Perhaps this is something that you’ve been contemplating?

Watch this video of a TV interview with me and Jim Pellegrino and read the article below to see if you’ve got what it takes to make it as a solopreneur (company of one) or entrepreneurial (builder of new businesses):

Benefits that I’ve enjoyed living the entrepreneurial lifestyle

It’s always a trade off: one set of benefits for another. But I have to say that the benefits I’ve experienced in building and running my own business have been truly enriching and meaningful to me and my family. Here’s a short list of what I appreciate about being an entrepreneur:

1. Flexibility. You make your own hours and have the luxury of working from home if you like. No long commutes or wasted time in the car. If you need to be home at 2:00pm to let the electrician in the house, you can do that without asking anyone’s permission. If you want to exercise in the morning and start your work day at 9:30am, you can do that without infuriating your boss or jeopardizing your job. I have found more work/life balance since becoming an entrepreneur.
2. Choice. You decide who you want to work with and whom you’d rather avoid. You hire and fire your clients,vendors and strategic partners. Nothing and no one is forced upon you. You choose who you want to associate with.
3. Fewer boring meetings. My day is not booked solid with obligatory meetings. I now look forward to meeting with clients, prospects and networking contacts where we exchange valuable information and no one is wasting anyone’s time. So much corporate profitability and life force is lost in meeting hell. As an entrepreneur, YOU control your own calendar.
4. Valuation. You decide what you are going to charge for your products and services. While you need to be market competitive, you set your own rate card. You determine your own salary and professional fees. If you want to be a premium player, go for it. Just make sure that your customer experience and brand delivers on that promise of premium.
5. Play to Your Strengths. In every “job” there are tasks and responsibilities that you do well and those that you dread. Working for someone else, you just hope that you get more of what you like and do well. As an entrepreneur, you have the choice to outsource the crap – that is, the jobs and tasks that you have no talent or tolerance for, like bookkeeping, administration, graphic design, etc.(no disrespect to bookkeepers, virtual assistants or graphic designers – I NEED YOU!) Of course, there is a strong urge as an entrepreneur to do everything yourself. I believe this is driven from a mind set of “I don’t have a lot of money to hire someone, so I better do it all myself.” This is a mistake. Outsource as much as you can, but keep control and oversight of all marketing and financial aspects of your business.

What you need to be successful as an entrepreneur?

Before you quit your corporate job, take a review of the next section of the internal and external stuff you need to have in place prior to crossing over to the entrepreneurial side.

Internal Stuff:

• Spirit of innovation. You must be able to see and think of new ideas that haven’t been done before. Innovation doesn’t have been something magical or dramatic; it can be the small enhancements that make people’s lives better. Get creative and innovate something.
• Stomach for uncertainty. You must be willing to live without the luxury of regular paychecks and unlimited office supplies. You have to put in the time and effort to “prime the pump” and be patient and persistent in your new business development efforts. They will pay off, it’s only a matter of time.
• Appetite and willingness to risk failure. Your success is anything but guaranteed. You will inevitably fail at something during your entrepreneurial journey. You will learn the most from your failures. You must be willing and able to get up after you fall.
• Unshakable belief in yourself. People will poo-poo all over you as you embark on what appears to be a risky venture. These nay sayers may even be people in your immediate family. You must have confidence in yourself and a willingness to invest in your dream. At the end of your life, you’ll only regret the things you didn’t have the courage to do.
• Your “why.” You must have a powerful, motivating reason why you want to do this. Connecting with your ‘why’ will help to sustain you during the difficult phases of running your own business.

External Stuff:

• Written business plan explaining to someone else (like a banker) how you plan to make money. . It’s not good enough to have it all in your head. Get it down on paper. Be disciplined and do the strategic work upfront.
• Marketing plan(a subset of your business plan). Who you will serve (your customers). How you will commercialize your idea. How you will go to market with your goods and services. Establishment of your brand. How you will leverage social media to build awareness and create ‘fans.’
• Exit strategy outlining how you plan to get in, do well and then get out (and move on to your next adventure). Can you sell your business in the future? To whom and for how much? What assets do you plan to create to enhance your business’s future valuation?
• Money. How you will fund the launch of your business? How much money will you need to sustain yourself (pay your living expenses) while also investing in the business? How long can you live without a paycheck? Will you need access to capital (loans, external investors?) If so, where/who/how?
• People and connections. Who will help you get your business off the ground. Advisors to help guide you and get critical feedback on your strategize and plans. You might want to consider forming an advisory board for your entrepreneurial business.
• Knowledge. I encourage you to “go to school” on entrepreneurship before you hang out your shingle. Read as many books on the subject as you can. I highly recommend the E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber. Consider enrolling in an entrepreneur certificate program at a local university or community college. I have been a guest lecturer at the University of Hartford’s Entrepreneurial Center. You may have a great idea that the world needs, but you’ll need to know a lot more than that to be successful as an enterpreneur.

The lessons of the past still apply

Below are the top 10 lessons that I shared out with my clients when I celebrated my 3rd anniversary in business in 2008 (just before the recession took hold). I thought a little review would do me good. After looking at this list, I can see that the advice I gave myself 4 years ago still applies today. These tips may give you a little head start as you consider diverting your corporate career path towards entrepreneurship and business ownership.

1. Turn your business inward.
2. Focus and specialize.
3. It’s good to let go.
4. Everyone has something to teach you.
5. Spend time with motivated people.
6. There are easier ways to make money.
7. Ask and you shall receive.
8. If it creates value, charge for it.
9. You can’t get there alone.
10. Invest in yourself

The road ahead

Sometimes I think about returning to Corporate America. I fantasize about the health insurance benefits and the biweekly paycheck that seems to come automatically. I long for the international travel and being paid to learn on the job. I miss the office parties and the free coffee. Someday I may go back to a “regular job.” I don’t allow myself to use the word ‘never.” I always want to remain open to all the possibilities that the future might hold for me. For now, I am committed to continue building and operating my business – Kmc Brand Innovation, LLC. And since I just received a shipment of 2,500 new business cards, I guess I am committed to this venture for the foreseeable future.

About the writer: Kathy McAfee is known as America’s Marketing Motivator and is author of the book Networking Ahead for Business. She is the sole owner of Kmc Brand Innovation, LLC, a training, coaching and speaking business. In her role as executive presentation coach and professional speaker, Kathy helps her clients to become the recognized leaders in their fields by mastering the art of high engagement presentations, more effective networking and personal marketing. To learn more about Kathy, visit one of her web sites MarketingMotivator.net,  NetworkingAhead.com and MotivatedSpeaker.com

Sometimes I find myself stunned by the thought that less than 100 years ago, women in the United States did not have the right to vote. This fundamental and precious right of citizenship, which so many people take for granted and fail to exercise, was one for which scores of women fought-and some nearly died-during seven decades of oppositional grandstanding, ferocious browbeating, passionate arguing, and tireless advocacy.

The story of the battle for women’s suffrage (91 years old this year) is one of high intrigue and suspense even though we know the outcome – and is certainly worthy of examination as Women’s History Month is now upon us. Women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul, Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Welles, and so many others, have left a legacy for us. But Women’s History Month in general and the fight for women’s suffrage in particular, cause me, as a YWCA member, to reflect not on the victories and heroines of the past, but on the challenges in the future.

How does the legacy of these women help us now?

I will confess that Elizabeth Cady Stanton is my personal heroine, so I’ll share a little of her history and how it impacts and, in some ways, drives me. Elizabeth was the primary architect of the early women’s rights movement. In the mid 19th century, she was the first person to argue that women should have the right to vote – and was harshly criticized for taking that extreme position. Some of her bold and imaginative pleas for women’s rights were radical even by today’s standards.

So, it is her voice I hear in my head as I contemplate today’s political realities (or should I say circuses?), and it is through the prism of her philosophies that I view the spectrum of my views on the issues of the day. Of course, it’s hard to measure up. What can I – a 21st century, generation-X, working mother – do to honor the legacy of women like Elizabeth, who understood the profound importance of participation and representation in the political process?

I think Elizabeth would tell me – and all of us – that we honor the legacy of women’s history by doing three simple things:

1. Vote. Own your place in government and in politics. Exercise the right to have your voice heard in the political forum. Failure to do so is fundamentally disrespectful to the women who fought to make sure we had that right. Elizabeth would scold you if she knew you were shirking your responsibility to participate in the elective franchise! This is the easy one.
2. Inform yourself. Decide on what is important to you. Read the newspaper. Attend a community forum. Find out what your elected representatives think (they will tell you!) and how they are voting on issues that matter to you. Investigate YWCA’s own advocacy agenda and support our efforts to raise awareness of and obtain legislative support for issues affecting women and children in our community: access to quality education, workforce development and job training, prevention of sex trafficking of minors and reproductive choice and access to services.
3. Take a stand. Participate in government. Contact your elected officials. Write a letter to the editor. Be an active participant in your world. Especially in a presidential election year, when rhetoric abounds about governmental priorities and responsibilities, take the opportunity to make your voice heard.

As a YWCA Hartford Region board member, I evaluate, analyze and help create policy around the work of YWCA Hartford Region and its programs: its advocacy agenda, its early childhood curriculum, its programming for young women and its fight against racism and social injustice. I am proud to be part of an organization that in words and deeds is honoring the legacy of the pioneers of women’s history, advocating on behalf of women, insisting on equality.

Elizabeth would be proud of us – but she would push us to do more, to look towards the future, and to remember the hard-won victories in the past that brought us where we are today.

About the writer: Stacy Smith Walsh is the firm wide Director of Human Resources at Day Pitney LLP, a full-service law firm with more than 300 attorneys in offices in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Boston and Washington, DC.  Stacy is a “recovering lawyer” – prior to working in human resources, she was a labor and employment litigator.

Stacy has been on the Board of Directors of the YWCA Hartford Region since 2008, and has served in various leadership roles on the Board over the years.  Stacy was honored by the Connecticut Bar Association in 2009 with an Outstanding Leadership Award for her contributions and service to women in the legal profession.  Stacy received her B.A., magna cum laude, in Speech Communication from the University of Alabama, her M.A. in Rhetoric from the University of Maryland, and received her J.D., cum laude, from Cornell Law School.