Leaving corporate isn’t about waiting for perfect timing — it’s about committing to a plan, cutting your lifestyle, surrounding yourself with the right people, and solving problems clients will pay to fix today. When you build with intention and courage, the leap becomes a launchpad instead of a risk.
Plan the Leap. Then TAKE the Leap.
The first time you think about quitting your job to start your own business, there will be huge amounts of fear. The fear of failure alone can hold you firmly in its grip.
In our corporate careers, most of us have been quite successful, so the fear of failure — and how that will make us look — can stop even the most enthusiastic entrepreneur in their tracks.
The last thing you want is to leave the big corporate job, the “big daddy” looking after you, only to fall flat on your face.
A lot of the mental struggle centers around one question:
“When is the right time?”
There are two main schools of thought.
The first is to keep your corporate job while building your business on the side, slowly migrating over time as your venture gains traction.
The second is to take the leap and just do it — no safety net, no turning back. When there is no plan B, you are forced to fly.
One may seem riskier than the other, but that is not necessarily true. What truly matters is deciding on your approach and fully committing to it.
The next key steps will help you decide which route is right for you.
Take a Lifestyle Cut — and Get Over It
While taking the leap may work in your favor, many people fail because they get one thing wrong.
They do not ruthlessly cut their expenses.
Corporate life conditions us to big lifestyles:
big salaries, big mortgages, and big habits. If you want to succeed, you must start paying that lifestyle down before you leave your job.
You have to get used to not having luxuries for a while — so your business has the space to grow.
The reality is this:
It will take four times the time and twice the money you think it will.
It is hard. It requires real commitment and real sacrifice. There is pain involved — and that is simply the truth.
🎧 Recommended Listening
Catch the Build Live Give Podcast with Paul Higgins, where Barbara Turley shares the challenges of leaving a highly successful but stressful corporate career to build her own business.
How To Delegate Effectively And Free Up Your Time with Barbara Turley – Paul Higgins Mentoring
Surround Yourself With People Who Have DONE What You Want to Do
How do you overcome the fear, the emotional ups and downs, and the mental rollercoaster of entrepreneurship?
You may need to change your circle.
Family and friends who are not on the same path often do not fully understand the journey — no matter how much they want to. They mean well, but they can unknowingly plant seeds of doubt that quietly erode your confidence.
It is not for everyone, but if you feel the pull to surround yourself with people who have already walked this road, then do it.
Your success may depend on that choice.
Do not bottle everything up.
You might tell friends and family that everything is fine because you do not want to worry them — but inside, that may not be true. Having peers who truly understand what you are going through is invaluable.
Find a Problem Your Ideal Client Will Pay to Solve — Today
If you want a business that really works, you must solve a problem people are desperate to fix.
Not someday.
Today.
People love to talk about their problems — but unless they are willing to pay to solve that pain right now, you will waste time and money building products no one buys.
Your business idea must be grounded in this reality.
Once you solve the first problem, others will appear. You will pivot. You will evolve.
Just when you think you have cracked it, a new challenge will emerge and force you to rebuild your process again.
This is not failure — it is growth.
Each time, ask yourself:
- How do we remove this challenge from our process?
- How do we redesign our systems so this problem disappears?
That is how real businesses are built.
Transitioning to Remote Work or Building a Freelance Career? At The Virtual Hub, we believe in careers with purpose and long-term growth.