences made…

I figured that makes it an excellent time to step back and reflect on making big, life-changing transitions such as going from employment to starting a business and talk about the things that people tend to not talk about enough, or, only once they’ve “made it” (but then nobody really cares because they’re just seeing the results, the glamorous picture).

Let’s talk about the realities of entrepreneurship, especially from an emotional and mental standpoint so you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into if you’re considering to make a big transition as well.

Entrepreneurship can easily be just another trap

The main reason for people to quit their jobs is the freedom to live on their own terms and do what they want. They want to escape the rat race and take charge of their destiny but they often end up in just another rat race, without even realising it; they have investors to please, clients to report to, meet (self-inflicted) revenue goals. Different party, same clown.

Unlike in a regular job, entrepreneurs have

• Nobody doing the sales for them so they just have to deliver on their work
• Nobody caring whether they receive a paycheck at the end of the month or not
• No mentors and coaches assigned (as often the case in professional-run companies) to help and advise them, set goals and keep them accountable
• Nobody wondering if they’re sick or not feeling well

In fact, entrepreneurs often

• Feel hugely pressured to show results in front of friends and family (because after all, they gave up their job to do something better)
• Actual pressure from stakeholders, clients, investors, etc. to deliver results
• Feel more depleted and stressed than in their old jobs
• The list goes on…

While this all sound horrible…. if you can truly learn to enjoy the process — the good, the ugly, the bad — instead of obsessing about the outcome (hashtag getrichquickly), all of the ‘downsides’ become irrelevant, or at least, manageable.

10 mental and emotional tests you’ll likely face, and how you can react to them

Many successful entrepreneurs said this before and it is true — mindset is everything. Investing in and managing yours should be the single most important activity of your day.

Otherwise, the hard truths I’m about to share will make you crumble eventually:

• People will give you all sorts of advice and tell you what you should do. They usually do this with their best intentions at heart, but really they are just projecting their experience onto yours. Since your journey is different, do NOT take advice from them.
• In fact, only ever take advice from people that you admire for what they’ve built or for the work they did, but DO NOT ask them what they are doing RIGHT NOW. Ask them what they did and what they’d do differently if they were in the same or similar situation as you are currently.
• Do not measure yourself against people in general, and for sure not against someone who’s years ahead in their journey or has been an entrepreneur for a long time. This is why you don’t ask someone you admire what they do right now because it is simply not relevant to your situation and the answer will just make you feel bad.
• It is extremely tough to make others see what you see. In fact, it’s impossible. Only you hold the vision to the future, so don’t even expect anyone to get it. They aren’t in your head, they cannot see what you see.
• Many people won’t like something about you/your company; the content, tone of voice, product, whatever it may be. Remember you’re not trying to serve everyone, but a specific niche. The world is big, someone else is going to love what another one dislikes — you just have to find them!
• In fact, be grateful for anyone having an opinion about you/your company. As Aristotle said: “To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.” Congrats, it looks like you are onto something!
• NOBODY REALLY CARES about what you put out there. Everyone’s just being busy with themselves. So don’t let thoughts like “what will people think?!” scare you off. The reality is, nobody is going to care as much as you think.
• Since you are doing something out of the line, you might be perceived as polarising. This means you’ll lose all sorts of people (but also gain new ones!), which can be extremely emotionally draining, so it’s best to start learning how to not take things personally and move on quickly.
• You’re likely going to experience imposter syndrome and emotions like low self-esteem and self-doubt will be daily visitors. This can be highly detrimental to your mental health if you do not find a way to manage these emotions thoroughly. Make sure you develop a habit of positive self-talk that automatically kicks in as soon as they come up.
• You’ll lose all comfort from a stable income and you’ll probably have to work on your money mindset to deal with this. But trust me, in light of the above, the money will be the least of your problems.

Only you decide if it is worth it

While there are some things to bear in mind before embarking on an entrepreneurial journey, the personal and professional rewards can be exceptional and greatly fulfilling (I’ll save this for another article as it would blow the scope of this one).

However, there seems to be a trend of people quitting their jobs to pursue more fulfilling, meaningful careers and have more freedom, without being aware of the mental and emotional aspects they should consider, or if entrepreneurship is even for them. Maybe they just need to find more meaningful and better places to work? Food for thought :)

In any case —

Without a strong mindset, the journey can be very tough.

With an infinite one, it might just be the best thing you’ve ever embarked on.

I can’t wait for another year on this crazy journey and invite you to connect and follow along (👉🏽 I’m a LinkedIn kinda girl)

Onwards and upwards ❤️

Kat