Making a successful transition in your career requires trust and planning—this helps you avoid talking yourself out of bold moves before you can make them.
It is when we are in transition that we are most completely alive.
William Bridges
Earlier this week, I asked the students in The Sketchbook Entrepreneur Masterclass a couple of questions:
1) How does your future art/business/life want to feel?
2) What is stopping you?
While answering the questions, one entrepreneur identified a limiting belief she had very quickly:
I won’t be able to make enough money doing the work I love that is calling me.
When I inquired if she had a revenue figure in mind as her target, she replied that she did not. She just knew that there wouldn’t be enough. Isn’t it fascinating how quickly our amygdala pumps out fears of lack when it comes to money?
We all experience such fears; they can often be the very thing that keeps us stuck, unwilling to make moves to change things in our businesses and lives. To step out in a bold new direction.
Outfitting Ourselves for Success
How do we handle our thoughts around money when we are starting a new venture or are transitioning out of an existing business/job into a new enterprise? How do we focus on the possibility of a successful transition, instead of our worries?
Answer: We need to stock our version of a Lunar Excursion Module. Watch the short video below:

When the Apollo 13 mission ran into life-threatening challenges in space after a massive explosion in the Command and Service Module, the engineers in Houston advised the astronauts to retreat to the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) which had its own life-support system.
Thankfully, forward-thinking engineers had designed a backup computer program for the LEM that enabled the crew to slingshot around the moon and return safely to Earth.
Similarly, we can thoughtfully, and calmly, design and stock with essential resources our own version of a LEM when we are pivoting into a new enterprise. This laying in of supplies, assets, and support will enable us to make a successful transition.
7 Steps to a Successful Transition for Your Business
1. Determine how much money you need to make each month in replacement income. Save at minimum six months of burn rate to give you time to get traction in the new enterprise. If you intuit that you will be deeply challenged by uncertainty, consider saving an entire year of funds. Keeping anxiety at bay is key as nothing erodes our creativity and problem-solving acumen faster.
2. Assess the infrastructure needs required for your vision. What kind of enterprise are you building? What will you need to put into place for the new venture to be successful? What are the foundational organizational requirements? Do you desire a lean enterprise or one built to scale rapidly?
3. Determine the kinds of support you need for each phase of the launch. What do you need in terms of legal advice, team talent, business coaching, and/or input from a financial advisor? Do you need help creating the overall vision and setting a strategic plan?
4. Take inventory of your skillsets, habits, mindset, and knowledge. Who do you need to become for your new venture to find escape velocity? Are there certain skills and/or knowledge you need in order to be confident, clear, and calm while at the helm? What habits do you need to shed or establish?
5. What assets should be in place prior to launching? Do you require or desire a brick-and-mortar location or are you building an online storefront? What will be the touchpoints of your brand? What is your vision of the ultimate customer experience and what will that vision require? What kind of marketing collateral needs to be designed and in place?
6. Set the timeline. Once you are clear on your answers to the questions posed in the first five steps, set a very realistic and doable timeline. Be certain to build in time for contingencies and unanticipated delays. Make that runway long enough to ensure your plane can lift off.
7. Map your plan for stocking the LEM. Create desired milestones for what needs to be in the LEM and by when. Begin securing and stocking all the assets, resources, and supplies you need for your journey. Establish weekly check-ins to review progress and adjust your timeline as needed.
Preparation Can Help Make What’s Possible Feel Probable
The venture that is calling us to create wants to be born. Our souls know that it is time. Perhaps way overdue.
We can want to stay in shallow waters, moored in the harbor, feeling there is safety there. Cling to sameness, what is familiar—even if it is dull and suffocating.
The creative force swirling within us, though, knows differently. It understands the voyage will teach us what we need to learn and will shape us into the entrepreneurs and creators we are destined to be.
While there are no guarantees, solid and thoughtful preparation can make all the difference in elevating our odds as we chase the dreams held fast in our hearts. It can make a successful transition feel more inevitable than it feels intimidating. We can stand with open arms at the precipice of ourselves, truly ready to get started. It is at this edge that we burn with excitement, feeling our most vibrant and alive.