If you’ve ever dreamt of building a side hustle, online business, or creative project, but been nervous to make the leap, todays’ video is for you. Keep reading (or watching) for encouragement around when the time is right to start a side business or make a career change.

How to Know It’s Time to Start a Side Business

Your Gut Knows It’s Time for a Change

Your gut is often the first to know when it’s time to try something new.

When I first began thinking of leaving corporate to build my business, I did everything I could to resist it. I finally had the dream salary, title, and position. Heck, there were free snacks in the breakroom! I kept thinking to myself, “I can’t possibly make a change NOW.”

But those gut instincts kept coming back. I just sensed that there was more out there for me, and that I would rather risk trying to start a side business than staying in something I had outgrown. Eventually, I knew that I had to take a chance on my dream. (And I’m forever glad I did.)

What gut instincts are speaking to you right now? The truth is, they don’t really go away. They continue to speak to you in little ways, reminding you of what you deeply desire. Why not take the chance on them now, versus losing five years watching everyone else pursue what you dream of?

You Can’t Stop Daydreaming About a New Future

Another sign that it’s time for a change is feeling discomfort when you picture remaining in your current situation for the next year, five years, or 10 years. If the thought of being in the same situation with nothing different makes you feel uneasy (or downright queasy) it may be time to take action and try something new. As Anais Nin says, “And the time came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

You Crave More Freedom and Fulfillment

Your desire for more freedom and fulfillment is another strong indicator that it’s time for a change. If you feel like you’ve outgrown your current situation and crave something more fulfilling, now is the time to start pursuing it.

You are born at this unique time in history when you have more opportunity than ever before to start a side business—to work from anywhere and earn a living doing so.

What if your desires aren’t just fleeting thoughts? What if you were born in this time and place to rise to the challenge and create what you dream of? To live the life that you were put here to live? As Founder of IT Cosmetics Jamie Kern Lima says, “You aren’t crazy. You are just the first. You aren’t crazy. You are just the one.”

What Will You Wish You Had Done When You’re 80?

One final gauge that I like to use for determining whether it’s time to go for a dream is to think about what you’ll look back on with regret when you’re 80 years old. Will you regret staying on your current track, or will you regret not going for something, even if you fail? The answer to this question will give you a clear understanding of what you should do now, while you still have the chance.

One day, if you’re lucky, you will be old and gray. And a moment will come when it is too late to do the things you dream of. But you have the chance NOW. You can find the time now. You can find the resources now. You are younger today than you will ever be again. Don’t waste that gift.

If you have a dream to start a business, a side hustle, or make a change, go for it. Worst case scenario, you can always go back to what you’re doing now. Best case scenario, a year or five from now, you will find yourself in the future you dream of. Will you really care how long it takes if you’re on the path toward what you love?

As Earl Nightingale says, “Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.”

Ready for Your Biggest, Brightest, Life?

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