It can be scary and overwhelming to walk away from a six-figure job for the entrepreneurial life. But for people that want to create true financial (and literal) freedom in their lives, it may be the right choice.
It was the right choice for Nicola Moras, an Australian entrepreneur who left her cushy 6 figure job in search of something better.
I sat down with her for an interview to find out what others can learn from her story. Moras faced many struggles in the process, but the outcome and journey was worth it for her.
Draw a Line in the Sand
Moras left her six-figure corporate job in February, 2011. For almost 18 months, she was trying to get her business—she was working as a visual branding and style coach—going. She tried everything. She was traveling all over the country—leaving her husband and three kids under 10 at home while doing it—doing all the coaching and consulting in person.
She got to the point where she was about to move her whole family in with her in-laws. But, she gave herself one more month to get things happening. She’d invested all the money she had saved in trying to get the business ‘properly’ off the ground.
“I was down to $300 in the bank. $1000 left on a credit card. It was diabolical,” Moras said.
Mid 2012, she drew a line in the sand and decided to realign what she was offering more in line with what SHE wanted to do, which was to offer online coaching & training only and to see what happened. She went from next to nothing in sales to $30k in sales in the space of a month.
Here’s how she did it.
Align with What You Want to Do
In Moras’s case, she had her offer aligned with what she wanted to do—and what people wanted, in the way that they wanted to consume it. Everything then shifted around her, and doors opened up. She had been trying to sell something that she thought she should be selling based on what she could see happening in the marketplace.
That was July 2012. She then found a mentor to work with who could help her scale her business further.
“Something that is now non-negotiable is having a mentor to work with,” said Moras.
Having a mentor, or many mentors, is one of the wisest things anyone can do. Instead of spending 30 years of your life figuring out something someone else figured out already, fast track your success by getting a mentor.
Moras said that for you to get the best results possible, everything you’re doing needs to be aligned with who you are at the deepest of levels (to the depths of your soul.)
Having a greater purpose behind what you are doing is extremely important and will drive you further than money will any day.
It also makes your marketing easier. Your offers are easier. Your clients get better results. Stop trying to be who you think you should be, and be who you are.
Persistence Builds Resilience
“You have to be persistent, with a clear plan, so that you know what you’re working towards. This then builds resilience,” said Moras.
Moras explained that persistence is futile unless you’re working towards a clear, defined goal. Resilience kicks in when you remain consistently working towards that goal, continuing despite the set backs. The fear. The negativity. The naysayers.
“Resilience kicks in when you continue to move towards the kind of life you dream of despite things not working as fast or in the way you want them to,” said Moras.
How to Overcome Fear and Negativity
As if the final story arch in a movie with a great villain, Moras had a group of ‘mean girls’ come out of the woodwork at the end of 2013 that made her want to quit. They were giving her paid course content away for free to others that didn’t purchase it, and rubbing it in. They even formed an “I hate Nicola Moras” group on FB.
Everything proceeded to implode around her. “I was done! It knocked the wind out of me for two months! I didn’t deal with it in the way that I would these days because I was still worrying about what they’d think of me,” said Moras.
But then something incredible and inspiring happened. As part of the package she sold, she promised all students an in-person event. These ‘mean girls’ were technically entitled to come to the event. Most people would have obviously turned them away. But Moras embraced them with open arms, and allowed them to come to the event.
She made the decision after two months of heartache and sorrow to stand up for herself, in her way. The most important step was to let go of all that heartache and negative energy she had built up around the situation.
Even though these people had stolen from her and bullied her on social media, she still invited them to the event she had promised.
“One of my mottoes is, ‘Always deliver on exactly what you’ve sold,’” said Moras. You see, people are going to say and do whatever they want about you, no matter what happens. You can’t control that. You can only control how you show up. How you act. From a place of authenticity and integrity. You’re never going to be able to please everybody, so create something that you believe in. Something that offers extreme value to other people. Help them get results and everything else falls into place. There’ll always be people out there who don’t ‘get it’. Who don’t ‘get’ what you’re doing. You’re not here for them. You’re here for you and the people that you are here to help.
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