Have you ever started a business of any size? What did you learn about building revenue? What business would you start if you knew it couldn't fail? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
I’ve always known that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. But, let’s be honest, the challenge is a lot of us have responsibilities and people who rely on us, resulting in a lower appetite for risk. This was definitely the case for me. Once the timing was right for me to start my business, I was a big girl with big girl responsibilities like four kids, a nice sized mortgage and all of the financial trappings of adulthood.
Plunging into entrepreneurship and having to shift my family’s lifestyle due to lack of income wasn’t going to work for me. So here’s the plan I used to start a successful consulting business, Yes Wellbeing Works, and make sure my income didn’t dip below six figures– the amount I calculated that my family needed to keep everything comfortably afloat.
Know your number
You have to know what your needed gross income is in order to pay your bills and maintain the lifestyle that you desire. For me it was six figures to keep everything copasetic. Your number might be different. This is where spreadsheets or budget calculators come in.
Mapping out your expenses and your tax liabilities provides you with a clear picture of your financial needs. Keep in mind, if you’re self-employed there is a self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare (it was 15.3% of net revenue in 2024) that you must also factor in. If you have a trusted Certified Public Accountant, this is a great exercise to seek support on.
Knowing your number gives you a concrete goal to strive for.
Paper over passion
I’m all for doing what you love, but not everything you’re passionate about is a good business idea. You want to make sure you have a business idea that individuals or organizations are willing to pay for and that allows you to scale if the business goes well.
Consider developing a minimum viable product (MVP), this concept comes from the book Lean Startup, by Eric Ries. An MVP is essentially the simplest, low-lift, cheapest version of what you want to offer that you can put out in the world to see if there’s interest.
My business, Yes Wellbeing Works, occupies a niche space in the Human Resources Consulting industry, building workplace cultures that support employee wellbeing. My MVP was an email sent to a group of HR decision makers, sharing a small catalog of employee wellbeing trainings (keep in mind at the time it was just training titles and key learning points, I hadn’t built anything out yet) assessing interest and encouraging them to book time to discuss. I received a positive enough response and even booked several clients from that email, which encouraged me to build out the trainings and my first revenue stream was born!
Do your research and make your decision based on reasonably objective data and not just butterflies about an idea.
Take some of the pressure off your business
There’s an alternative option to quitting your 9-5 to start your own business, consider looking for a part-time anchor job. Once you have your gross income number, take some of the pressure off of your business having to meet that number in year one by looking for a part-time job that can cover 30-50% of that income need. Doing this can give you more time and flexibility to build your business, while also offering you a stable, W-2 based income.
This was the path that I took. I found a part time HR job that I worked two days, leaving the other three days during the week to focus on my business. As the business ramped up, I was able to comfortably resign from the anchor job to invest more time in the business.
Look at your existing marketable skills and search job boards such as the AARP Job Board or LinkedIn. Share with your network that you’re looking for part time opportunities. You can also identify a need you can fill in an organization and pitch them. Highly skilled, part time workers can be attractive to organizations who don’t have the budget for a full-time person but need the support.
Get more efficient in your 9-5
Resigning from your 9-5 and getting an anchor job still sounds too risky? Ok, try this option.
If you’re in a Full Time Exempt job, meaning you’re paid a salary and not by the hour, then that means you’re paid for output not time on the clock. Think about how you can get more done in less time. For example, look at your daily tasks and responsibilities. Which tasks are you repeating on a regular basis, can you automate any of them through software or templates? Or are there recurrent and unproductive meetings on your calendar that you can negotiate removing? Combined with a flexible work schedule increased efficiency can be a productive path to freeing up hours during the week to focus on your business.
The idea for Yes Wellbeing Works actually started while I was still working in a full-time job. I ramped up my efficiency, so that I could carve out a few hours a week to ideate about my business and handle start-up administrative needs.
I’m in year five of business at Yes Wellbeing Works (approximately 45% of businesses fail within five years, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics) and I’ve seen year over year revenue growth, all while limiting my financial stress because of my pathway into entrepreneurship.
Have you ever started a business of any size? What did you learn about building revenue? What business would you start if you knew it couldn't fail? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
