Overcoming the fear of change
What stops us from making a change...
I have taken time this month to discuss with Digby Scott of Change Makers about the fear of change. What prevents someone from changing their life? He pointed out that “there’s often a significant gap between ‘idea’ and ‘implementation’”, so the reality of trying something new doesn’t match the idea. Challenges and blockages can prevent the idea from working how we want it to, therefore leading to the assumption that the idea failed. Consequently, we then decide not to try anything new again in case it fails. Digby’s approach is to bridge the gap between the idea and implementation by using deliberate experimentation.
Reference: How to Experiment
A common barrier I have been getting feedback about from potential sole traders is the fear of finding work. I decided to use his approach to create an example experiment that can help bridge the gap between idea and implementation for the potential problem of “what happens if I don’t earn money straight away while I grow my client base?”
This approach can be used to test other ideas you might have about becoming a sole trader, such as:
- developing your network and growing your brand;
- identifying the type of work you want to do and researching if there is a market for it.
Deliberate Experimentation
- an example
Planning Resources
If you want to work out your financial position, then here are a couple of useful links to get you started.
Firstly, there are plenty of cashflow templates you can find on the web, but one I have found that is simple and easy to use is the “Simple Personal Budget” excel template provided by Microsoft. You can download and use this free template if you have a Microsoft account.
Secondly, to work out the minimum number of hours you need to work a week as a sole trader to cover your current living costs, try out the handy freemeup calculator. This will calculate the annual salary per year (before tax and deductions) based on the charge-out rate you want to use. You can use this calculator to:
- help you figure out your charge-out rate; and
- how many days per week you will need to work to cover your business and personal expenses.
To sum up...
Changes that we implement do not always pan out how we expect them to. But with a little time and planning, an experimental approach can help test the water and take away the fear of change. If you have decided you want to take things a step further and would like to try working as a sole trader, please get in touch with me at hello@freemeup.nz. I would love to chat more to see if freemeup can help you on your journey.
"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better."
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