5 Things To Do Before Starting a Business | #201

Thinking about quitting your 9-5 and launching a business? Before you hand in your resignation letter, this episode of the Second Act Success Career Podcast is your essential pre-launch checklist. Host Shannon Russell, a career transition coach and former television producer, walks you through the 5 things every woman should do before starting a business.

In this powerful episode, you’ll learn how to:
 ✅ Get clear on your why and purpose
✅ Validate your business idea and target audience
✅ Prepare your personal finances and plan startup costs
✅ Identify your transferable skills and stand out in your niche
✅ Create a smart, strategic exit plan from your corporate job

If you're a woman ready to transition from employee to entrepreneur, this is the roadmap you need to start strong, save time and money, and build a business that truly lights you up.

🎧 Tune in now for the step-by-step clarity you need to confidently move from your job to your dream business!

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Transcript

Second Act Success Career Podcast

Season 1 - 5 Things To Do Before Starting a Business | #201

Episode - #201

Host: Shannon Russell

Transcription (*created by Descript and may not be perfectly accurate) 

[00:00:00] Hey there. Welcome back. I am Shannon Russell, and this is the Second Act Success podcast.

If you have been dreaming about quitting your nine to five and starting a business, you're not alone. More women than ever are leaving their traditional careers to pursue that freedom and flexibility of really launching into something that they can control right now with the way the world is, the way the workforce is, it's all about creating your own stability it's creating something that is truly yours that you can control and that you are in charge of.

 If you are ready to transition from employee to entrepreneur, don't start your business until you do these five things.

Are you ready to quit your nine to five job and start a business of your own? Well, you're in the right place, my friend. Welcome to the second Act Success Career podcast. I am your host Shannon Russell. I am a former television producer, turned business owner, [00:01:00] career transition coach, and boy mom. My mission is to help you produce your best life.

This podcast will teach you how to get from where you are now to where you want to be, and how to build a business that fits your life and lights you up. Let's get started.

If you are ready to transition from employee to entrepreneur, don't start your business until you do these five things.

Consider this episode your pre-business launch checklist. 

This is especially designed for women who are serious about setting themselves up for success and taking control of the future.

Okay, let's dive in. My number one tip is to get clear on your why. I talk about this a lot on the podcast, but the why is so important in driving you from where you are now to where you want to be.

So before you even choose a business name or create that logo, I want you to understand why you are building this business in the first place. Ask yourself, [00:02:00] are you looking for that time freedom? Are you looking for financial independence? A chance to grow more and earn more for you and your family?

Or are you looking for a way to really turn what lights you up your passions into a profit? Your why will become your north star, your arrow, if you will, during these highs and lows. It will keep you on track. During your entrepreneurial journey for me, when I left my television career, my why were my boys, my two kids, today, all these years later, it's still my why.

My why for why I am building my business, why I wrote my book, why I have this podcast, why I am speaking on stages. It's because I want to not only get my message out there, I want my kids to see that I can be present for them at home, that I can go to their school events and be there for them, but I'm also running a business, helping others, and that they [00:03:00] can also see that I'm doing multiple things.

 They can see that, wow, you can really create a business. Create a career around doing multiple things that make you happy and that use your talents and your gifts. So think about your why. Why do you want to start this business? Why do you want to begin the second act and write it down?

Revisit it often because that's going to be the one thing that's going to keep you going when things get tough. It will be the fuel to keep you going and guide you towards your purpose when the path gets bumpy. Because as a business owner, it's bumpy out there.

It can be bumpy, you can see it perfectly on paper. But once you start building that business and scaling and talking to people and growing and developing your services or your products, things will evolve and change. But if you go back on those bad days, when you go back to that why and you say, Nope.

This is it. This is why I'm choosing to go in this [00:04:00] direction. It really will guide you in the right direction and keep you on that path that you know is meant for you. most importantly, ask yourself, if I wasn't getting paid, would I still be excited to do this work?

That answer will really tell you a lot.

Okay. Number two, don't start a business until you validate your business idea. Too many women waste time and money building something that no one actually wants. Don't make that mistake, my friend. Think about the idea that you have and think about if there's a hole in the market, if there's a need for the audience that you want to serve about it and do your market research.

But the key is to be really honest with yourself because you might think it's a fantastic idea that you have an amazing product or service. But be honest, will people be willing to pay you for your help, for your services, for your products? [00:05:00] And the best way to do that is to really do your market research.

It sounds scarier and more complex than it is, but really you want to talk to potential customers, join Facebook groups or LinkedIn groups, forums, any kind of chat that you can get to a wider audience and find out what people are looking for.

Ask those questions. Ask friends. Ask people that you know that you trust and say, Hey, if I were to start this, or if someone were to create this business, do you think there's a need for it? Would you buy that product or service? Also, look at businesses that are similar, that are already established.

Look at other businesses that are in your community, in your area, or just in the online space. If you Google, you can find businesses that are most likely in your arena, and what you wanna do is look at what they're offering, what their price points are,

who their target audience [00:06:00] is and how they're serving them. You can also look at their reviews on Google reviews, Yelp, Facebook, see what people are saying, see what they're commenting. Plus if you know someone who is running a similar business, reach out to them. I love using LinkedIn to my advantage, and what you can do is really search.

Your connections on LinkedIn and even search people that you know who know someone who might own that business or have started a similar company, and ask for an introduction. Try to chat with someone and ask them to be real and honest with you about what the day to day is like to run that business.

And of course, you wanna look at your competitors as you're looking at these other businesses. How can you differentiate yourself? What makes your product or service different, better, more unique than that person? If you are starting a second act, you are coming to this business, to entrepreneurship with years of experience, talent, [00:07:00] and skills.

So look at that. Think about your career story. Think about how you are getting from where you are now to spearheading this company and let that define your story. What are you going to be doing that is going to set you apart? How are you going to use your past experience and your story to portray to your audience, to your customers that you are the best person to run this business?

It can all come back to your story and why you are choosing to venture into this business idea

Ultimately, you want to make sure that your idea solves that real problem for a specific group of people, and that's the foundation of any successful business. So make sure you validate your idea before you move forward.

Number three, do not start a business without checking on your finances first. You don't need to be rich to start a business, but you do need to be realistic. [00:08:00] And I'm a dreamer. I am a glass half full person, but when it comes to finances and starting a business, I always talk with my clients about money.

If you were work, especially, especially if you are currently working, if you are earning a paycheck now, now is the time to study your finances. Figure out how you're going to make this leap into entrepreneurship. Do you have money saved?

Maybe you have to work another six months or so to save money before you launch this business full time. So be honest. Look at your finances, figure out how much you will need to create this business, and then figure out what you need to do to get that money situated. So take that honest look at your current financial situation.

How many months of savings do you have? What are your basic living expenses, and how much will it cost you to get this business off the ground?

If you are planning an online shop or a service-based business, [00:09:00] your overhead is going to be lower. Your startup costs will be lower than if you're opening a storefront or creating a brick and mortar business.

So create a budget for your startup costs and knowing your numbers now will give you that confidence to take the leap and move forward. It really will reduce your stress along the way.

Number four, don't start a business until you identify your skills and talents. what are your transferable skills now? Again, you are starting a second act. You're starting over in your career. You are launching a business based on your experience, your talent, and your skills.

You have more experience than you think you do. So even if you've never owned a business before, you have had a nine to five career with valuable skills, project management, experience, communication, leadership, whatever it is that you've done, you can use those in building your business

these skills and experiences also give you that [00:10:00] credibility when you start marketing the business. So it's what I was discussing about your career story and how you can take your past to create that story around you. As a business owner,

it's really easy. You wanna be honest with yourself about what you can do. Take out a piece of paper, write down your skills, know what it is that you have to offer, and how these skills actually will help you when it comes to launching this business of yours. And what's great is that when you're looking at your skills, you can actually be honest with yourself about what you are missing or what maybe you need to get a little training on or.

Maybe what you want to hire for, because we can do a lot of things, but we're not going to be able to do every aspect of the business, or we might not want to. So think about what it is that you can do, what you want to do, and what you'll need to hire for.

All right, number five, do not start a business until you create that strategic exit plan. [00:11:00] If you are working, you don't want to hand in your resignation tomorrow as much as you might want to. A smart exit strategy means that you can exit your role as an employee and begin life as an entrepreneur in a successful, confident and smooth way.

This means you want to be respectful about your current team, your manager, and the time that you've given to your current role. So you want to set that date of when you want to give your notice

you want to leave respectfully, you wanna make sure that you're covering all your bases, that you're not leaving your current team members or your boss in a lurch. You wanna tie everything up with a bow to make sure that you feel good about leaving. You also wanna make sure that you. Thank them for their time and for everything that you've learned and how you've grown in that role.

Because these people that you're leaving, your current colleagues, they are going to be people that could be potential customers or clients down the road. They could also [00:12:00] be people that can be promoting your new business and sharing it with their friends. So leave on a good note. An exit strategy also means reducing expenses and figuring out financially, like we just spoke about earlier, how you're going to set up the next few months as you build this business out.

do you have enough to cover your monthly expenses? How much do you need to save before you exit your role? Think about this bridge to get you from where you are now to being that business owner and really what that income looks like. I have to be honest with you, and a lot of business owners don't make or even come close to replacing their current salary for at least a year or two plus when they're starting a business, depending on the kind of business that you're building.

So I would really think about if you will need to do some freelance projects, some consulting work, maybe find a part-time job that can bring some extra income in. [00:13:00] As you are building and ramping up the start of this business of yours,

Another idea, while you're thinking about your exit strategy plan, is to maybe potentially work a little longer while you build your business on the side. Before you go full-time into it, there is nothing wrong with that. And I tell my clients quite often that there is really, truly so much you can do while you're still working.

It is really about being dedicated, time blocking your days, and figuring out those little pockets where you can actually start working on the business while you're working your main job.

So if this is something you're interested in, really think about how you can work building a business on the side while you're working. Or again, if you need to take that part-time job or figure out some freelance opportunities, how can you do that while also building the business? It's really just finding that delicate balance as you exit your current role into being that business owner

As we wrap up, leaving your nine to five [00:14:00] to start a business is a big decision, but planning ahead of time makes it far less scary, far less risky, and a lot more rewarding because you're setting yourself up for success ahead of the time. So right out of the gate, you are going with a plan and a purpose.

Okay. My final thought as we wrap things up is that I want you to build your business with intention.

Know why you're doing it. Go back to your why and follow these five steps that we just talked about. These five steps will help you transition with clarity, with confidence, and with that foundation for success. So you know why you're doing this, you know which direction you're heading into, and you can get there successfully and soon.

if you want more support, I created a career to business roadmap. It's journal pages, it's prompts, it's a workbook to help you move from your career to a business, and it's just for you.

It's a free resource, and [00:15:00] it's your guide to mapping out your business. Before you leave your job. Head over to second act success.co/resources, and I'll link to it below as well.

I also have a free masterclass that's called Three Secrets to Escape Your Desk Job and Set up your Dream Business \ Is over at Second Act success.co/resources as well.

Alright, my friend. Thank you for listening and I hope this episode left you with a little bit more direction as you head from employee to Boss.

For now, keep producing your best life. I'll see you soon.

Thank you for joining us. I hope you found some gems of inspiration and some takeaways to help you on your path to second act, success. To view show notes from this episode, visit second act success.co. Before you go, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a single episode. Reviews only take a few moments and they really do mean so much.

Thank you again for listening. I'm [00:16:00] Shannon Russell. And this is second act success.