Change and transition are never easy, no matter where you find yourself in life. As a fragile teenage mom, Erana Tyler didn’t have a clue about life, let alone the reality of raising a brand new baby girl. Fortunately, she was blessed with a loving and caring mother and strong, supportive family, who helped until she was able to find a job and make it on her own. By age 18, without a college degree, she landed her first job working for the federal government within the Department of Justice. After 16 years, she walked away from that career at a respectable GS-13 grade level.
“Before I became a full-time business owner, I had to make sure I was ready to fully commit to my business and make the inevitable sacrifices that came along with entrepreneurship,” Tyler says.
Today, she and husband James are impacting lives globally and have amassed a profitable and sustainable business for their family, which includes three children: Brittany, James IV and Jayson. We recently caught up with Erana Tyler to get transition tips before leaving your corporate or government place of employment to operate a full-time business or enterprise.
START SMART PLANNING BEFORE MAKING MOVES
Before you take the leap, do it for the right reasons. Don’t “jump for dollars” without first counting the full cost. Follow your purpose-filled passion and not the money. Many transition to a full-time business or opportunity based solely on emotion and not on intentional strategy. Begin to ask thought-probing questions:
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Am I ready and willing to have an open conversation with my family? For example, I didn’t make the decision to leave my federal job until I consulted with my husband.
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How much money is currently in reserves before I resign from my current employer? Whether single or married, disposable income has a major impact in your household.
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How long will this money reserve last or sustain me/my family while I “navigate the waters” of business ownership?
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What will I do for health care coverage and life insurance? How am I (or will be) covered in those critical areas?
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What is my product or service, and is it a viable solution that’s in market demand?
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Who are my potential or ideal customers or clients that want what I have to offer?
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What is my marketing plan and strategy to attract these customers, etc.?
These are just a few probing inquiries to consider as you actively execute the right transition plan to mitigate adverse impact for you/your family. Inevitably, there is always “risk” involved in entrepreneurship, but your disposition should be to forecast and manage those risks as much as is possible and practical!
Launching into the unknown can be unsettling, no matter what level of success you have achieved or will achieve. However, if you never take that leap of faith, then perhaps you’ll always wonder — what if.
