Are you ready to take the plunge yet? Let's face it, if you have ever had a burning desire to become an entrepreneur by turning your passion into profits, there is no better time like the present. However, before you move too fast, there are a few things that must be considered. This article will focus on five things that you must consider as you transition from employee to entrepreneur.

1. Assess Your Assets - Before you step out on your journey to entrepreneurship, you must take inventory of what you are not only good at but have passion for as well. The first and most natural place to start is within the industry that you currently work. If you love what you do but just need to create your own security blanket, your transition might be much easier than you thought. If you would like to do something totally different, the productivity gap may be wider and the speed from which you can go to market may be a little slower --- but that's okay. You will obviously need to do your research and understand the demand, your competitors and how much of the market you wish to capture. My personal advice is to find a niche within your focus area and master the intricacies of that niche of that particular niche. This is one of those unique cases where casting a smaller net is best as it will set you up for complete success.

2. Develop a Business Plan - A natural next step in the process is to develop a business plan for your business. No matter what type of business you go into, you must have a foundation from which to build and grow. Without a business plan, you are left to the devices of someone else and basically give your control away. Whether you will be seeking funding for your business or not, you business plan should be sound and encompass critical components that will help the decision maker decide if your business is worth funding. While there are a multitude of things to include in your business plan, some of the most important areas of focus should be:

Write your plan and get it critiqued by a professional but most importantly keep in mind that your plan is your blueprint but you must remain nimble and willing to change it if necessary. Different times call for different actions and based upon what the market demands, you may have to re-write your blueprint to meet the needs of the customer.

3. Sharpen Your Sales Skills - If you are one of those people who does not like sales, ditch this plan and get 100% refocused on your job. While everyone uses some form of sales in all that we do, this skill is critically important as an entrepreneur because it's the lifeblood of your business. Quite frankly, it's what makes or breaks you. A good marketing, business, financial or operational plan will do you no good if you can't convert a prospect into a client. You can sharpen your skills by attending sales trainings, reading books, getting a mentor but most importantly by getting some 'hands on' experience. You might try doing some volunteer work where sales is a major component of it. You may also consider trying some form of direct selling by testing the water in the overwhelming amount of direct sales companies available. Whatever your strategy, keep the financial risk low while you test the waters and sharpen your skills.

4. Develop and Nurture Strategic Business Relationships - As you seek to transition into business ownership, it can be so easy to try to operate in a silo and do things alone. One reason is for the obvious and that is you are moonlighting and you want to keep things low-key and the other is just lack of knowledge. Where moonlighting is concerned, I agree that you should keep things low key but only in relation to your job. You certainly wouldn't want to get your boss any reason to think that you are distracted by other outside interests which may have an effect on your performance. However, to everyone else you should be using every opportunity to grow and develop your business. In fact, you should not even be discussing your J.O.B. when at networking functions specifically for the purpose of growing your business. Why? You have to be intimately connected with your purpose and your passion and if it's not your job, why talk about it at networking events. You should spend that time trying to learn and uncover who you need to be connected with at the event because you can either add or receive value from them. You also want people to take you seriously and if you speak about your moonlighting passion as if it's a hobby, that's exactly what it will be. Developing strategic business relationships is a process and it takes time. Do not expect people to immediately start referring business your way without them knowing you well enough to understand your business, your character and your integrity. Nurture the relationships that you form couple it with giving without expectation and you will soon start to see an even clearer path on your journey to entrepreneurship.

5. Ensure that Your Emotional Endurance is Intact - Although this one is last, do not underestimate the power of its importance. The opportunity to run your own ship comes with great excitement and challenges. You must have a solid support system in place for when you finally cut the cord and give your boss the boot. In the beginning, there may be more down days than up and the isolation alone can tear you at the core and wreak havoc on your emotions. You must learn how to make a huge balancing act between managing a family, a job and moonlighting. It's a hard act to juggle but you can do it as long as you have drive, determination and a solid support system in place. Having strong emotional stamina means that you must be mentally prepared and individually inspired to stay motivated and work through disappointments and lost opportunities while continuing to move your business ahead.

The biggest impact on success involves both personal and professional fulfillment. With the vast amount of opportunities to become a small business owner at your fingertips, transitioning from employee to entrepreneur is not only tempting but is almost required if you expect to create fulfillment in your life. Even if you prefer to stay under the corporate reigns, you must still think like an entrepreneur and work like an intrapreneur if you want to get noticed for a chance at seeing your salary increase. Entrepreneurship is an awesome thing but before you move too fast, ensure that the transition is made prescriptively with precision and passion but most of all make it FUN! So go on and start working on a plan to create your own success story and when you do, be sure to remember where you started from and reach back to help someone else create theirs.