The Great Resignation is resulting in an unprecedented number of new startups. Do you have what it takes to start your own business? Take this two-minute quiz to find out if you’re ready to quit your current job and turn your idea into a full-time gig. See your readiness score and get our tips for success!

Microsoft’s survey of 30,000+ workers indicated that 41% of workers were considering quitting or changing professions this year. The Great Resignation has many dreaming of a business of their own. If you’re one of the thousands longing to turn a hobby or side job into a full-time gig, you’re not alone.

Have you thought about your fitness for being a solo entrepreneur?

Fitness usually pertains to the state or quality of being fit, e.g., physically or mentally, as in physical fitness. Here, we mean to include these and expand the definition to include your fitness to meet the challenges of starting a business; the required ambition, general business knowledge, specialized knowledge, and more. With 20% of business start-ups failing in the first year (only 25% survive ten years), a new business requires loads of accurate thinking.

Think accurately before making big changes

It’s easy to leap from a bad situation to worse, yet, it’s also tough to know when it’s the right time to jump. We’d recommend you have enough savings to survive six to eight months without income. If you already have income from your side hustle, calculate a plan and timeframe for closing the gap. Perhaps, instead, you can wean yourself from your current full-time job while you migrate into your new business, going part-time or consulting until you are more confident and secure. The point here is not to put yourself into a threatened state, making desperate moves to then only extinguish fires.

A significant number of businesses fail because they don’t understand the fundamental nature of transactions. Instead, they naively hope that a thoughtful solution plus hard work is sufficient.

What is the demographic for your product or service? Who specifically is your customer? How do you reach enough of them at a low cost? What number of people would need to say “yes” each year for you to succeed? How do they find out about you? How are your wares presented, and if someone wants to buy, how does that happen?

Whether you are already underway or thinking about starting, Transactional competence is key to thriving on your own. Influential U offers the fundamental principles to help you think accurately, comprehend transactions, understand your personality, get the support you need, and surround yourself with a global membership of ambitious professionals just like you working together to thrive.

Turning your side hustle into a full-time gig can be one of the most satisfying things you ever do.

Study with those who know, take intelligent risks and see where your start-up can go.

AUTHOR

John Patterson
Co-founder and CEO
INFLUENTIAL U
John Patterson co-founded and manages the faculty and consultants of Influential U global. Since 1987, he has led workshops, programs, and conferences for over 100k people in diverse professions, industries, and cultures. His history includes corporate curriculum design focusing on business ecosystems, influence, leadership, and high-performance training and development.