On today’s episode I am talking all about how I made the decision to take my small business, Details and Swirls full time! I knew about 9 months into my business that I needed to make a decision to go full time. I saw the potential in really growing my business, and wanted to put ALL of my efforts into it. For me, owning and running my own business was the ultimate goal in life. I wanted a limitless career with no cap for success, I wanted a flexible schedule that I controlled, I wanted to be a mom one day and know that I had complete control over the hours in my day and what I choose to spend them on. While this is always what I’ve wanted in life, the decision to make the leap into full time entrepreneurship was far from easy.

I do not like taking risks at all! I am a control freak, and like to have every single thing lined up and prepared. The thought of quitting my job and jumping into entrepreneurship SCARED me! While you can never fully prepare yourself for making the jump into entrepreneurship, I wanted to try my best to prepare my business and mindset before making this decision.The three main questions I asked myself before making this decision:

1. Will I make enough money?
   
   This is going to differ for each and every person. For me personally, I needed my business to match my full time corporate salary before making the decision to leave. This is not a requirement, but this was a standard I set for myself and a goal I wanted to achieve before taking the jump.
   
2. Do I have tangible and substantial business ideas to sustain my business for the future?
   
   Unfortunately in the creative business industry there is not a set business structure and ladder to follow. I could come up with an incredible idea tomorrow that could change the path of my business entirely, but I don’t know that idea ahead of time. While I do have faith in myself and my creativity to continue evolving my business as it grows in the future, I needed to write down tangible ideas I currently had for my the future of my business to ensure I had some actionable steps to work towards and a growth plan for the business.
   
3. What is my plan if this doesn’t workout?
   
   What is my backup plan? Can I go back to work? Can I work part time? For me, I knew that if Details and Swirls did not work out I could go back into the field of accounting. This back up plan is going to look different for everyone, but having a back up plan takes away so much of the fear and anxiety of failing. Many times when we write down a back up plan, the thought of failing does not seem as scary or defeating. 

Thank you to ShipStation for sponsoring today’s episode of The Detailed Diary Podcast! Click here for you 30-day free trial, and click here to read more about why I LOVE ShipStation!!