By Six Degrees Society
Before Six Degrees Society was born, I had a job in the corporate world. Slowly as my hobby for connecting people with each other grew, the flame for my regular job diminished. I started Six Degrees much less prepared than I’d like to admit, and along the way, I’ve learned a few things as I grew my business. As well as helping so many of my clients get their businesses off the ground. Read on to see what I’ve learned all these years after quitting corporate for good.
1. It’s Better to Quit With a Plan
In the exact same moment when I realized that I wanted to quit corporate forever, I was about to call my boss and pull the trigger right there. Excellent idea, right? Actually, no. Even though the urge for quitting might be uncontrollable at that moment, it’s not always greener on the other side. We are flooded with content about being your own boss, having your own hours to work, paying yourself mountains of money. But the reality is that those perks usually come in later, with an already established business.
So, having a plan or even starting your business before you quit can make all the difference. It will relieve you from the additional stresses of everyday living because you’ll need more brainpower for the new type of stress that comes with establishing a new business. Have at least a few months worth of rent saved on the side, but having proof of concept that your business can be profitable is the ultimate plan.
2. Six Figures Doesn’t Always Mean Six Figures
It seems super glamorous, that everyone is now a six figure entrepreneur, seven figure entrepreneur. But the real question is, what they actually are paying themselves. Many business owners market their services through proof of how much money they generate each year. Generate is the key word here. Making a six figure profit is definitely different than generating six figures in your business per year.
All businesses keep afloat and expand because the profit is being reinvested and the expenses for the business are paid. Meaning that, to generate 100K, the business could be spending 90K, which is only 10K in profit. So, it’s somewhat important to know how much the business generates, or how much it’s valued. But at the end of the day, profit is the defining metric.
3. Perfectionism is a Gateway for Procrastination
Your business is your baby, we get it. You want it to be absolutely perfect because you might think it is a complete reflection of who you are as a person and how successful you are. So, you find yourself writing that instagram caption, rewriting it again… and again… and again. And never posting it. Oh, and that green color in your branding doesn’t quite match up with the rest, so might as well spend the next two working days looking for the perfect green. I’m not saying I haven’t been there. I have, and that instagram caption and the colors of the branding are the least important things in your business, it turns out.
Tackling the quality of your product or service, getting back to your customers and innovating in your business are the things that should take most of your attention. It’s easy to procrastinate and avoid those things because it’s insanely hard to make them perfect. But, that’s the trick. Things are evolving these days so quickly that you have to move and innovate with them, so your products and services should actually never be perfect, but always adapting.
4. Delegation Saves Time and Money
I was the last person on earth that would delegate any tasks from my business to someone else. What’s the point? I already know everything about my business, I can do it faster – meaning I don’t have to transfer any knowledge to anyone. And, the best part – it’s free! I pushed and pushed to work alone, and this lasted for a couple of years. Then, I started disliking my own company.
It was simple, I wasn’t doing what was making me happy – connecting individuals and coaching them. I was keeping track of spreadsheets, doing admin work, creating the Bios for our events. Something had to change. I started getting a team together, started delegating and getting some of my time back, started innovating and fell in love with my business all over again.
