I often see a common business planning mistake.
Too many courses, coaches, and entrepreneurs leap straight into defining the specific business and creating a plan. That skips a critical exploration that I use with my students and clients when we work together.
There’s a reason I emphasize this point in my LinkedIn bio:
“Escape Career Burnout, Rebuild Your Confidence, and Reinvent Yourself Without Starting Over.”
I also use it in my description of this newsletter and podcast:
“I help midlife professionals leverage their expertise to create a self-employment plan that helps them escape their 9-to-5 jobs without starting over.”
Launching a new business and quitting your 9-to-5 job is already hard. Starting over from scratch makes it even harder. I see people try that, and that’s one reason so many new businesses fail.
The tech employee who wants to open a coffee shop, but has no experience with a brick and mortar business, the food industry, or even being a barista.
The sales guy who wants to open a restaurant, but has never been a chef or even worked in a restaurant before.
The police officer who dreams of running a bar, but knows nothing about the logistics and experience of doing that.
I’m not saying that it is impossible to reinvent yourself completely, escape your professional past, and do something entirely new. Almost anything is possible with time and hard work, of course.
However, it will take longer to acquire the new skills, knowledge, and experience. It will take longer to get things right and start generating enough revenue to survive. That’s hard and a little scary when you have bills to pay and your bank account is dwindling.
That is why my 8-week Exit Blueprint builds on a foundation that does not require you to start over. We begin at the very first level of identifying and capturing your undeniable existing expertise.
What are the natural talents that you’ve always had since childhood?
What valuable knowledge have you acquired through your education, employment, and personal life?
What useful skills have you developed through your work and life?
What experience have you gained that can be applied to your future entrepreneurial plans?
Next—before we even get into exploring a business model—we uncover your life goals, what you want most in the end, and what you enjoy doing.
Looking back on your personal and professional life to identify flow state moments.
Capturing when you feel most competent and confident.
Peeling back the layers of work responsibilities to see what you actually enjoyed doing.
Paying attention to the interests and passions you’ve had for most of your life.
Describing and defining your ideal lifestyle (e.g., how you want to spend your days).
Visualizing and defining your ideal end state after the next 20-30 years.
Identifying the next best move to put you on the path to reaching your ultimate goals.
My progress pyramid structures the course and coaching engagement. We collaborate to build it up from the foundation all the way to the top with the ultimate goal of a functional and fulfilling self-employed business model and plan.
🎧 Note: I discuss this in more detail in the podcast episode audio. So, scroll up, hit play, and listen.
In this episode, I take you through the exercises and questions I use to help my clients build that first foundational layer. I will share more details for each subsequent layer in the model over the coming months.
By the way, I will offer The Exit Blueprint in multiple formats. One might be more interesting to you than the others.
Private coaching (one-on-one)
Cohort courses (small groups)
Workshops (online and in-person)
DIY course (on your own)
I’m planning on running the first cohort course later this year, and will probably offer it again about twice a year in the future. If you’re interested in the course or a different format, please sign up to be notified about the specific dates.
I’d love to work with you on your business idea!
From corporate exec to entrepreneur, Larry Cornett is a coach who helps you leverage your existing expertise to design a self-employment business that funds the life you want. Escape the 9-to-5 grind by creating your Exit Blueprint to freedom!
➡️ Ready to build your blueprint? Book a free call today to claim your spot.
