Season 5/Episode 14: Are You Ready to Leap into Entrepreneurship? PART 2

[00:00:00] Nancy and I could not stop chatting about our transitions into entrepreneurship.

[00:00:06] I hope you found nuggets of insight in part one.

[00:00:09] Now let's dive into part two of this episode where we continue to share

[00:00:14] knowledge for you to ask yourself if you are ready to leap into entrepreneurship.

[00:00:24] Welcome to The Messy Mind podcast, a show to support you in seeing that

[00:00:28] messiness can lead to your light bulb moments.

[00:00:32] I'm your host, Tammy L. Davis.

[00:00:38] Yes, that's such a great point.

[00:00:41] I know that our consulting businesses aid a certified.

[00:00:45] So United States Small Business Association and we have this certification

[00:00:49] and the certification, I would say, I like to say that it's a golden ticket for access

[00:00:55] because we want one of our target audience is the federal government.

[00:01:00] We thought the certification would be good in every year we need to do annual reviews.

[00:01:06] So I meet with my small business advisor and she and I, we go through.

[00:01:11] OK, what's next for you this year?

[00:01:14] And I can say that historically, I kind of put something together

[00:01:20] that just asked it like, you know, yeah, OK, just I'm not talking

[00:01:24] about like a 15,000 page business plan, but just like a one or two page.

[00:01:30] And last year was the first year.

[00:01:33] So I started next level in 2006.

[00:01:36] Last year was the first year that I was very thoughtful

[00:01:41] in creating the business plan.

[00:01:44] And my mindset was what is it that I want to achieve for 2024 and beyond?

[00:01:51] You have this certification for so many years.

[00:01:54] What is it that I want to achieve for these next four years of having this certification?

[00:01:59] And the SWAT is in there was just when you said the acronym, I'm like, yes.

[00:02:04] And it was just a one pager.

[00:02:06] So I don't know it's got to be so overwhelming.

[00:02:09] You got to know it's it's just a one one to two page

[00:02:13] that really has you take the time to assess what are your strengths?

[00:02:18] What are your weaknesses?

[00:02:19] What opportunities do you get to see or what opportunities

[00:02:23] are out there that can utilize your services?

[00:02:27] And what are the things that you really get to be mindful of

[00:02:30] because they are going to come up as a threat if you don't move towards your end goal?

[00:02:36] And I think that what's really great about putting it spelling it out

[00:02:41] that way with some sort of objectivity is it helps to like kind of we sort

[00:02:47] of level up a little bit from just if our initial efforts are successful or not.

[00:02:54] And whether we take that personally or not.

[00:02:57] I think if you're running a business, you know, either entrepreneurial or entrepreneurial,

[00:03:03] you have to have a little bit of a cold blooded, if I will.

[00:03:08] Well, this this line of my business is working and that line is it.

[00:03:14] I don't know about you, but I think a lot of times people when we think about

[00:03:19] succeeding, you know, people have a lot of confidence in themselves and you should.

[00:03:24] You need to, especially if you're going to be meeting with potential clients and all that.

[00:03:29] But at the end of the day, if what you're selling nobody's buying,

[00:03:34] it doesn't matter how much confidence I would have in myself.

[00:03:38] Right. I've got to have confidence in my skills, my experience.

[00:03:42] And that helps in the down times where it's like, OK, early in my career,

[00:03:49] in my consulting career and early stumbling black or sticking point after my first

[00:03:55] like glorious year where I loved every minute I was assigned to a client

[00:03:59] in downtown Chicago and it was just fabulous. Yes.

[00:04:04] Yeah. Well, then the economic downturn of 2008, 2009 came along

[00:04:11] to right on my parade.

[00:04:12] But I stuck it out.

[00:04:14] I downsized my living situation because I said I love being on the road.

[00:04:21] Yes, I realize that I love this lifestyle that and it isn't about working less.

[00:04:29] It's just about getting to do more of what I really love doing.

[00:04:34] It's funny that you say that because I wrote down as you were talking,

[00:04:39] you had the resilience to pivot because what you were just saying before,

[00:04:44] if you're going out and you're working on something or thinking that you have

[00:04:48] this skill set that people want and then all of a sudden that they don't.

[00:04:52] Do you have the wherewithal?

[00:04:53] Do you have the resilience to pivot?

[00:04:55] So for you to take that mindset or really say, you know what,

[00:05:00] I know this is happening over here, but this is what I know I can do

[00:05:04] in order to continue with the life or the desires that I have.

[00:05:09] And I think that is so key, especially with level setting expectations.

[00:05:14] As you're jumping into this world of entrepreneurship or solar

[00:05:18] partnership, how are you going to handle the downfalls?

[00:05:23] How are you going to be able to pivot that that really transcends

[00:05:28] having your financial house in order?

[00:05:30] And I want to come back to that.

[00:05:32] The decision, the really the prep that you did before you made the decision.

[00:05:35] But how do you really set realistic goals?

[00:05:40] And I use that word realistic, cheeky.

[00:05:44] But how do you set goals and level set your expectations as you're

[00:05:48] jumping into this new world?

[00:05:50] Because I think when people sit back and as an employee and say, OK,

[00:05:55] I want to be an entrepreneur, they might have these ideas that my first

[00:06:00] year I want to make ten million dollars.

[00:06:02] Wait a minute. No, let's really think.

[00:06:04] I'm optimistic.

[00:06:06] And I think it's everything and anything is possible.

[00:06:08] And at the same time, how do you again level set those expectations

[00:06:14] and shore up yourself to pivot if it doesn't go with what you initially think?

[00:06:20] Precisely. You've got to have some what I call guideposts in place,

[00:06:26] you know, where it's like because otherwise it's just like a big amorphous

[00:06:32] wide open out there, like am I on track?

[00:06:35] Am I not on track? Yes.

[00:06:37] You're not even though at CRCedar we had, you know, an infrastructure

[00:06:43] of supervision, if you were billing, people were happy and that

[00:06:48] that they weren't going to necessarily make decisions for you about

[00:06:53] you should get trained in this now or you should be assigned to that.

[00:06:56] You've been in higher ed client for two years.

[00:06:59] I need to get you more commercial exposure or vice versa.

[00:07:03] So for me and it certainly helped that I was already by that point,

[00:07:09] I was like 40, right?

[00:07:11] So I really had a feel for that I had worked private sector,

[00:07:16] work public sector government.

[00:07:18] I understood that you need to have some, like I say guideposts along the way.

[00:07:24] So some of it was financial, you know, am I earning if I want to make

[00:07:28] let's just keep the math simple, $100,000 at the end of this year.

[00:07:32] Well, it's the end of March.

[00:07:34] Have I billed $25,000 yet?

[00:07:37] Yes. Great. No.

[00:07:39] All right. What do I need to do to get busy?

[00:07:41] So there's that piece.

[00:07:43] There's the personal development, you know, skill development piece.

[00:07:47] You mentioned mentorship and I think that's huge.

[00:07:50] You know, do I have somebody who will honestly tell me

[00:07:55] what I need to work on and and then return?

[00:07:59] You know, do I have relationships with people who count on me

[00:08:03] for that that openness, that give and take?

[00:08:07] So and you know, like, are you happy?

[00:08:11] One of the things that I realized about a year into consulting,

[00:08:17] like an important measure that I never expected was sleepless nights.

[00:08:24] I didn't have any anymore.

[00:08:26] Right? I I did not have those sleepless nights of worry

[00:08:32] and of like frustration in some cases, because one of the things that you can do

[00:08:39] if you're not a full-time employee of that organization is you can say,

[00:08:43] well, here based on my recommendation, you know, my experience,

[00:08:47] my knowledge, here's my recommendation.

[00:08:49] If they don't like it, it's like, OK,

[00:08:51] well, we'll just continue on with your plan

[00:08:55] because I don't have to live there anymore.

[00:08:58] I'm not making a decision that's casting my future for the next 10 years.

[00:09:05] Yes, I think we're going to revolutionize

[00:09:08] the word of entrepreneurship and solopreneurship with those sleepless nights

[00:09:12] because you do have them. They're just different.

[00:09:15] They're just they're just different.

[00:09:17] Well, right. I mean, you want to say, like, is my business succeeding?

[00:09:21] You know, do I have worries?

[00:09:23] Are there storm clouds?

[00:09:25] But it wasn't like what if this doesn't happen?

[00:09:29] I just felt more in control.

[00:09:32] Yes. Yeah.

[00:09:34] That's probably the easiest way to say it.

[00:09:36] You know, more in control of my destiny, for sure.

[00:09:38] And that means a lot because, you know, you're at the point now

[00:09:41] where whatever I put in literally is what I'm going to get out

[00:09:46] based on, let's say, my business plan or my goals or the really,

[00:09:50] I'm going to say the milestones that I set for myself.

[00:09:53] So I can take a step back and say, you know what?

[00:09:56] I want to achieve all these things that I've written down or that I'm operating in.

[00:10:01] But there's only as good as I'm going to do it.

[00:10:04] And that is a big difference and the freedom of it all.

[00:10:08] And don't you think, Tammy, that that's there's something infectious about that

[00:10:13] because it's energizing for you.

[00:10:16] You're freed up from walking in there and being like the kinds of day to day

[00:10:23] things that work, that can be as petty as the coffee fund.

[00:10:29] And and as huge as like I'm being told, I have a new boss

[00:10:34] and I don't know I've worked with that person before.

[00:10:37] I'm not sure they like me. Do I like that?

[00:10:39] I really leaned into to use that expression.

[00:10:42] But I leaned into the temporariness of the assignments.

[00:10:48] Instead of saying like, oh, it's less secure and therefore it's scary.

[00:10:52] It's like, yeah, but if there are pieces of it

[00:10:56] that just aren't working for you, just relax.

[00:10:59] It's it's just temporary and just give them your best

[00:11:05] and don't take it personally.

[00:11:07] If they don't like your ideas, there can be all kinds of reasons.

[00:11:10] But then OK, let's take your idea, Mr.

[00:11:13] or Ms. Client and let's work it as best as we can work it.

[00:11:17] I want to do that for you.

[00:11:19] There is an energy that you can bring to it that just I think

[00:11:24] it's the rare person who can bring that energy every day

[00:11:28] to the same desk for 15 or 20 years or something.

[00:11:33] Listen, I would want that that person.

[00:11:35] I would want that person on my team.

[00:11:37] Come on, come on and become a consultant.

[00:11:39] I would appreciate that because you're right, it is it is a rare person.

[00:11:43] And I would say that it is refreshing in the sense of I keep on wanting

[00:11:48] to use the word freedom, but it's nothing or and it goes from I have to

[00:11:55] to now I get to, you know, my son, he was home for Christmas break

[00:12:01] for over a month.

[00:12:02] And it was a Monday.

[00:12:05] I said, you know what?

[00:12:06] Today is a wellness day.

[00:12:07] And somebody said, well, what's the wellness day?

[00:12:09] And I'm like, it's a day where I'm going to treat myself, my son and my husband.

[00:12:13] Our daughter was out.

[00:12:15] She was at a basketball tournament in Arizona.

[00:12:17] We're going to treat ourselves well.

[00:12:19] So to be able to spend and we not only did it on a Monday,

[00:12:22] but we also had our wellness day on Friday.

[00:12:24] And my son understand, well, what is the wellness

[00:12:28] day? Oh, this is what it means.

[00:12:29] And understanding that because of the framework that we've set up

[00:12:34] in this entrepreneur household, this is what we were able to do,

[00:12:39] which causes me to sleep very well.

[00:12:42] And then that's not to say we have not had those, you know,

[00:12:45] wary nights because I think as a small business owner

[00:12:49] that comes with many different aspects that I think people don't talk about.

[00:12:54] But I want to ask you something.

[00:12:56] How did you going back to the financial aspect of it?

[00:13:01] Are you going sitting down with your financial planner?

[00:13:03] How did you manage that?

[00:13:05] Was it just that conversation?

[00:13:07] And then he mapped out a plan for you or was it like iterations of that

[00:13:12] to get you to meet your goal?

[00:13:15] For the most part, because I was going with an established company

[00:13:21] and knew that at least short term, you know, I would they would find me the work.

[00:13:26] And it was my responsibility to just show up and do a good job.

[00:13:31] I for me, it was building my emergency fund was the biggest thing.

[00:13:38] So I didn't really have to front money to the business

[00:13:42] that a person might have to do if they're thinking of opening

[00:13:46] a store in real life or online.

[00:13:49] It was but it was like I needed enough cushion and it was a big cushion for me, Tammy.

[00:13:57] Because I didn't want to give up early.

[00:14:01] You know, I didn't want to give up when the first snowball got thrown.

[00:14:05] Yes. And so I because what you know, it's an interesting analogy

[00:14:10] because snowballs melt away, right?

[00:14:12] Like there are going to be some minor setbacks.

[00:14:17] And so I know like if you look in traditional financial planning,

[00:14:21] they want you to have about three months worth of pay or three to six months.

[00:14:27] And I made mine like six months to I built it out to 12 months.

[00:14:34] And I kept my spending at the level it was when I was a state employee.

[00:14:41] There you go.

[00:14:42] That yeah. That'll do it.

[00:14:45] That was one of the things that I could see as I got glimpses

[00:14:51] into other consultants and how they were living.

[00:14:54] I mean, some people had nice cars

[00:15:01] because the thing is you're getting it's almost like my husband used to play

[00:15:04] professional football and the stories that he tells me about the guys

[00:15:08] getting these large checks and what they were going out spending and splurging.

[00:15:13] And I'm like, are you kidding me?

[00:15:14] Like what I don't same with the consultant, same in consulting.

[00:15:19] Yes. And one of the big like I talked about those guide posts, you know,

[00:15:24] now I think it's a little less relevant because people have been traveling

[00:15:28] a lot less for work since COVID.

[00:15:31] But I had co-workers who were like paying their bills off of their per diem

[00:15:39] if there was like excess in the per diem, depending on how the client

[00:15:43] had it set up, you know, you might have like a little bit of a slush fund

[00:15:47] from I brought my lunch to work, but I still get my per diem for lunch

[00:15:51] kind of thing, right? Or I'll eat at a less expensive place.

[00:15:55] But I just would like bank that money.

[00:15:58] I would say that's gravy.

[00:16:00] And I'm not saying I didn't spend it.

[00:16:03] I mean, there were times like I'm going to take a nice trip

[00:16:06] and I'm going to use that money that I accumulated, not, you know,

[00:16:11] I'm paying for that lunch at work and also my electric bill

[00:16:16] with that per diem because at any minute that

[00:16:21] even if that project evaporated for, you know, two or three weeks,

[00:16:25] they sent you home because, you know, they're running some testing

[00:16:29] and they're not going to need you.

[00:16:30] OK, well, how does next month's electric bill get paid

[00:16:33] if you were paying it for your travel money?

[00:16:38] So that might be a whole another episode.

[00:16:43] Like just to finance this and guiding people to understand

[00:16:46] that when you're getting these large sums of money

[00:16:49] or when you're getting your per diems, what are the dues

[00:16:52] and the don'ts of that to say the least?

[00:16:55] Just because we've seen some because my husband,

[00:16:57] he was actually in telecom as well before he started

[00:17:01] his own construction business.

[00:17:03] And again, the stories and that it's just fascinating to me.

[00:17:07] Well, I was just going to say, and it's it's kind of a shame

[00:17:10] when it does happen, because I don't think people intentionally go into

[00:17:14] the using the wrong pots of money or whatever.

[00:17:17] And and hey, when you when you're really an entrepreneur on your own,

[00:17:21] I think it's even more important to know what those pots of money are.

[00:17:26] What am I paying myself right now for business development?

[00:17:29] Or am I paying myself a higher rate for delivering my product,

[00:17:33] which has a higher market rate?

[00:17:35] I don't think anybody goes into it thinking,

[00:17:38] I'm just going to spend like crazy and see what happens.

[00:17:41] It just ends up like you're borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.

[00:17:46] And maybe not making the small sacrifices when when it's best.

[00:17:51] And there are a lot of lessons learned, buried in there.

[00:17:55] It really is or even taking the time to know where you are.

[00:17:58] And again, it goes back to what we were saying about

[00:18:01] setting your goals and those milestones.

[00:18:03] What is it that I want to make this month?

[00:18:05] I mean, because I know for me, I have financial Fridays.

[00:18:09] Every Friday I'm looking at, OK, what has gone out?

[00:18:13] Well, first of all, did I pay myself?

[00:18:15] What has gone out?

[00:18:16] What's going to be coming in?

[00:18:18] And what is it that I need?

[00:18:19] What is it that we need to get?

[00:18:21] What classes do I want to attend?

[00:18:23] What new software?

[00:18:24] Because there's some like a squirrel with a laser like when it comes to like new

[00:18:27] tools as far as business really automation.

[00:18:30] That's like my jam.

[00:18:32] But it's looking at the numbers every single week to make sure that you're

[00:18:38] hitting your goal, your milestone and that you have something coming in

[00:18:42] and understanding what's going out.

[00:18:45] But yet the whole financial discussion, you've given me a great idea

[00:18:49] because I think there is a need.

[00:18:50] I mean, even our son, he took made him take personal finances in high school

[00:18:57] because yes, he understands the premise because again, entrepreneurship

[00:19:01] household, he understands there's ebbs and flows in it.

[00:19:04] So what does it mean?

[00:19:06] He's seen that.

[00:19:07] But to have him but have personal finances taught to him in a structured way

[00:19:14] was life changing in all honesty for all of us because it was the discussions

[00:19:20] that we had that I didn't have those discussions growing up with my parents.

[00:19:24] It's a really big piece finances.

[00:19:26] You give me another idea for another episode more to come on that.

[00:19:31] Awesome.

[00:19:32] As I say, I do think it goes back to that notion of like you incorporated,

[00:19:36] right for for folks who really don't think they don't enjoy what's involved

[00:19:43] in finances or think they're no good at math or what have your taxes.

[00:19:47] Oh, my God.

[00:19:48] You know, if you keep taking it back to that like, but hey, I'm running

[00:19:53] this outfit and I want it to be successful.

[00:19:56] You just get a little different level of personal investment in those numbers.

[00:20:01] Yes.

[00:20:02] And knowing when to hire your team to support you with that.

[00:20:07] And when I say hire your team, I'm really mean you're a CPA and bookkeeper.

[00:20:13] We've been blessed to have a CPA who's also a tax attorney.

[00:20:16] It's a situation where I have Victor.

[00:20:19] He's in my phone on speed dial.

[00:20:21] He's one of my favorites because when I know we want to make a major purchase,

[00:20:24] he's the first person we call because listen, early on,

[00:20:30] we really got him up.

[00:20:32] I'm going to tell you from a tax standpoint, didn't understand.

[00:20:36] And one of my mentors, she warned me.

[00:20:37] She said, Timmy, you want to pay your taxes every quarter.

[00:20:43] Yeah.

[00:20:43] And really, we've gone to the point where we pay monthly because listen,

[00:20:48] it's just it's just easier that way because of the lessons learned.

[00:20:52] And that's a whole another conversation.

[00:20:55] But she says you want to pay quarterly and this is the reason why.

[00:20:58] And this is how you calculate.

[00:21:00] I was one of the ones, okay, gong ho in one ear out the other until

[00:21:05] you get that tax bill.

[00:21:07] And I'm looking at my husband, he's looking at me and we're like,

[00:21:10] okay, well, what is going on here?

[00:21:12] But it's those lessons that think the Lord we learned early on because

[00:21:18] they can be devastating.

[00:21:20] And I think that's another part of that people tend to gloss over that

[00:21:24] when you start your own again, whether it's you're managing 10 people

[00:21:28] or you're just managing yourself from a solopreneur standpoint,

[00:21:32] your finances get to be number one because you do not want to mess

[00:21:40] around with that huge tax bill.

[00:21:43] 100%.

[00:21:45] Absolutely.

[00:21:46] With that said, to wrap up our conversation, if there was one

[00:21:50] piece of advice you would give to someone who's on the fence,

[00:21:55] they're on the cups of going into entrepreneurship, going into

[00:21:59] solopreneurship, what would it be?

[00:22:03] I would say once you've done your due diligence because remember,

[00:22:07] you're going to want to need to do that as an entrepreneur all the time.

[00:22:11] Right.

[00:22:12] So you're going to do your due diligence and then just go for it.

[00:22:16] You know, there's just, there's a chance it might not work out

[00:22:19] and you'll be back in the nine to five, but you won't know until

[00:22:23] you try. It's a fabulous market out there.

[00:22:26] If you're leaving the private sector, I feel like they're pretty

[00:22:29] much always be private sector jobs.

[00:22:31] And as I mentioned, if you're leaving something that really feels

[00:22:35] hard, like I'm not trying to say to people, oh, just march out

[00:22:40] the door in the ninth year when you vest at 10 years.

[00:22:43] No, you know, do it wisely, do it with wisdom.

[00:22:46] But ask yourself, I mean, Maryland, which I think is a great state.

[00:22:51] I've lived here most of my life, but I've worked in a lot of other states.

[00:22:55] I discovered at the time for the pension plan I was in as a state employee,

[00:22:59] we were ranked 49th out of the 50 states.

[00:23:04] Really?

[00:23:04] 49th, Tammy.

[00:23:06] What?

[00:23:07] That's where like Alabama, like better, it was Virginia or whatever.

[00:23:13] I'm not trying to.

[00:23:14] That's not another wake up call.

[00:23:16] Good.

[00:23:16] Yes.

[00:23:17] And then I said, what am I really going to get for the sticking around?

[00:23:24] You know, that I couldn't necessarily make for myself in an entrepreneurial way.

[00:23:31] A friend of mine, my mentor actually consultant, she created her own

[00:23:36] defined benefit pension plan.

[00:23:40] You can do that as an individual person.

[00:23:43] Never heard of that before.

[00:23:44] I think I need to talk to you all about that.

[00:23:47] Yes.

[00:23:47] They're out there.

[00:23:49] The ability to do it is out there.

[00:23:51] So for whatever the reasons to stay, just ask yourself, whatever the most

[00:23:56] compelling reason is, can I find a way to make that for myself over here in this

[00:24:04] way as an entrepreneur that would give me so much more freedom, passion for

[00:24:10] what I want to do, flexibility, whatever it is.

[00:24:13] It's not to say it's easy.

[00:24:16] It can be hard working.

[00:24:18] Clients can fire you in a way that a boss, but a regular job kind of can't.

[00:24:23] But luckily in my career, that really hasn't been the case.

[00:24:27] It's again, trying to figure out where you, what you bring to the

[00:24:32] table and shoot your shot.

[00:24:33] You know,

[00:24:34] That's it.

[00:24:36] That's it.

[00:24:36] I love it.

[00:24:37] Nancy, thank you so much.

[00:24:39] It has been a pleasure.

[00:24:41] I loved it.

[00:24:42] I cannot wait.

[00:24:43] I mean, we need to do this again.

[00:24:44] I'm looking at the top and I'm like, there's no way.

[00:24:46] There's so many other questions I wanted to ask you.

[00:24:48] We need to do this again.

[00:24:50] I really appreciate your time.

[00:24:52] Just go for it.

[00:24:53] I would say you can always go back like my husband told me.

[00:24:58] If it doesn't work out, you can always go back.

[00:25:00] But in the words of Nancy, just go for it.

[00:25:06] Thank you for joining us this time on the messy mind podcast.

[00:25:10] Please visit our website at the messy mind pod.com.

[00:25:15] Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you'll never miss an episode.

[00:25:19] While you're at it, if you found value in this episode,

[00:25:23] we'd appreciate a rating on Apple podcast or simply tell a friend about the show.

[00:25:28] Always remember to embrace the messiness.

[00:25:31] It can lead to your light bulb moments.