If I had a roadmap (because believe me, I didn’t!) at the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey, this is what I would offer new entrepreneurs. I hope these lessons help smooth your path a bit and make it a tad less lonely.
Sometimes clarity doesn’t arrive in a neat package. It sneaks up during a long drive, in a quiet waiting room, or in the space between what you’re doing and who you want to be. In 2018, I had one of those jolting moments on the road to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. I was juggling a full-time job, a marriage, two small kids, and a growing list of responsibilities. I had pushed through a cancer diagnosis in 2016, kept working, and kept telling myself that stability mattered most.
On that 1 hour and 15 minute drive—headed to yet another appointment for chronic pain that never seemed to shift—I felt something I didn’t expect: freedom. That realization shook me. I was existing, not living. And something had to change.
This post shares how I made the leap from a 9-5 job to entrepreneurship, what I learned along the way, and the principles that guided my early steps. If you’re standing on the edge of a big transition, I hope this gives you both a roadmap and a nudge. It’s worth it to take a chance on yourself!
What you’ll learn:
- How to prepare for your transition while you’re still in a full-time role
- Making the most of your experience and strengths—even when your path isn’t crystal clear
- Why you don’t have to know your ‘zone of genius’ right away—it evolves as you do
- The importance of wearing many hats, and how you can grow or outsource the ones that don’t light you up
The Moment That Changed Everything
On that drive in 2018, it hit me that I’d been clinging to a version of “safe” that wasn’t safe at all. I’d weathered a cancer diagnosis—well-differentiated papillary mesothelioma of the peritoneum—after my fourth miscarriage. This cancer is so rare it comes with no road map. No path. Not enough cases to have “data” to follow. It’s me and my doctors figuring it out as we go. Talk about isolation!
I kept my head down and worked a lot, for many reasons. When a drive to a medical appointment felt more liberating than my actual life, I had to tell the truth: this wasn’t working.
I didn’t quit the next day. I gave myself six months to prepare. I pulled out old dreams I had tucked away, looked at what I knew how to do, and made a plan to start from there.
Start Where You Are: Inventory Your Experience
If you’re planning a transition, you don’t need a brand-new idea to start. You need a clear view of the value you already bring. My background was in nonprofit programs, meeting planning, community building, and STEM initiatives. That became the foundation for my first business.
Here’s the simple framework I used:
- Map your skills: Identify 5 to 7 capabilities you’ve used repeatedly (e.g., program design, stakeholder engagement, budgeting, facilitation).
- Connect skills to outcomes: For each skill, list specific results you’ve delivered (e.g., “launched a statewide STEM program,” “scaled volunteer operations,” “led conferences with 300+ attendees”).
- Package your offer: Turn those into services with defined deliverables (e.g., “Program Design Sprint,” “Community Advisory Board Launch,” “Event Strategy and Execution”).
- Find your first three prospects: Choose organizations you already know that have the problems you’re equipped to solve. Connect with people in your network and let them know about your new path.
I didn’t reinvent myself. I reframed my experience as a business.
Clarify Your Zone of Genius (and Know It’s Ok for This to Evolve)
Once you’ve mapped your capabilities, think about your “zone of genius”—the work that energizes you and brings out your unique strengths. Here’s what I want you to know: you don’t need to know your exact zone of genius at the start. For most entrepreneurs (and especially those of us from nonprofit work), you’ll wear a lot of hats before you specialize, and that’s okay. Over time, you’ll get clearer about how you want to show up and what truly lights you up.
It can actually be freeing to know that you’re working toward your zone, and you can grow into it as your business evolves. Eventually, you’ll find ways to outsource or let go of the tasks that drain you (admin work, in my case!). When you tap into your zone, even writing your “About Me” or bio will get easier—though it’s a challenge for many of us at first!
A tip: Think “Be, Do, Have”—who do you want to be, what can you do, and what will you create as a result? When your actions align with who you are, the outcomes follow.
Stay tuned for Part II, where I’ll walk you through making your business real, building support, navigating challenges, and scaling with structure and intention!
