Do you spend your working days daydreaming about quitting your 9 to 5 and setting up your own business? But then you think about the end of your monthly pay check, all the potential risks, and your mortgage waiting to be paid and suddenly you’ve talked yourself out of it? You’re not alone.
Here, Katrina Larkin, the mastermind behind the Big Chill Festival and Fora, the premium co-working space, shares her tips to encourage you to take the leap. Listen up, budding female entrepreneurs…
Stay inspired: Break out of the traditional office and find a workspace that inspires you, allows for headspace and feeds your social being – you never know who you will get talking to and what you’ll learn – it’s about building up that connectivity.
Step-by-step: Don’t think of it as a jump into the deep end, it’s a lot of small steps that come together to become a much larger opportunity, embrace the ride and take your time.
Lean into your network: It is important to support your network where you can as it will always return 10x fold. When the time is right, you will be able to all in your favours when you really need them. There are always people around who can help you.
Take care: Wellness of both body and mind are hugely important when tackling big hurdles. Burn out is not an option, so protect some time every day to have some time for yourself.
Embrace healthy competition: There is always a bit of competition in business, but that really isn’t a bad thing. Let it drive you but make sure that you keep focused on your own plans and don’t let the unhelpful competition get you down.
Remember that it is learning, not failing: It is so important to remember that no experience no matter how negative is ever failure as there is always a learning to be taken away. Recognise the strength it took to have the experience and keep going.
Strength in risk: It takes a lot of bravery to begin something new. Recognise that in yourself, protect that knowledge and harness it to keep you driven even when times get tough.
Let go: Being able to rip up the rule book is exactly the kind of culture that lets many startups challenge big established players. So do it, it will pay off in the long run.
Keep your eyes open: Look for opportunities in every moment, there is so much out there in the world that you can learn from so harness that and begin to curate cultural elements within your work.
Enjoy it: Celebrate the wins and whenever times get tough, remember back to those wins. It will keep you driving forward.