SDH182: How to Successfully Transition to Entrepreneurship with Britney Kolodziej

How much longer are you going to represent a brand that doesn't fulfill you? When will you take the leap and showcase yourself as your own boss, with a business that encompasses your passions? For Britney Kolodziej, founder of JAM Marketing Group, that moment came when she received the message that she was going to be a speaker at a blogging convention in 2016. As head of the marketing department at a fitness corporation, she had been dabbling in the blogging world personally, but primarily professionally as a marketing tool for the company. On a whim she decided to apply to be a speaker for the convention, but when she unexpectedly landed the gig, she began questioning if she wanted to use that platform to represent the company or herself. The opportunity had showed her what she was capable of achieving, and ignited her drive to start her own business. She knew that her business would be marketing based, because she was in love with the concept of intentionally growing a business and building a business's worth; which she had done with her department at her previous job within two years. She decided her business would specialize in online marketing, and her clientele would be small businesses. However, she had a few more ends to tie up before the convention. She began working on her business's minimum viable products (MVPs) , which are basic features that any start-up should have in order to adopt early consumers. Her MVPs were a company name, website, a few blog posts, at least one client, and an enticing factor in exchange for emails. To focus on this, she realized she had to leave her corporate job once and for all, and gave them a four-week notice. After her last day, she shared her business with her peers on social media, and accomplished the goals she had set for her herself by the convention! In order to effectively grow her business, while navigating life without a steady income, she had to set up a minimum viable income. By giving herself a budget that she could operate by comfortably, she was able to gain confidence in how she managed her business. This empowered her to make smart business decisions when entering into new contracts, pitches, and gaining new clientele. Even though she was making great strides in her budding business, she was met with the loneliness involved in the early stages of entrepreneurship. One piece of advice she offers to new business owners is to never do it alone. She stresses the importance of finding a community of people like you to talk to or offer guidance. If you can't find your tribe,  you could end up feeling isolated talking to people who don't understand the stage you're at in your life, or work yourself into a depression. So, she created her podcast, Marketing in Yoga Pants, to offer support for women like her who were just getting their foot in the entrepreneurial door, and needed to know what to do, and have a network of women to talk to. Tune in and learn more about how Britney started her business and got it off the ground within 90 days! In this episode you will... Know how to represent yourself as the owner of your own company for the first time When to let go of an old job to focus on growing your business Be able to pull together your Minimum Viable Product when your building and presenting your business. Determine and operate off of your Minimum Viable Income Learn the importance of having a confidant in the early stages of being an entrepreneur Make every move and decision intentionally INSIGHTS "This whole building a business world is much more of my thing...[it is] where my heart is...I got bit by the bug...I think I've always been destined to be my own boss...and it's...the best thing I ever could've done for myself." -Britney Kolodziej "I took a hard look at my living expenses...and it was smaller than what I had even though it was, and that allowed me to kind of operate not out of a place of fear, but out of a place of empowerment, and I think that is what allowed me to succeed...I wasn't fearful that I wasn't going to make that money." -Britney Kolodziej "Those...girls on our couch in our yoga pants, top knot tight, hunched over a MacBook, alone, trying to figure this business thing out...I am working to bring us together so we don't feel that isolation. So we can support each other while we're supporting ourselves, and maybe find a little place online...and in real-life to connect to each other, because I don't think you can do this alone." -Britney Kolodziej "You don't have to have every single thing planned out...but [also] every single decision you haveto make, try to make it intentionally. Try to think it about what you're grounded in, and where this decision may take you, and that's where it becomes fulfilling. That's when you start making meaningful changes." -Britney Kolodziej RESOURCES Britney Kolodziej LinkedIn Britney Kolodziej Twitter JAM Marketing Group Website JAM Marketing Group Facebook JAM Marketing Group Instagram Marketing in Yoga Pants Website Marketing in Yoga Pants Instagram The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah The Search for Significance by Robert McGee Man Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl Asana Acuity Scheduling