How to Know It’s Time to Quit Your Job and Start a Business: 4 Signs

Nobody can promise you it’s going to work. Anyone who says they can is lying to you. But there are ways to know when an idea is ready for you to act on.Sarah opens with hot coffee, a rare good night’s sleep, and a nod to everyone else who’s been awake from 3 to 5 a.m. lately. Then she goes back to the other kind of sleepless nights: the ones before her two biggest career leaps. Sixty-hour weeks for $45,000 a year in the career she got a master’s degree for. A trapeze hanging in the middle of the living room during the pandemic, and the phone call that became her first coaching client. From there she walks through the four signs she uses, for herself and her clients, to tell 3 a.m. worry from an idea that’s actually worth the leap. The four signs:When you’re thinking about the idea (3 a.m. or on a walk)Opportunities are showing up without a fight Your energy Your strengths are at the center of itIf there’s an idea that won’t leave you alone, this one is foryou.WHAT YOU’LL TAKE AWAY●     Why the thinking you do at 3 a.m. is rarelythe thinking you should trust, and how to find the place where you can●     How to tell when doors are opening for an ideainstead of being pried open●     Where your first clients actually come from(hint: not strangers on the internet)●     What your energy is telling you, even if youdon’t want to start a business●    Why the best version of your idea puts yourstrengths at the center, not your hustle●     The one next step Sarah wants you to take withan idea that won’t go awayIN THIS EPISODE00:37      Hot coffee, a goodnight’s sleep, and the 3 a.m. club01:42      Leap #1: sixty-hourweeks, $45K, and the Sunday scaries02:46      Leap #2: a trapeze inthe living room and my first coaching client03:31      “How do I know it’sgoing to work?” The honest answer04:39      Sign 1: When you’rethinking about it (3 a.m. vs. the walk)07:06      Sign 2: Theopportunities start showing up08:09      Where my firstcoaching clients really came from09:22      Sign 3: Your energywill tell you everything11:31      Not starting abusiness? The job-description test12:39      Sign 4: Yourstrengths are at the center16:03      Your next step: givethe idea a real appointment17:35      The cost of staying19:07      Let’s talkYOUR REFLECTION QUESTIONSWalk yourself through these, ideally on a walk. Then take your answers to someone who’ll ask you the harder questions.1.  When do your best ideas actually show up? When did you last go there on purpose?2.  Where are doors opening for you right now without a fight?3.  What do you keep going down the rabbit hole on, even when nobody asked you to?4.  If this idea were built around your strengths, what would youstop doing first?MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE●     Voxer, where a lot of Sarah’s best thinkinghappens with colleagues, her coach, and friends●     Sexton Test Prep & Tutoring, the tutoringcompany Sarah co-owns and went all in on after her first leap●     Episode 1, September Is the Real New Year, ifthe Sunday scaries part hit home●     A no-commitment chat with Sarah about the ideathat won’t leave you alone: DM her on Instagram or visit sarahdecker.comWORK WITH SARAHIf there’s an idea that won’t leave you alone, it deserves at least half an hour. I’d love to hear about it. Whether you want to get unstuck or build something of your own, you don’t have to do it alone.Work with Sarah and see all the ways to get support at sarahdecker.com.Follow along on Instagram @sarah.decker.coaching.If this episode found you at the right time, share it with someone who needs it.New here? Start with Episode 1, then follow the show so youdon’t miss what’s coming. And if you’ve got a second, leaving a review helps another woman find her way in.