Occasionally entrepreneurs and professionals will seek me out for coaching after a year or two of struggle. They’re down, depressed, and despondent. Despairing even. And often broke.
They’ve quit their previous jobs believing the e-myth, as Michael Gerber calls it: that,just because they were great at their professions, (coaching, lawyering, accounting, consulting) they would be wildly successful business owners. Or believing Kevin Costner: that just because they built it, clients and customers would magically appear. Or believing Martha Sinetar: that if they did what they loved, the money would follow. Or believing John Burroughs: that if they jumped, the net would appear.
Well, guess what? They jumped; the net didn’t appear.
And the law of gravity is always unforgiving.
In situations such as this, I often recommend a BJ.
A bridge job.
Something to tide them over; something to pay the bills.
Not something complicated like rocket surgery; not something that requires a lot of emotional fortitude or intellectual heavy lifting. Something simple. Like loading boxes for UPS; parking cars; waiting tables; or driving for Uber. Something that gets the money flowing while allowing the head space – and the time – to push forward with the new biz.
(Often a BJ can be fashioned from the day job you want to leave.)
You see, a new business is like a small plant… let’s say a tomato plant. You start it off in the spring in a little container, watering it, fertilizing it, and giving it lots of light. When the weather gets warm (and all danger frost has passed!), you take it outside and plant it in the garden… nurturing it through the summer months. And in the early fall, voila, beautiful, ripe tomatoes!
But, if you were to move the tiny seedling outside too early, you put way too much strain on it. And the frost kills it. 
In the same way, when you quit your day job, and suddenly put all of the responsibility on your new business to support and sustain you, all too often it strains the system. You begin to operate out of fear (and desperation). You panic. You make poor decisions. You don’t seek out the mentorship and support you need. And you end up killing they very thing you wanted most of all.
A good BJ is the answer.
A good BJ will give you and your new business the protection you deserve; the ability to think creatively, the freedom to make better choices, and the resources to seek our wise counsel. It will allow the business to become hardy.
In time, with care, it will stands on its own. Strong. Secure. Yielding abundant fruit.
And, then, from that place of strength, you will never look back.
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Is it time for you to create the business and the life you really want? I can show you how. I coach the fastest, easiest & most reliable system for getting more clients and customers than you can handle… even if you hate marketing and selling. Let’s talk. Email me today: walt@walthampton.com
“Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.”
That’s hilarious considering the title of this article. Wonder how many other people immediately went into the gutter as I did. One way to get us to read something.