Get Support
The same week that I took my first coaching course, I hired a coach. A lot of us underestimate our need for support, or think that we are weak for needing it. This is simply not true. One of the first things my coach told me was, “Get a group of friends who believe in you as a coach and small business owner. They will be your sounding board.“ A lot of people will test you and cause you to have doubts when you transition. Make sure you have a few close, reliable people to bounce ideas off of as you are exploring and making your decisions.
Understand Transferrable Skills
I am always surprised to hear people say, “But I can’t do that job; I don’t know Powerpoint (or Photoshop or how to write a business plan). When you want to transition, you need to look for more general skills that can be used across disciplines. Things like effective communication, ability to influence, ability to synthesize information, understanding of how to research are all broader transferrable skills, and are present even in what we do outside of work. And, you need to understand what the important skills are in the job(s) you are going for. I never realized how critical my 18 years in sales and marketing would be to getting my own coaching practice up and running.