People often ask me, “How do I know if I’m ready for the next big step in my business?” 

 And the truth is, if you’ve been going it alone as a solopreneur, leaping into this transition can seem intimidating. You might be afraid of making mistakes, or the wrong decision (or just getting decision fatigue in general) or unsure if your new ideas will resonate with your audience.

It’s completely understandable. No one wants to put all that effort in only to feel it was wasted. But don’t let that stop you! 

Continuous improvement can be a game-changer, helping you stay energised and passionate about your work. Not only will it keep your business aligned with your evolving vision, but it will also strengthen your connection with your audience and boost your confidence. 

If you’ve been feeling like you’re ready for this big next step, you probably are getting close! 

To help you decide, today I’m sharing five ways to know if you’re ready for your business evolution. This way you can focus on achieving sustainable growth without the fear of overthinking and wearing yourself out. 

(And if you’re not ready yet, you’ll know what you need to do!) Let’s dig in.

DO YOU PREFER TO LISTEN RATHER THAN READ? NO WORRIES! CHECK OUT THE COZY BUSINESS WITH KATHERINE PODCAST EPISODE OF THIS POST:

5 Ways You Know You’re Ready For the Next Big Step In Your Business

Only you can say for sure whether you’re ready for the next big step in your business. As I mentioned above, if it’s been heavily on your mind lately, you’re probably in a good place to start researching your options, at the very least. You may even find that you’re more prepared for it than you think.

To help you decide, here are a few tell-tale signs that show you’re more than ready to evolve your business:

Readiness Sign #1: Others Tell You That You’re Ready

Has someone suggested you try taking the next step in your business? As big or as small as those steps might be.

This is why it’s so helpful to have a support system and community of cheerleaders because sometimes they see something in you before you see it in yourself.

A few years ago, one of my business besties (who is a speaker coach) started encouraging me to consider public speaking as another element of my business, long before I thought I could do it.

When I did my first paid keynote, even though I was terrified during the lead up and even on stage, I felt such a great sense of achievement afterwards. I may never have even done it if she hadn’t believed in me and nudged me to try.

If you don’t have a support system or network of people to give you feedback, try asking a friend or coach. It’s important to remember, thought, that your friends and family have personal stakes in the decision you make and they want to protect you. So make sure to talk to people who are going to support you and ask great questions, instead of stomping on your ideas or projecting their fears onto you.

You can even try stepping back and being your own coach. Given the circumstances, would you say you’re ready? 

Always give yourself time to be with everything that comes up as you start to envision the possibilities ahead of you. Let those move through you, and then allow yourself to expand into the bigger vision of your work beyond the fears and emotions.

Readiness Sign #2: You feel ready and crave new adventures

You may not feel it now, but your intuition about the right next steps in your business will likely steer you in the right direction. The question is, what’s at the heart of this urge to evolve?

If you think you’re ready but struggle with self doubt or overthinking, it can be hard to admit that you absolutely are ready. These thoughts are your nervous system going on high alert to try and protect you.

And as wonderful as it is that we have an inbuilt alarm system, it’s important to know that we are so much more than that as well.

Here are a few ways to work with your nervous system, whilst acknowledging your bigger vision.

• First, Picture yourself succeeding. What would it feel like to actually do it? Amazing, right?
• Next, Imagine the worst-case scenario. How would you handle it?
• Finally, recall a time in the past when you felt the same way you do now but overcame it.

Chances are none of the bad things you imagine will happen. But planning ahead will make you feel more confident. In the words of Glennon Doyle, “We can do hard things.”

Readiness Sign #3: There’s no other way

Sometimes big decisions come easy because we have no other choice. They are happening out of our control and there is little we can do stop it.

That can feel frustrating in the moment but, in my experience, it will often lead to something else.

So when that happens, we can exhaust ourselves fighting it or we can soften into the circumstances, create options that might be available to us, and trust that there is something more at play beyond our current awareness of the situation. Forces are out there larger than you, and the universe is nodding its head. 

This month, two things out of my control have resulted in me making some pivots in my business.

First of all, my podcasting platform announced that it’s shutting down forever. So I need to find somewhere to move all my private and public podcasts. This is extremely impactful, especially on my programs because I had lifetime access to unlimited feeds and now I have to navigate my next steps.

Similarly, Facebook has made so many changes to their groups function that – in my opinion – it has become almost unusable. Not only is it buggy (especially the guides section) and nobody is getting notification or barely seeing posts in groups, now Facebook is choosing to remove posts and mark them as spam (including if you’re the group owner).

Yes, there is the option to stay in this case, but at what cost? Especially for my paid members, I want to take care of them and make sure they’re getting the best community experience (more on that coming soon!)

Readiness Sign #4: You have already set up necessary foundations

Now that we’ve covered some of the mindset signs that will help you determine if you’re ready for this big step, it’s time to cover some practical reasons. 

Before you evolve your business, there are some things you’ll need to have ready. It makes little sense to take a leap and expand your business without the big vision mapped out. 

Why is it important to set the right foundations? Because making any change in your business is going to require planning and good communication to ensure you and your audience are ready and equipped for what’s to come.

Without this, clients or customers may get confused, angry, or feel ripped off. And without a clear plan, you can waste a lot of time and energy flipping back and forth on important decisions.

Here’s how you’ll know that evolving your business in a new direction is the right next  step:

#1. You have clarity on the big vision and steps to get there

If you’re just feeling restless, or comparing yourself to others in your industry, it can be easy to make a snap decision to move to a new platform or create a new offer in your business without truly understanding why you’re doing it.

The problem with not having clarity around why you’re doing something is that it adds extra unnecessary stress to your usual business operations and to everything you’re trying to create.

Here’s what I mean:

A few years ago, I created Secret Introvert’s Business as a membership offer. At the time, it made so much sense to create an affordable and accessible membership and I actually still love the strategy (but now it’s my Cozy Community Hub).

It made sense to stick with what I knew, business for introverts and, even though I got 100 members in the first few months, I came to realise that it was not right in its current format.  

I didn’t have the clarity of what the ongoing membership support and resources might look like, I simply stuck with what I knew. Once the Community Hub idea came to life, I instantly had a year worth of ideas for it and realised that the lack of vision for Secret Introvert’s Business was holding me back.

If you want to learn from my mistakes, check out this post where I share all about it.

#2. Your backend systems are set up and running smoothly

Depending on the kind of change you are making in your business – whether it’s moving to a better system or website builder, launching a new offer, or heading in a new direction, it’s important that you have systems in place for your existing community and clients beforehand.

It may take time to implement your changes or, at least, there will be some upheaval time and so you want to ensure that you disrupt the rest of your business as little as possible.

This way you’ll keep your clients happy, reduce any potential income loss, and have the other areas of your business operating, as normal, during the transition.

If you’re not quite there yet, here are a few things you can do:

• Step 1 – Set up any email automations that you can
  Personally, I use Mailerlite* to automate as much as possible when it comes to communicating with my people and keeping them updated if I’m working behind the scenes on something. If, for example, you are going to take some time off to work on your big new project, organising your communications is so important. This might be setting up a waitlist with automations, or even pre-scheduling updates and emails to your list.

• Step 2 – Make a list of the business operations or client work you need to be on top of 

This will help you to get clarity on what else you might need to set up, schedule, or automate. And you’ll keep on top of things while you’re shifting focus to a new project or big change in your business.

Need to check in with clients while you’re off or pay certain bills? Make sure you set reminders or set up automations in advance.

• Step 3 –  Set yourself up for success and a smooth transition
  Create a dashboard to keep on top of all your phases and steps that need to be done to implement and launch your new offer, creation, or new direction.

I just did this last week for a big move I’m making in my business and it helped SO MUCH to get it all out of my head and categorise it in phases.

If you want, you can download my free task brainstorming dashboard here >>

#3. You have the necessary resources and support to implement changes.

Once you’ve got clarity around what you’re doing (and why), and then you’ve got the systems and foundations in place to support you so that you can make decisions and forward motion with ease, you want to make sure that you have the resources and support on hand to go all in.

This might look like:

• A budget for new software, to hire someone, or to invest in tools you need to help you move quickly and not prolong your big move
• Support to ensure that you have someone to call on, like a coach, strategist, or accountability buddy for if (and when) you fall behind, get stuck, or lose momentum
• Dedicated time and energy to do the important steps to the best of your ability. 

I’m in the middle of this right now in my business. I feel like I’ve been going through waves of big and small evolutions for years and have learnt to trust that it will never be perfect, there will always be improvements to make, but having the resources and support to assist you makes a big difference from running on empty.

The last thing I want for you is that you decide to make a big change in your business, or head in a new direction, lose steam halfway through and get stuck in limbo between where you are now and where you were hoping to go.

Readiness Sign #5: You have a plan for days when it feels hard 

Now, I can hear you saying, “you just told us we can do hard things!”

And that’s absolutely true. Having said that, every solopreneur has to have a plan for those days when it feels hard or you’re not sure you can pull this off. Because it’s going to happen!

Earlier this year when I was working on the Cozy Community Hub, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to finish it off. For some reason, it just wasn’t clicking.

It wasn’t until I gave myself some time and stopped forcing it.

That’s when I realized that I needed to plan for this. Those bleh days are just going to happen every now and then. I find especially at certain times of the month, and also when I’ve been pushing too hard to meet unrealistic deadlines.

Here’s what you can do to prepare so you’re ready for it:

• First, always know how you work best and schedule accordingly. Forcing yourself to suddenly change your natural flow state just because of time constraints or excitement isn’t going to help in the long run.
• Get in the habit of using journaling to get out everything you’re thinking so that you can step back a bit from the thoughts and emotions and realise that they’re not all that you are.

• Remember that bleh days are not forever. I forget this all the time, and it’s easy to do so when that cloud is hanging over you. But I promise, it always passes and the sun comes out again.
• Be ready to take a day off, rest, or do something else when you’re feeling unmotivated or generally bleh. There’s no point pushing through because you usually end up feeling worse.
• Give yourself the space you need and then be gentle with yourself when you return after a day or two. You’re not behind. That time you took to rest might have been necessary for your creative juices, some external inspiration, or the integration time you needed to be ready to pick up again after a little time away.

Having a plan like this, even if it’s only in your head at this point, will help you take care of yourself and will benefit your big plan so much more than just trying to push through and get it done.

In addition to this list, I also created a 9-step Readiness Check In to help you get clear on whether shifting direction or focus in your business right now is for you.

Click here to download your free Readiness Check in and Brainstorming Dashboard >>

Standing in between you and your next big step: The Doubt Edition

Usually, the biggest thing standing in the way of your wildest dreams isn’t something external. It’s actually self-doubt.

Some common concerns I hear from my clients are:

• “What if I put all the time and energy into this move and nobody cares?”
• “I don’t want to disappoint my family if I fail.”
• “What if I decide to change my mind and it’s too late?”

Does any of that sound familiar?

The best way to clear those concerns up is to not try to force a decision based on external circumstances and get clear on why YOU want to do this in the first place. 

Ask yourself, “If everything went exactly the way I hope, what would that look like?”

Sometimes when we’re worrying what others will think, we are actually projecting our own self doubt onto them. Find someone supportive you can talk your ideas out with, create a plan, and – if you need to – create some “what if” scenarios to calm your nervous system.

Standing in between you and the next evolution of your business: Real-Life Obstacles

Real-life obstacles are some of the most obvious challenges you’re going to face when taking the next big step in your business.

We’ve already covered common obstacles in this post, but you likely will have some circumstances that are unique to your situation, resources, and capacity.

The important thing is that every move and next step in your business is taking this into consideration.

So in addition to what I shared above, I recommend creating a realistic timeline for yourself, and then brainstorming different ways to overcome any obstacles that may arise. 

And remember, when you’re ready, you’re ready. 

If you find that you aren’t really motivated to put in the work, perhaps that means you’re not quite ready to take that next step right now (or you haven’t found a good enough reason why). That’s okay, give yourself the space and grace to understand sometimes we need to go on our own personal journey with all the detours and side quests to be ready to hold the next iteration of our business vision.

Want some support mapping out your next big move and all the steps that will make it as seamless and simple as possible? This just happens to be one of my favourite things to support my clients and members with. Book in a call here and let’s chat about how I could support you too!

Bonus! Extra ways to get ready for taking the next big step in your business:

• Use the free brainstorming board to get everything out of your head and then organise it afterwards.
• Streamline your offers, as Michell talks about in this post.
• Embrace your strengths so you make changes that support you.
• Update and refine your daily, weekly, monthly, and annual tasks as your business changes.
• Get someone objective to take a look at your entire business and help you breakthrough to your next level (sort of like this)

That’s a wrap!

Have a question about anything I covered today?

It’s difficult sometimes when you’re going it alone as a solopreneur!

I’m here if you’d like to book in a call to get your own support network. I’m also going to be sharing my own big next steps very soon, so make sure you are connected on Instagram or on my email list to hear all about it, and get other tips, tools, and content about creating a supportive cozy business.

Click here to download the Cozy Business Loot Chest now >>