It sounds pretty counterintuitive for me to write, but there are plenty of reasons to not go out on your own: fear of change, the stress over having to market yourself, or the worry over not securing clients.

These reasons can be paralyzing, and can skim months (or years) off of making the ultimate move into consulting.

I heard all of them the other night at an event. All of the concerns are valid – and I encountered the same concerns myself before starting.

But, here’s the thing:

• Change is good. It helps you grow both personally and professionally – and isn’t that what life is all about?
• If you can change the narrative from “marketing myself” to “helping others” the conversation will shift. You won’t be worried about serving yourself, but serving others instead. It’s a pretty powerful mindset.
• Your worry about not securing clients should be on par with your worry about getting laid off. It happens all the time, and you can’t be risk the complacency.

What reasons are holding you back from going out on your own?