Ready to leave your corporate comfort zone?
You’ve been climbing the career ladder for what seems like a lifetime, your emails have at least 200 unread and that’s just from the last 2 weeks, and the 9-5 seems more like every waking moment.
Yet, behind the endless emails, meeting for meeting’s sake, “we’re aligned” and “shall we run through priorities”, there’s something calling you.
Maybe it started as a subtle whisper. You brushed it aside for a while, saying to yourself “that’ll never work” and “I’ve got it really good here” or “I’m lucky to have a secure job these days.”
But it didn’t stop it.
In fact it made those whispers get louder. And louder.
Then the daydreams started, where you’re imagining yourself sitting in a coffee shop or at a co-working space, meeting with coaching clients or adding new listings to your online shop. Now they run wild, imagining yourself as CEO with your own office, and more money than you ever made in the corporate world.
And now you can’t get these damn daydreams out of your mind, and everything in your corporate role is wearing thin and making you want to scream “I’m a female entrepreneur, get me out of here.”
OK, so if any of this resonates with you, my love, you are most certainly ready.
But one word of caution. Don’t let the daydreams fool you.
Working for yourself isn’t all coffee’s and co-working (although that makes up a reasonable chunk when not in lockdown!)
Working for yourself is hands down the biggest personal development journey of your life. All of your biggest insecurities come up to laugh at you in the face and shout at you “who are you to do that?” Imposter syndrome, comparison-itis and “I’m not good enough” run rife, and there’s no corporate badge or job title to validate your identity any more.
Moving from being a corporate cog to the leader of your life and business can come with unimaginable highs and ‘scrape me off the floor’ lows.
Why? Because it matters to you in a way that nothing else has done.
Because, as a female entrepreneur, you put so much of yourself into what you do; you ARE the brand, it’s a literal creation birthed by you.
But where your business brand and strategy IS all about you, your dazzling personality, your strengths and values and most importantly, your story. The true heart of your business is your audience.
This is where it can get confusing. Because at the same time that defining the what, how and why of your business is all about you, it’s actually not about you at all.
It’s about serving someone else. Quite possibly a younger, less experienced version of you, who needs your expert help right now. It’s about turning your story into something that can help take them from pain in the ass problem to problem solved. The beauty of it is that being those few steps ahead, you become the perfect person to guide them on their way.
So, if you’re still hearing the call, daydreaming of coffee and co-working, and the thought of having to face up to all your own BS hasn’t put you off, then you are well and truly ready my love.
Plucking up the courage to hand in your notice is a big deal, and not something to be taken lightly. I know, I’ve been there.
But let me let you in on a little secret. Nothing in this life is certain. The security you’re clinging on to is an illusion. What you’re hanging on to is your comfort zone. It’s the pay-check and perks. And that’s ok.
Working for yourself is like wanting to climb Mount Everest, and then looking up at the peak from the very bottom. It’s a journey. There will be highs, there will be lows, failures and success. It takes time.
I know first hand that when you step away from the noise of what everyone else is doing and tune in to your self, your needs and desires, you can carve out a successful career, income and client base, and build it into something you are proud of.
But best of all, you will know that you followed your dreams. You listened when that whisper called, you backed yourself, believed in yourself, and you grew.
My name is Lesley Stonier and I help new and early stage female entrepreneurs and coaches find the confidence to market themselves, and attract their audience with their story.
Here’s a video where I share 10 things I wish I’d known before taking the leap to set up my own biz. Enjoy!
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