In early June, I had a difficult conversation with my manager. I knew for some time that I wanted to work on my own business, but somehow, for months, I struggled to find the "perfect" time and the "perfect" words. As my organization was going through changes, our team was able to remain in good standing and was unscathed by the highly publicized layoff. I felt very blessed and grateful and worried leaving during this time would reflect negatively on my character.
I wanted to be strategic and mindful of my reputation. I also knew I had a great idea waiting to be executed and every day I sat in my office was one less day I spent working on my dream.
When my boss initiated a conversation with me about my goals and how he could support my growth, I felt the timing was right to express what I'd been holding in. I asked for a night to think over what he was suggesting. That evening, I really assessed what I wanted and imagined what the outcome would be like in either scenario. It was a painstaking process. I was nervous and scared--I did not feel fully prepared, but I knew that I had my answer long before he sat with me.
I resigned early that June, completed my work on July 2 and on July 6 went full speed ahead with my own business. When the coworking community I am apart of asked me to be the entrepreneurship expert for their September breakfast, I was initially hesitant. It was the end of August when I was approached and I was not sure I felt experienced or knowledgeable enough yet.
After some reflecting, I realized that in finally executing, I was earning my expertise. In doing, even after just a few months, I had a lot of feedback that could help an audience in their pre-launch, early launch stage. I stopped running from the term expert and started to embrace that I had a lot to share from my early months and decided to go forward with the breakfast.
I hope you can join this compelling conversation with the excellent Ramon Ray hosting. The details are available below.
