This is a Guest Post by Tom Ewer of Leavingworkbehind.com.

Hello, I’m Tom, and I will be quitting my job and becoming self-employed. I will enjoy the freedom that such a life offers. I will do as I please, and work as little or as much as I want (within reason). Or at least, that is the plan.

But how can I be sure that this plan will come to fruition, and how do I combat the fear that comes with taking that final leap of quitting your day job and relying solely on your burgeoning online business?

There is a very simple answer to that question: I can’t. I cannot be sure that everything will go to plan. Actually, I’ll rephrase that – I can be sure that everything will not go to plan. Am I scared of what will happen when I quit my job? Only as much as it should be.

Acknowledging the inevitability of your best laid plans wandering off the straight and narrow, and most importantly, accounting for that inevitability, does not have to be a terrifying process.

So how do you fight the fear?


Planning

I’ve already mentioned that your plans will likely change as you progress. But we are here to talk about how you can combat the fear of your plan not just transforming, but falling to pieces.

First of all, I will assume that you have a clearly defined business plan, which projects turnover, profit, and so on. If you do not, and are considering leaving your job to become self-employed, then you should be terrified. But I know that you are a savvy bunch, so let’s assume that you all have your business plan in hand.

There is one clear and sensible way to fight the fear when it comes to your business plan – allow for conservative outcomes. Most of us have a tendency to view our own businesses through rose-tinted glasses – that is never a good thing. You must teach yourself to be utterly realistic. At every junction, you should be asking yourself hard questions – “Is this really a good idea? Will this really make as much money as I have projected?”

How you build a healthy level of conservatism into your business plan is dependent upon your business. But let’s consider two key areas to get you on the right track, with a small selection of questions that you might ask yourself.

Turnover

• Will I really convert x amount of customers?
• How am I calculating that?
• Is the calculation reasonable?
• Does it account for a dip in the market?
• Does it account for seasonality?

Margins

• Is my service/product charge competitive?
• Is my cost of providing my service/product realistic?
• Can my cost of providing my service/product vary over time?
• Is the value of my service/product sustainable?

Break your plan down to its finest details, and always err on the side of conservatism. Once you have your plan fully analyzed in such a way, I would personally recommend that you add an extra percentage to your projections to allow for contingencies. What should that percentage be? It depends, but it should correlate directly with the predictability of your business model.

With the above recommendations in place, you should be able to look at your business plan with a great deal of confidence. If you cannot, then you need to go back and reevaluate your projections.

Psychology


Make no mistake about it – unless you have a highly-developed (and potentially dangerous) confidence in your own ability, you will be scared of quitting your job and relying solely upon your online business, regardless of how watertight your business plan is. Even if your online business’ income exceeds that of your day job’s, you may still have some very sensible concerns floating around in your head. What if my income drops? What if the market for my service/product dies? The number of questions can be overwhelming.

If you don’t have such concerns, then that in itself should be a concern. It is entirely healthy to have rational and logical reservations about taking such a huge step. It is your ability to analyze and resolve your concerns appropriately that will serve you well.

For instance, let’s say that you were concerned about falling ill and being unable to run your business. There is a way to resolve that fear, by planning to purchase the appropriate level of insurance. And that simply adds a layer of cost that needs to be built into your business plan. There are almost always solutions to rational fears – you just have to ensure that the cost of the solution is manageable.

Time


Let’s face it – quitting your job to become self-employed could be one of the biggest decisions you make in your life. And it should be approached as such. Whilst there are often times when you should seize the moment, if you are able to keep your day job whilst growing your online business at a steady pace, then take advantage of that ability. Develop your business, observe your capacity to execute on your projections in the short to medium term, and nurture confidence that is built on a solid foundation of experience.

The longer you run your business, the smaller that voice of doubt in your head will be. There is nothing quite like time and experience to foster confidence.

What If You Fail?


What would happen if you fail? Would the world end? Or would you actually be able to find a job and still get by? The fear of the unknown can be deconstructed by taking the time to predict what you would have to do if the worst were to happen. And often it is far less frightening than it originally seemed.

If failure would result in something highly undesirable or potentially damaging, you should think long and hard about proceeding. There will always be an element of risk in taking such a huge step, but if the risk is too large, perhaps the step shouldn’t be taken.

What do you do if the risk is too large? At the danger of stating the obvious, you reduce the risk. Develop your business plan, build in healthy margins and keep your projections conservative. Build up a cash stockpile (if possible) for you to fall back on in the short term. Give yourself a comfortable buffer with which you can subsist on for a period of say 3 to 6 months. With this, you will have time to develop your business, or worst case, seek a new job.

Temper A Positive Mental Attitude With Realism


The key is to maintain a positive mental attitude, whilst always being mindful of the stumbling blocks that await you. If you consider yourself prepared as I have laid it out in this article, you should be ready to go. It will be frightening – most things worth doing in life are. Experiencing fear means that you are alive.

Acknowledge fear – embrace it – then make your move.