Manage Awkward Situations Like a Pro: Quitting Your Job To Start A Business

This is Q & A Tuesday. This is the dance that Jay Z did when I saw him on the dance floor. He did a lot of this… Ahem.. Aha-aha.. Today, the question is from Gemma and Gemma writes:

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Q: “I recently told my boss that I’m leaving my job to start my own business in four months. There’s been some disappointment and anger that I’m leaving. I’m finding this transition time icky. I feel like a snake that has partly through shedding skin. On one hand, I’m

deeply committed to doing an outstanding job in my last four months.” Good job girl.

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“On the other, I’m deeply excited about my new business and I’m growing and changing constantly with each little action I take to get my business ready. My new self doesn’t seem to match my old organization and I’m finding it quite tiring and at times frustrating. Do you have any advice for managing the transition and for staying patient and energized when I felt like I’ve outgrown my job.”

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That’s a juicy one girl. Juicy, juicy! Juicy! Now first off before I answer your question, Gemma, I need to know this: are you any relation to the Jem? You know Jem who’s truly outrageous? (Jem is truly outrageous, truly, truly, truly outrageous! Jem the music’s contagious outrageous) Jem is my name no one else is the same! Jem is my name - Jem!

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But seriously, managing transitions can be really tough but thankfully there’s some steps you could take to have it feel less icky as you say and it could be a lot more enjoyable. The first thing I want you to do is put yourself in their shoes. It is really natural that you are disappointed about losing you because you are really a valuable asset to the company.

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Remembering how essential and valuable you are is a cool tool to help you renew your enthusiasm for your time on the job while you are still there. They love you Gemma because you’re truly, truly, truly outrageous! You really have to focus on that rather than their anger about you moving. After all, no one’s upset when a slacker decides to quit. 

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If I were you, I will focus my time and energy on setting this company up to win when you walk out the door. You want to make sure that your colleagues and your boss have everything they need to keep growing when you leave. And here are four action steps to take to move it along:

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First thing you want to do is just have an honest talk with your boss and let him or her know that you understand how difficult transitions can be and that you are fully committed to doing everything in your power to set the new employee up for great success.

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Number two, create a comprehensive list of everything you do and everything you are responsible for and you want to review this with your boss to make sure that everybody is on the same page.

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Next, make a process map or a little how-to guide of every single one of your tasks and responsibilities. You really want to set this next person up of everything they need to 

know to succeed. Really do your best to think of every detail or question the new you is going to have. Side benefit, making these process maps will really help you in your own business. After all, you are going to have to create new systems and procedures to train your own employees.

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Fourth and most importantly, practice staying engaged with where you are rather than being off thinking about what you are going to do next. I can’t stress enough how important this habit is. Especially for your own business’s success. See when you get in your own business, there’s inevitably going to be any clients, tasks and projects that are not your favorite, that you really don’t want to do and you are going to practice being really there and really engaged in order to get it done. Really engaging instead of thinking about what you wish you were doing is a key habit for success and satisfaction.

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So, there you have it Gemma. Some truly, truly, truly outrageous awesome ways to manage the transition from your old job to your new business. Hope you enjoyed it.

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Now here’s what I want to know from you. What’s your number one strategy for managing transitions like this from an old job to a new business? Maybe you are a boss whose had employees who have gone through these and you have some dos and dont’s to share. I want to hear about it. Leave a comment or even better yet leave me a video response.

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