Here's how you can overcome obstacles when transitioning from HR Consulting to entrepreneurship.

Der Übergang vom Personalberater zum Unternehmer erfordert eine offene Einstellung gegenüber Veränderungen. Entwickelt Flexibilität und die Bereitschaft, neue Rollen und Verantwortlichkeiten zu übernehmen. Schafft ein solides Netzwerk von Mentoren und Gleichgesinnten, die euch unterstützen und beraten können. Bildet euch kontinuierlich weiter, um die erforderlichen unternehmerischen Fähigkeiten zu erlernen. Nehmt Rückschläge als Lernmöglichkeiten an und passt eure Strategien entsprechend an. Eine proaktive und positive Haltung gegenüber Veränderungen hilft, Hindernisse zu überwinden und den Übergang erfolgreich zu meistern.

Shift Gears: Transition from advisor to owner, building your business brick by brick. Find Your Niche: Leverage your HR expertise, but identify a specific market gap you can uniquely fill. Plan Your Course: Develop a business plan outlining your target market, value proposition, marketing strategy, and financial projections. Network Power: Leverage existing HR connections and build new relationships with potential clients, partners, and mentors. Lifelong Learner: Embrace continuous learning in business management, marketing, finance, and legal matters. Sell Your Worth: Master the art of selling yourself and your services. Hone your pitch and close deals with confidence.

Once I decided to become an entrepreneur and start an official business, that's when I realized how little I know about running a business, this is when it was critical that I commit to this change. I had to learn business administration and accounting basics, marketing styles, making financial decisions that would affect my entire business. I had to embrace the fact that I am no longer an individual contributor on someone else's payroll and that every move I make may affect the future of my business. THAT was a difficult but also exhilarating revelation. All I can say to those who hesitate: DO IT! It's worth every second of your time.

As a planning addict I always rally my mentees and friends to plan thoroughly because the only way to reach your destination is to actually know where you are going. Do you research, ask advice from professionals, consult those who succeeded in their entrepreneurial adventures. One of the biggest obstacles for me learning about finances and creating financial plans as far ahead as years. Luckily there are a lot of training and coaching materials, but what really saved me is seeking professional advice (such as financial planners, bookkeepers, CPAs, etc. There is a very small chance that you can work hard and do everything by yourself, but trust me, you don't want to. Let the pros help you so you can focus on what you do best.

When you become a business owner, keeping an eye on your cash flow is EVERYTHING. Don't complicate things in those early years. You don't need a fancy financial plan right away; just understand how your money moves, get good at making that cash flow because it's the lifeblood of your business, and build up as you grow. Have a simple plan and don’t allow yourself to get stuck in complex financial jargon and predictions. Being an entrepreneur in the early days is more about taking action than coming up with theories.

From my experience, when starting as an entrepreneur, I would encourage you to start by talking about your service to your closest network. They are your best allies and the people who will be more willing to help you from the start. Don't waste too much time contacting people you don't know at first, because it will be very hard to get big clients in the beginning if you haven't achieved previous projects. Get a name first, participate in conferences, be present on social media and then once you have build your personal brand, you can start contacting new people outside your current network. Hope it helps! Diego

Networking has always been so hard for me and I KNOW how important it is. It can be very intimidating walking into a room full of people and starting to introduce myself to strangers. I love organized events like conferences and meet-and-greets but they also cause much anxiety. So I prefer to seek out networking groups that plan out their event agendas to promote effective networking as opposed to just leaving it up to the people to connect. These are usually paid membership groups but I tend to get more value out of one such event than from a dozen general mingling events. Such groups will have a planned discussion, agendas and guided breakout group interactions which allows me to share my thoughts and experiences in a calm environment.

I have a heart of a generalist because I love ALL sides of HR and there is nothing wrong with that. However is it highly recommended to choose your niche and focus on it. For example when you are working with social media such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, etc., your goal should be to attract the right crowd. Those that could either become your clients or can refer the clients to you. No one wants to follow the page that posts daily on a thousand of topics. If people sign up for your newsletter they want to only receive relevant information. And how can they know that when even you are not sure that your focus is? Decided who your target audience is, research your biggest competitors, learn their trends and then get your content out!

This tip on resilience is spot on, and with it, I shall add perseverance because there are no shortcuts to business success. Those that you see reporting overnight success are forgetting to show you the years of under-the-radar work that went into building that overnight success. Most people quit entrepreneurship because their resilience is low. Hopefully, you've built up your muscle even as a professional in HR working for an organization so that once you make this jump, all you need is to kick it into high gear.

Seek to surround yourself with professionals. You should have: 1. A mentor who knows your industry. 2. A financial advisor who can help you set your financial goals. 3. A qualified accountant/CPA to help you ensure that you stay on track to reach those goals. 4. A talented admin assistant to keep all your paperwork and scheduling in order. 5. A lawyer to help you draft contracts and advice you on legal matters. 6. An IT pro to ensure that your network and proprietary information is secure. 7. Marketing pro to help you put together a strategy to grow your business. You don't have to employ all those people on a full-time basis (at least until you grow!) but be willing to pay for priceless advice and help.

Continuous Learning: Invest in learning about entrepreneurship and business management. Seek Mentorship: Find mentors who have successfully transitioned from consulting to entrepreneurship. Test Ideas: Start with a pilot project or small-scale venture to test your business idea. Adaptability: Be prepared to pivot your strategy based on market feedback and changes. Leverage Technology: Use technology to streamline operations and reach a broader audience. Customer Focus: Prioritize understanding and meeting customer needs to build a loyal client base. Work-Life Balance: Ensure you maintain a healthy work-life balance to sustain long-term success.

One last thing I can add to support all the wonderful advice shared by peers and colleagues here is that you must keep your eye on and focus on your dream outcome. Why are you starting your business and choosing to become an entrepreneur? What is it you want to bring to life? What legacy or impact are you looking to create? That outcome should feed you every day, especially on the days when things are hard. And you'll have many hard days. But if you stay focused on that target, you'll find the strength and discipline to keep going until you reach it. Good luck with your entrepreneurial endeavors!