3 Ways to Get Ready to Jump From Employee to Boss

Are you sick and tired of people telling you what to do? Do you crave the high-risk high-reward

world of the entrepreneur? If that’s you, then you better know for sure that you are ready to make

the leap…because the road ahead is going to be hard. No, harder than that. Seriously, you might

starve for a while until you make it. Like second semester of college starving. Then you can

make it and watch all — well, some — of your dreams come true.

So, how do you know if you are ready to graduate from employee to boss? Here’s a simple,

practical 3-question quiz.

1 — Can you embrace the fear

The biggest fear you will face in building a business is NOT the fear of failure. It’s the fear of

the unknown. None of us know what we do not know, so we cannot prepare for it. What

separates successes from failures in this regard is the willingness (not the ability) to face the

unknown, adapt and overcome. Sometimes all at once. If you can do that…if you have proven

you can do that, you may be ready for your name on the door.

2 — Eliminate your debt

If you owe someone money, you can never be your own boss. They will be your boss until you

no longer owe them money. But, wait, you say, loads of people start businesses on credit. Well,

yes, they do. And, until they pay that credit off, they are working for the people who paid their

way. The lesson here is simple — and very difficult — if you want to be your own boss, get rid of

your debt. ALL of your debt.

3 — Build a realistic marketing plan

You have a product or service you love. Good for you. But what if nobody wants to buy it? Or,

what if they want it but can’t afford to pay you what you need to charge to make it? Well, then

you get a bunch of big, empty buildings. Have you seen a Borders Booksellers lately? The cold

hard facts here are these: if you don’t have a product or service that people want and you don’t

have a way to deliver that and make enough money to live…then you don’t have a viable

business idea. You have a hobby. What does any of this have to do with marketing? Because

ROI is the bottom line in marketing. If you can’t find a way to sell it for enough money, then you

should not sell it. Build the plan first. Adjust as needed.

In the end, even if you don’t decide to make the leap — yet — you will still come away with a

better understanding of the market and your place in it. All applicable knowledge has power, so

you must make yourself more valuable. Keep that up, and you will be ready to start your own

business sooner than you think.

Gennady Barsky is a real estate mogul with a background in entrepreneurship and business.