#18: Start-Up Success… Leap To Freedom! Employee to Entrepreneur
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Transition from Employee to Entrepreneur
Imagine waking up each day, feeling electrified to jump out of bed and embrace your work. Picture a life where the currency of your success is not just dollars, but the fulfillment of realising your dreams.
This is the entrepreneurial life that’s possible, and it's waiting for you.
Join me, Samantha Bell, as we delve into the five-part series, Start-Up Success, where I share actionable strategies to transform your life from a 9-5 grind to a limitless entrepreneurial journey. Tune in as we journey through the real-life transition from a corporate employee to a woman in control of her own destiny.
We often hear about the success stories of entrepreneurs, but what about the challenges, the frustrations, and the fear? They’re part of the journey too, and in this series, we won’t shy away from them. Instead, we’ll see them as stepping stones to greater things. We will explore the power of the entrepreneurial spirit in driving the transformational journey from being an employee to becoming your own boss.
Listen in as we delve into managing the risks, maintaining the passion amidst adversity and turning your dreams into a practical reality. Be inspired by my personal story as we talk about entrepreneurship not just as a career path, but as a journey of self-discovery and freedom.
(full transcription below)
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Hi, I’m Samantha Bell
I’m all about helping you build the business – and life – you’ve always wanted.
Listen in for the simple, actionable strategies, mindset shifts, and practices you need to make your business thrive. Plus, a healthy dose of self-care, health, and wellness so you can live the life you absolutely adore while building your beautiful business.
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Transcription
00:04
Welcome to the Brilliant Business, Beautiful Life podcast, where we share simple, actionable strategies plus the mindset and wellness practices you need to build the business and life you love. Head to 16thavecreative.com/playbook and download your free guide to design the business and life you deserve. Today I'm your host, Samantha Bell, and this is the Brilliant Business, Beautiful Life podcast. Are you ready for the business and life of your dreams? Let's get started. Because I started the Brilliant Business, Beautiful Life podcast to help women build the business and life of their dreams. This week on the podcast, I'm starting a five part series called Start-Up Success, and it's specifically for women who have not started their business yet, because not everyone is at the same stage of business, and part of my mission is to also support women who are in the early dreaming stages, because you've got to start somewhere and sometimes you just need a little bit of extra help. I'm super passionate about getting women out of a life that they just put up with and into a life they love, so I hope that the next five episodes are going to help you do just that if you're at the stage where you're just starting to think about starting your own online business, so let's jump into making the leap to freedom from an employee to an entrepreneur, and it really is a dream worth chasing.
01:40
So if you're in a nine to five job, working for a set salary and you're getting two to four weeks, annual leave each year, a few days a year where your employer allows you to take time off if you're sick, where you have to ask permission to leave early to go and pick up your kids or go to a doctor's appointment, you probably feel like your time is not your own, that every day you are controlled, you're constrained and you're told what you have to do. And most likely, every morning you wake up feeling trapped, feeling hopeless and frustrated by the same nine to five grind and you think to yourself, “Well, that's just life, isn't it?” But do you ever dream of more? Do you ever daydream about a life where you jump out of bed with excitement because you love what you do, a life where your income isn't limited to what your employer is prepared to pay you, but where you have the potential to earn as much money as you've ever dreamed of, where your time isn't spent building someone else's dreams but nurturing your own, where you can go pick up your kids go to the hairdresser or go to the movies whenever you like. Well, if that sounds like you, you're not alone.
03:06
So many women find themselves wondering what am I doing with my life? And they want far more than just a pay check at the end of the month. They crave to be creative, to have a sense of fulfillment, and they've got a big desire to make a difference in their lives, in their kids' lives, even in the world. Plus, they want the freedom to live their life however they want to. And their daydreams, they take them off to a place of possibility and incredible joy and deep satisfaction. Now, that's a dream worth chasing, isn't it? And it doesn't just have to be a fantasy. It doesn't have to stay a dream. If this sounds like you, you're dreaming of having the life of an entrepreneur, and it's a journey to true freedom and fulfillment, and it really has the potential to change your life in ways you cannot even imagine right now.
04:08
I used to be stuck in the corporate world, wasting my life away building the dreams and the profit margins of other people and corporations, but one day, enough was enough. I had wished and dreamed about my dream life for so long that it was finally time for me to stop dreaming and start doing. And it was after one particularly gruesome day at work where, yet again, I had put in so much time and effort, but nothing was ever enough. They just kept wanting more and more of me. You know, I was even working back to 10 pm some nights and they still wanted more. The more I gave, the more they wanted. They were just insatiable for my skill set and my time and it was sucking the life out of me, sucking my soul. And it was actually a day where something very simple happened. It wasn't a big event, but it was literally the straw that broke the camel's back. Someone said something very simple and it was simply something like, “Samantha can do that.”
05:17
For so long I had been putting all my creative energy, all my skills and knowledge that I had honed and developed and studied for over 30 years, to make their business amazing. And I finally realised they were just takers. They were taking way too much from me, but I had been allowing it. I had stayed there, allowing them to treat me in this way and to just keep expecting more and more and more blood, sweat and tears from me. I became resentful and frustrated. And then it was in that moment when someone said to me or said about me “Oh, Samantha can do that,” that frustration and exhaustion and resentment I was feeling told me it's time this stops. It was in that moment, when someone casually put another thing on my plate, as though it was their right, that I made the decision that my time was now and I left. It was the best decision of my life.
06:24
Instead of wishing and dreaming, I actually stepped out of the rat race into my CEO shoes and followed my own path to my freedom and my independence. Now I have the joy of waking up every single morning with a smile on my face because I love what I do. I've actually got a life where my income potential is limitless, where my time is spent bringing my own dreams to life, where I can help other women achieve their dreams and enjoy the rewards of designing my own life instead of having it designed for me. It's wonderful, and this is the life of an entrepreneur, and you can have that life too. All you have to do is decide that it's what you want.
07:13
Now there's an entrepreneurial spirit inside most people. It's that little voice that whispers to you, Isn't there more to life than this. What else can I do? And it keeps pointing you towards your dreams and it really stokes the fire in your belly that's burning to make a difference, to create something meaningful and to live your life with purpose. It really fills you with excitement, you get butterflies in your stomach and feel giddy with all the possibilities, and you can actually feel the freedom. It’s intoxicating. And that's your entrepreneurial spirit telling you it's time to lift the lid off your box, to get out of those four walls that are stifling you and holding you captive. And, oh, my goodness, it is the best feeling and something you need to listen to, if the call is strong enough. And if you do embrace this spirit of adventure and promise, it's the first step towards transitioning from being an employee stuck in that horrible nine-to-five grind and instead becoming an entrepreneur who really lives their life their own way, on their own terms.
08:26
Now, my definition of an entrepreneur is someone who takes life by the horns, who says, “get lost” to convention and not only believes their vision but pursues it passionately, relentlessly, because they know in their soul that this is what they're meant for. Entrepreneurs live with hope; they dream big, and they make it happen. To me, that is an entrepreneur. And for me and many others, it's the only way to live. Now, don't get me wrong. The entrepreneurial journey isn't a walk in the park. It is not for the faint-hearted, but it's a journey worth taking if your dreams mean enough to you. It's about embracing your spirit of innovation, becoming resilient and keeping your passion burning bright, even when it's really hard because there's going to be really hard times. Entrepreneurs dare to dream big. They take big risks. They persevere through all the challenges because you're going to get thrown curveballs, and you won't see them coming, and you need a really good, quick arm to catch those balls and redirect them where you want them to go.
09:39
Entrepreneurship is all about breaking free and stepping into a world where you call the shots. It's amazing. So, just imagine a life where you're not an employee but an entrepreneur. You're an explorer of opportunities and the creator of your dreams. Embracing the entrepreneurial spirit means seeing potential where others see obstacles. It's about having the courage to pursue your vision, even when it feels daunting. The journey will have its ups and downs, and some days you will second guess yourself and wonder what the heck you're on this ride for. But even with all the hard work, and it takes a tremendous amount of work, especially in the beginning, and all the frustration because nothing good comes without some challenges along the way.
10:33
Entrepreneurship is the most powerful and magical journey you can travel. When you embrace your entrepreneurial spirit, you'll discover a newfound sense of purpose. You will enjoy creative and life freedoms that you can't even imagine right now. When you choose to step away from the rules of the corporate world and stop being a corporate hostage, you will then have the freedom to innovate, to create and to shape your own destiny, and it's liberating knowing that all your efforts are building your dreams and not someone else's. Now, freedom, it means different things to different people. For some, it's all about financial independence. For others, it's about having the time and the space they need to go after their passions to pursue their goals. For other people, it's living the laptop lifestyle so they can work while they travel wherever their heart desires.
11:31
Defining freedom and what it means to you is an important part of your entrepreneurial journey, because it can serve as a kind of lighthouse in the ocean of days. It's what will drive you forward, keep you motivated during those tough times I mentioned, and it will help to keep you focused and treading the right path to success for you. So, take some time to reflect on what freedom means to you. Write down your thoughts, your dreams and your goals and go deep on this. Once you define what freedom means to you, it'll be that little carrot that keeps you going, or the lighthouse that I mentioned. And when you get off track, because you will, this isn't a perfect journey, you can look at your freedom goal and step back onto the right path and stay away from what's pulling you off course. I like to translate my freedom goals into a dream board so that I've got a lovely visual reminder that I look at every single day. I've actually got it sitting on my desk so that whenever I'm working, at any second through the day, I can look at it, and what it says to me is, “This is where you're heading. Isn't it amazing!” and it just energises me and instantly gets me back on track, and any negative thoughts that I was feeling before looking at it they go. It just vibes me up in the positive, strong way I need and reminds me of why I'm doing what I'm doing and where I'm headed. Having that visual reminder is just so incredibly powerful, so I encourage you to do that Now.
13:14
Taking the first steps towards becoming an entrepreneur and starting your own business can also be scary. You might have some doubts and fears, and you will most likely have a whole lot of questions, which is completely normal. But remember, every successful entrepreneur, no matter how fantastic they are, they all started where you are right now. Most of them didn't even have experience in what they wanted to do. So, look at Richard Branson. Did he have any experience in building a record label, running an airline, or going into space when he started? No, none. His first business was actually a magazine called Student, which he started when he was 16 years old. It was much later that he started Virgin Records and Virgin Atlantic Airlines and then, after going into the travel industry, he sort of went down the path of rail travel and into aerospace, but he hadn't, the point I'm making is, he hadn't done any of those things before he started. To be honest, he probably had no idea that one day he'd be doing all these things.
14:24
And that's because entrepreneurship is an evolutionary journey. It grows and takes you on new and unexpected paths, and that happens because you're so creative and because you're open to new opportunities, and you can't possibly foresee all the amazing things that are planned for your future that are coming for you. You just have to know that opportunities are there, waiting for you, and you need to be open to them and recognise them when they come your way. Richard Branson is a bit of an inspiration to me, and it's because he's a true multi-passionate entrepreneur. Most of the entrepreneurs I know are multi-passionate, I am myself, so it's highly relatable. I love how curious he is, and he really tackles life with joy and focuses on possibilities and creating opportunities. They're the hallmarks of a great entrepreneur.
15:28
So, you don't have to be an expert. You do not have to have 30 years of experience behind you. What you do need is a willingness to learn and to grow and to be open to all those amazing opportunities that are in your future that you don't know about yet. You need to try and seek them out and when they come to you, just have a think about it, give them a go. You need to be able to get knocked down and you need to be able to bounce back up and have an unshakable belief in yourself and in your abilities, because everything else can be learned, it can be outsourced, you can work it out.
16:04
There's plenty of ways to get to what you need. There's actually nothing you can't do. There is nothing you can't do. All you need is to take that leap of faith, embrace the uncertainty because it's all uncertain and trust yourself, and once you jump in, you'll get the experience you need, you'll build your confidence and skills and one day, the fear and hesitancy it'll be gone and instead you'll have all this excitement for your future and the opportunities that are circling around you, and before you know it, you'll be the expert in your field and will have an amazing business and life that you adore.
16:47
It's so exciting. You know there's so many insanely successful entrepreneurs in the world in every industry or niche you can imagine, and it's easy to see where they are now and think that you could never achieve what they have. But when you think that way, stop. You don't have to scratch the surface very hard to find that most of those extremely successful entrepreneurs didn't have it all together when they started. Have a look at any of their stories, they started from scratch. They had bags of bravado, they had enthusiasm, but they sure did make a lot of mistakes along the way, didn't they? And it's their mistakes that quite often led to their greatest achievements.
17:32
Now, this might sound weird, but I hope you make mistakes in your entrepreneurial journey, because that's where the deep growth comes from. When you make mistakes, your brain becomes more elastic. It opens up new pathways so you can learn and grow and improve and do it better next time. And even though it may not feel very good to make mistakes particularly when you're in that moment, what they do is bring you closer to your goals. Mistakes progress you. They move you forwards if you choose to learn from them. So, they're really an integral part of your journey.
18:10
You can't avoid mistakes. You will make them. It's inevitable. It doesn't matter that you're going to make mistakes. What matters is how you respond to them. You don't need to be perfect. Perfectionism is overrated and I call it the killer of dreams, it’s a dream killer and it just causes you unnecessary anxiety and stress. So, instead of feeling stressed or anxious about making a mistake, embrace your mistakes, love them, and look at them as an opportunity. Because that's the mindset of an entrepreneur. They look for opportunity. So, when you do make a mistake, to make it an opportunity, what you need to do is have a really good look at what happened. Think about what you were you trying to do and what went wrong, and when did it go wrong. Why did it go wrong? What could have prevented that? Was there another option and why didn't you take it? Also, what could have happened if you took a different course of action? All these insights are incredibly valuable and if you ask yourself these questions, you'll be able to learn from them and next time create something unique to you or something that's even better for you and your clients. So, part of your entrepreneurial journey is to be kind to yourself, expect mistakes and use them as an opportunity, because that's what great entrepreneurs do.
19:46
Women all around the world have thrown their hands in the air and said no, thank you to the corporate grind and have successfully made the transition from being a corporate hostage, as I like to call working in the nine to five, to living the life of an entrepreneur. It doesn't matter where you come from. It doesn't matter what your journey and life has been so far. All that matters is that you dare to dream and take action, and turn your dreams into reality. So are you ready to start your journey? Because you can break free from the nine to five grind and live a life full of freedom and fulfillment and joy and satisfaction and all those wonderful things that you crave. You can do it. You can do whatever you put your mind to If you want to escape the nine to five grind.
20:41
Download my free nine to five exit plan and map out your freedom in just three hours. I'll put the links in the show notes below. You can also jump on the waiting list for my amazing new program called Start-Up Success, which will help you build your business from scratch in just 60 days. I've got a very special, limited spot foundation round opening at the end of October this year. What that means is you can do this course, give notice and start your own online service business in 2024. Isn't that amazing? You can literally stop dreaming and start doing what lights you up. So, jump on the waiting list today for Start-Up Success and you'll be so glad you did. The link is in the show notes below. You can also jump on the waiting list at 16thavecreative.com/wl-start-up-success
21:43
I hope that if you've been dreaming of starting your own online service business, that this episode has been the inspiration and all the encouragement you need to get started. Remember, you can do it, and now, right now, is the time for the brilliant business and the beautiful life you adore. Thanks for being here, and I will see you next week for part two of our Start-Up Success series. Thanks so much for listening. I'd love to know your biggest takeaway from today's episode, so leave me a comment below or send a DM on Instagram. If you enjoyed this episode, hit the subscribe button wherever you listen to the Brilliant Business, Beautiful Life podcast, and feel free to share it with someone else who'll love it too. I look forward to seeing you for the next episode and remember the time is now for your brilliant business and the beautiful life you adore.
