I remember this was a phrase I first picked up back during my Amway days… (you can check out my Amway review here),
“Exit Strategy!”
I didn’t think much of it at the time… after all, I was just a lowly disgruntled and disenchanted systems engineer destined to work until I was either 72 or death, whichever came first. I was just trying to get by the weekdays so I can forget about it all on the weekends. ”Exit strategy” to me was a case of beer…
Well, since having quit my job a few years ago and being HAPPILY J-O-B-less and having been in business for myself for a while now, I now can appreciate a whole lot more what my then-Amway-upline was trying to convey to me.
Essentially, when you start a business, actually, no, scratch that… When you start a PROJECT, have the end in mind – think about what the ultimate goal is that you are striving for. Don’t just work endlessly and aimlessly.
For example, when you start your home business, your ultimate goal may be to replace your current income from you job. Great! But let me help you take it a step further… what if that’s feasible BUT it means you having to work MORE hours than you currently do, would you still do it?
Now, what if you only had to do that for 12 months before you can setup your business in such a way that then you’d only have to work HALF as much, would you still do it?
You have to think about what it is ultimately you want, which odds are, is more pay and less work – I doubt you got into a business so you can work more and get paid less right? You want a way out where you DON’T have to work like a dog day in and day out.
Well, keep that in mind from day one and think about IF and HOW you can establish your business/project in a manner that can free you to do well, NON-WORK related things right? So you can shall we say… “retire” from that project/business.
Remember, you didn’t build a business just so you can quit your current J-O-B only to replace it with ANOTHER J-O-B disguised as a business/project.
Start with the end goal in mind, and never take your sight off of it.
What an awesome way to explain this-now I know everytihng!