004. The #1 Thing Holding You Back From Quitting Your 9-5

You’ve read all the books, bought all the courses, and done all the things that others have told you to do, but there’s still one thing that is holding you back from going full-time in your business. If you’re wondering what that one thing might be, this episode will help you go from a side-hustler to a full-time boss.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why strategy is not the thing holding you back in your business,
Why the internal thoughts and mindset are what you need to look at,
How you can improve your mindset and move forward in your biz to go full-time!

Tune in to this episode here:

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In this episode, we are talking about the number one thing that’s holding you back from quitting your nine-to-five and finally going full-time in business. And let me say, right here and right now, that I am so excited for this episode. It is going to be so juicy, so jam-packed and I cannot wait to help you go from a side hustler to a full-time boss. Because that is what you deserve and you can totally do it.

I want to ask if you’re a side hustler, which I’m guessing you are if you’re listening to this episode, then I want to know, if you feel like you have done everything in your power, everything physically and mentally possible to take your business full-time, but it’s still not happening.

Ask yourself right now. Why?

I want you to take two to three seconds and ask yourself why.

You’ve invested money in the courses,
You’ve bought all the ebooks,
You’ve read a heap of business and self-development books,
Maybe you’ve grown your Instagram following to a good point,
You’re active Facebook groups,
You make a few sales here and there,
And maybe you even have a few clients.

But why aren’t you full-time? Ask yourself that question right now. Why aren’t I full-time yet?

Because the thing is (and I have 110% been there), when you’re a side hustler, and you’re trying to go full-time, we can often think that it comes down to strategy. And it comes down to “I’m not doing this right.” Or maybe you say, “I’m not posting enough on Instagram,” or “Maybe I should start going live every single day,” or “I need to email my list five times a week.”

I can promise you it is none of those reasons.

So, if you answered the question before, when I asked you about what’s holding you back from going full-time, I’m 90% sure that you wrote down something about strategy. Am I right? Or am I right?

And, of course, in this episode, we aren’t going to be talking about strategy at all.

We’re actually going to be talking about mindset. Because that is the number one thing that is holding you back from quitting your nine-to-five. I have no doubt in my mind that this was something that held me back for so long in my business. I thought that I needed to go live on Instagram a lot more, or that I needed to email my list with better emails, or that maybe I needed to set up sales funnels, etc.

Often, we look for these surface-level fixes. These Band-Aid fixes or quick fixes for our businesses.

When really we actually need is to go deep into our mindset and work through what’s been holding us back internally. Too often, we will work on the external and not those internal factors.

That’s what I really wanted to dive into today because it is so important. I really do credit a lot of the success in my own business and in other entrepreneurs that I’ve seen scale to incredible businesses to mindset. It’s their mindset that helps them to get there.

There are a ton of strategies out there that can help you get to where you want to go, but unless you work on what’s inside of you, unless you work on your mindset and what’s on the actual inside that’s holding you back, you’ll never get there. Or sure you might get there, you might be able to push through the mindset stuff, you might be able to just be the one in a million that gets through with just strategy.

But, honestly, I can say that all of the inspirational successful business owners, successful entrepreneurs, successful CEOs that I have ever come across, that they have nailed their mindset and that they consistently work on it.

Because mindset is not a one and done thing I can promise you.

So, now that we’ve determined that the number one thing holding you back from going full-time is your mindset, I wanted to go into some actionable tips to implement in your business because that’s what I’m here for. I’m not here to just give something to you and then say figure it out for yourself.

Because the thing is with mindset, it’s an ongoing strategy.

It is a strategy within itself and there are a few things that you can do from, literally, this second forward that will help you to become a more successful business owner and to adapt a more successful mindset. And to get through that number one thing that is holding you back, aka your mindset.

Here Are a Few Ways to Improve Your Mindset:

Number one, ditch the negative self-talk.

So, if you’re constantly telling yourself that you can’t do something, you need to ditch that attitude. For example, that you just can’t quit your nine-to-five or that you aren’t good enough or worthy to do well in business. Or maybe that you aren’t as smart as other people or that you don’t have the qualifications and things like that. All of that is putting yourself down. That’s what we call negative self-talk. That is the exact speech and the exact behavior that you need to ditch from this moment on.

You need to start believing in yourself.

The thing is, you are just as capable as anyone else in this world. You are just as capable as Oprah, you are just as capable as Tony Robbins, as Dr. Phil, as any inspirational leaders, mentors, or coaches. You have the exact same skill set as them, it’s just that you don’t realize it, yet.

When we get over this negative self-talk of I’ll never have this or I’ll never have that, we can realize how powerful and how successful we already are. And I mean, there are a million strategies out there that you can go learn. You can learn how to become the best email marketing queen ever. You can go out and learn how to start a podcast just like your favorite podcaster. You can learn anything. But you need to get over this self-talk. The negative self-talk first is honestly the biggest “Debbie Downer.”

And I mean, the thing is, I know I mentioned before that Oprah and Dr. Phil and Tony Robbins, etc. that they don’t talk negatively to themselves. Think about this, okay? Do you think that these people at that level of success, ever go around giving up? Do you think that they ever go around negative self-talking and telling themselves that they can’t do something, or telling themselves that they’re terrible at something?

The thing is, you are the only thing holding you back from success.

In business, especially if you’re going to be working from home, which the majority of us do, you need to be your own number one cheerleader. When you’re down on yourself and when you’re telling yourself that you aren’t worthy, that’s going deep into your mind. Those thoughts go into your subconscious mind. Saying, “I don’t believe that I can have that success,” or “I don’t believe that I can go full-time,” you need to, instead, flip that on its head. Tell yourself “I can have this success. I am successful. I am worthy of going full time in business. I can do this.”

Because, as I said, you need to be your own number one cheerleader, not your number one hater. So, that’s the first way to improve your mindset.

Next, you need to get super crispy, clear on your vision.

So, here’s a question, do you actually know what you want from your business? Your dream business. Do you truly understand why you want to go into business in the first place? And how it’s going to help you grow as a person? Or how it’s going to impact your life? Do you actually know exactly what it is that you want from your dream business?

Because obviously going into business just because it’s “the in thing to do”, or because an article online says that you should, I hate to say it but if that’s you, then it’s probably not going to work out.

And the reason it won’t work out is that if you have no vision, no purpose, and no drive behind your business, that equals no clarity.

You don’t know what you’re doing if you aren’t clear. You’re just following what everyone else says and does, and kind of being a “sheep.” When you fully understand why you want to be a business owner, on the other hand, that’s when you’ll have that clarity. When you understand why you want to go into business or what type of business you want to go into, along with what kind of impact you want to make and what kind of life you want to have, that’s when the magic happens.

So, if you’re currently running around like a headless chicken, fussing over this and worrying about what you’re actually doing in business, then you don’t have that clarity. Or if you’re unsure why you started your business, you’re not going to be crystal clear. If you ask yourself these questions, you should have a definite answer inside of you.

But if you’re running around and freaking out going, “I don’t know my answer. I don’t know my answer,” then go back and revisit your why. Ask yourself and go deep. Meditate on your why, journal on it, do whatever you need to do.

Ask yourself, “Why did I start my business?” Or if you haven’t started yet, ask yourself “Why do I want to start a business?” This stuff is important. And it’s the foundation for your future. It will determine what you do for the next three months, the next six months, the next three years, the next six years, 12 years, or however long you see yourself doing what you’re doing.

It’s really important that you know your why and that you are super clear on your vision.

And, finally, you need to stop wishing and to start doing.

I mean, it’s all good and well to plan things and to think about doing things. To brainstorm. I love to brainstorm. But what’s the point of doing all of that if you aren’t even following through?

The thing is we all get so caught up in “Okay, what should I work on next?” And in the questions, “Should I do this first or that first? Which one will make me more money? Which one will get my name out there faster and quicker?” So, we get so caught up in that, and we forget that there are actually things we need to be doing. We get so caught up in looking at our to-do list that we almost hit this point of anxiety where it’s like, what do I start first? Then we say, “Oh, there’s too much to do. I don’t want to do any of it now.”

And I personally have done this myself, all the way into full-time business. I look at my to-do list and I have all these amazing ideas that I can’t wait to bring to life, but looking at it sometimes paralyzes me. I’ll think, “Whoa, there is way too much on this list. I am not going to get this all done,” and then I don’t do anything. But that is the worst thing you can do.

You need to stop wishing and start doing. Get into action.

Because as much as you can wish or dream about this dream business, you’ve got to take action. You can think, “I’m going to have these five-figure months. I’m going to be a six-figure or seven-figure business owner. I’m going to travel the world or travel my country.” But if you aren’t actually taking action on those ideas that you’ve got, nothing happens.

So, it’s really important to make sure you’re taking action.

Don’t get lost in the wishing that you don’t make the time for the actual doing of it all.

Question? Because you know, I love my questions. Tell me this, how often do you find yourself saying, “Oh, I need to get on to that,” or, “Oh, it’s about time I quit this,” or “I want to contact that client,” or “I want to launch that program,” but then don’t follow through. That is literally what I’m talking about. You make these plans, and then you don’t do them.

And although your brain gets the satisfaction of “Yes, I just came up with an amazing idea,” you aren’t getting the satisfaction of it actually happening. Often, especially when you’re a side hustler, if you’re stuck in this paralysis of not being able to do anything because it feels like there’s so much to do or that maybe you just need a bit of motivation, this is it. This is your motivation.

The thing is, if you don’t get into action, you’re never going to go full-time in business. If you don’t hire the coach if you don’t enroll in the program, if you don’t launch the website, if you don’t put the sales page up, if you don’t start reaching out to people, if you don’t go live on Instagram, then you won’t go full time because you aren’t putting the action in. You can’t just wish “Okay, one day when I go full-time, then I’ll have the clients. Then I’ll have the money,” because guess what, you need to do that stuff before you go full-time.

And it might hurt to hear that. But it’s the truth. I am all about telling the truth, telling it like it is.

So, stop getting lost in the wishing and start making time for their doing. Get into action. I’m promising you that it will change your life and change your business.

I really hope that this episode helped you all. As I said, it’s time to start focusing less on the strategy and more on the mindset.

Work through these things. Stop with the negative self-talk, actually do the things on your to-do list, and get super clear on your vision.

I promise you that as you work through these mindset shifts, magic things will happen in your business. Then you’ll find that tackling the strategy will be so much easier and be so much more aligned with your vision. You’ll feel more confident to take action because you’re ditching the negative self-talk like it’s a hand-in-hand process.

I hope you loved the episode. If you have any questions or any feedback on this, I would absolutely love to keep the conversation going over on Instagram @elleymae. Otherwise, have an incredible day. And I love you all so very much.