First, have an idea of what it is that you want to do. You do not need to know all the in’s and out’s, just have an idea. As you start to develop that idea — keep in mind things will slowly (sometimes quickly) start to fall into place — you can start planning your exit strategy.

What is an exit strategy? An exit strategy is you planning your way out. During this process you are:

• Researching (before making any drastic moves)
• Taking notes on what you do, how you do it, and how it affects others
• Discovering your self-worth
• Connecting with others
• Getting organized
• Letting your day job fund your dream job

Remember, starting your own business requires a lot of work. It is fun, scary, and completely different than anything else you’ve done before. That is why you have to be passionate, driven, and knowledgeable about what it is you want to do! The video clip below is from a recent Periscope broadcast where I go over all of this and more.

Why do I add the edited version of my Periscope broadcast here? So that you can see how passionate I am about delivering the content. You can feel the energy and see why social media is so important for your business. Social media allows people to engage with your business and share your message. In this edited version, I didn’t take out much. Usually I will edit more, but I wanted you to see the conversation part. Yes, it looks like I am talking to myself (comments from the live broadcast do not show up in a saved Periscope broadcasts), but really I’m engaging with my followers as they commented during the live broadcast. Discover more about Periscope here. Keep in mind when broadcasting, it doesn’t matter if 1 person shows up or 100. What matters is you being present and delivering good content.

Periscope broadcast recap: 

• Plan your Exit strategy
• Research – Google is your best friend, besides me 😉
• Make notes
• Engage
• Ask questions
• Save your money! Create multiple savings accounts so that you can divide your money into separate categories (i.e. Savings account for quarterly taxes – remember you have to pay your own taxes. Factor about 20% of what you make.) Dividing my money up and labeling it is less tempting for me to spend it.
• Watch your spending – It is easy to go on a shopping spree because you need x, y, z for the new business.
• Keep track of everything – I use Waveapps to keep track of my expenses.
• Save all your receipts – I hate paper copies so I have an Evernote notebook labeled “2016 Receipts” where I snap a photo of the receipt, it uploads to this notebook, and I shred the paper copy. This is so much easier to look for later too as Evernote has an amazing search feature.
• BSQ – think Big, act Small, move Quick
• Talk about your business to everyone!
• Join a Meetup group
• Join a Facebook group
• Join a LinkedIn group
• Look at any other meetup groups in your area by doing a Google search

Bonus:

One thing I forgot to mention in the broadcast is how to get noticed more on online:

• Build your website
• Write your blog post
• Use social media to get the word out
• Comment on other posts – If you are taking the time to read someone’s post, take a few extra minutes to comment. This will make you stand out especially when this is done on someone’s blog.
• Find 2-4 stand out influencers in your niche on social media and follow them. When I say follow them I mean really engage with them on all their platforms especially on their website. You can’t be a wallflower when you are building a business. So stand out in and get noticed.

Need some motivation?

• Thoughts That Can Motivate You to Do Anything 

For more details on how I built Ed Troxell Creative click here.