Most women today, particularly after they’ve been in middle management for awhile, and have not yet cleared the hurdle to top management, or even those in top management who feel stalled or pressured by constant travel or family obligations, reach a point where they have to decide whether to continue in their careers or set up their own shop and go for the gold.

The Crucial Decision

This decision forms a common flash point in the careers of women. It can be wrenching. On the one hand, you are faced with giving up the company you’ve probably grown comfortable with and where your friends are. At the same time, you will lose your financial security, some of your retirement, the continued growth of your 401K and perhaps even stock options which have not yet vested. On the other hand, you will achieve more independence and flexibility, better balance work and family, become CEO of your own firm and..where there is risk, there is reward…. you could become very rich, indeed.

Part of the decision making process must be your looking deep inside yourself and facing honestly just how much risk you can tolerate. There is only one thing all entrepreneurs have in common and that is the ability and willingness to take risks. People who are most comfortable being entrepreneurs are those who have a high tolerance for the unstructured and learn to accept ambiguity . They decide to take each day as it comes, do their strategic planning, tend to the marketing, be obsessive about details, produce the best quality product or service they can, and believe the business will come.

Starting Your Own Business

So, you decide to take the plunge. Starting one’s own business is always an invigorating but somewhat anxiety provoking experience. You are about to leave the comfort zone of salaried employment. In exchange you have independence and the chance to pursue your dream. The flip side is you no longer have large resources –money, manpower, credit ,expertise, contacts, name recognition– all you have is …. you. You also have the rent or the telephone, the travel , marketing , research , direct mail and whatever else to pay for. If you have a payroll or even someone to come in and water the plants every 2 weeks, that’s your responsibility too. No wonder it’s an anxiety provoking experience.

The Business Plan

You will definitely need a business plan. This will become your road map; when completed it will tell you how to take this business where you want it to go. It may even convince your bankers to take the ride with you. But the really important point about a business plan is the act of producing one. The irreplacable dynamic is that you address and think through the issues confronting the industry you want to enter. You can turn back to it time and again to test your assumptions and make any necessary adjustments. To make the process even simpler, you can download a template from a number of financial sites on the Net, then fill in the blanks.

Financing- The Biggest Hurdle

This is definitely going to be one of the biggest hurdles you face. Since it’s highly unlikely you will get as much financing as you, ideally, would want from a lender outside your friends or family in the beginning, you will need to make some very basic decisions about how to run your company. If you run it with an eye towards economy which resembles a tiger proecting her young, pay cash as often as you can, do more things yourself, outsource, don’t pay for fancy trappings, flashy stationary or lunches out with the people you want to impress— impress them with your profits instead– you have a better, more stress free chance of making it to the finish line a winner.

Be Persistent

Business is about problems. You will have problems to solve day in, day out, every day you are in business. As the great manager of ITT, Harold Geneen, used to say ” If you’ve tried 23 times and failed, you must try the 24th time. You must keep searching for a solution that is not just for the moment, but which is strategic and generic and forms a permanent solution to the problem.”

You should also realize that success itself is about persistence. Not genius or inspiration, or even abundant financing can take the place of persistence. The workplace is littered with failed geniuses or yesterday’s stars who are today’s old news. Persistence is the fuel which keeps the engine chugging up the hill. In the long run, it also helps to have integrity, to stick by your word with your employees and cllients, who will then stick by you and your company, in both the peaks and the valleys. But to keep chugging ahead, and get past those many speed bumps, you will definitely need a large dose of persistence. Remember, you’re in this for you, not for what others may think at any given moment; and you’re in it for the long haul.

Whether it’s a one person shop juggling a dozen outsourced tasks, or a multi-million dollar enterprise setting new profit records, thousands of women today have made the decision to call their own shots, take the heat and make the payroll. You are not alone. So, if you’re ready, take the plunge. The water’s just fine.