Creating your road map

I had a lot of positive responses from my last two post and thought this would be a useful continuation on reaching your goals and making a transition to pursue your passion.

The thought of creating a business plan can seem very daunting and perhaps debilitating when you find a passion that you must pursue but really have no idea how you are going to go about making it happen. It’s hard to take the first step when you’re not really sure what that is. Building a personal road map seems to make more sense.

It was just over two years ago while going through the challenges of following my own passion for several years and feeling frustrated when I shared with a friend  “I need to use the last quarter of this year to figure out how I am going to get out of my big house and out of my very high paying job and come up with a plan to make this work, or just give up and be happy with my life as it is.”  Well God took care of that very quickly as I lost that high paying job of 14 years just a few weeks later and just before the last quarter of the year….so as they say be careful of what you wish for…. he may just be listening. Well of coarse I took this as a sign to have the courage to jump out there so I  put  my house on the market…..it sold in one day at the open house and thirty days later I stood in a small apartment shell shocked!   My hope is this post might help you have a smoother transition than jumping off the side of a cliff and hoping you grow your wings on the way down.

I am speaking more to those of you that are very established in the life you have created and then discovered you found your true passion requiring you to make big changes, take big risk, and get uncomfortable. Some call this a midlife crisis, I call it waking up to the truth of life. However, creating a personal road map can apply to most everyone with a vision, a dream, and the need to discover how to make that happen. One thing that we forget once we become successful is that it took time and hard work to get there. So, chances are you will need to make some sacrifices, take some risk, and get uncomfortable.

The word budget use to make me cringe because some how my definition of the word meant less than. It meant that if I were to look at the numbers I might discover that I was living too large, should cut back, and live less of a lifestyle than the one I was living. So, I was perfectly happy not knowing the numbers; ignorance is bliss. But what I discovered by the force of hand is that knowing the numbers is the most empowering tool I have to make it all work and know it is possible.

In being able to create a road map you must also be mindful of where you want to go and what it will mean to get there. If you are pursuing what you love than it is something you would do even for free. So logically if you are doing what you really want to be doing most of the time than you won’t need the income of a high paying job to pay for the things that fill the void and create a false happiness. Karl Grobl, a photographer that I greatly admire said it best while he was on an assignment in Sudan. He was speeding across the open desert for hours with the directors of the NGO he was working with when one asked the other, “If  you won the lottery, what would you do? While they discussed it amongst themselves Carl thought “ I would be doing exactly what I am doing now-shooting pictures of humanitarian stories for NGO’s. The only difference is that I would do it for free.”

So here is how the road map works.

First put aside your situation as it is right now and try to think from the perspective of being were you want to be. Start with a blank sheet of paper or excel type work sheet if you have one and know how to use it.  Label it personal plan. Then write down all the min expenses you will need to live on, not what you currently spend, but the min you could get by on such as groceries, gas, phone, car insurance, (not car payment as that is not a min expense and I will explain later) gas, (as you would still probably have car), utilities, health insurance ( once self employed you will need this so you may have to do some research on this number if you a currently in a job that provides health insurance), to be realistic you should put down a small clothing allowance, small entertainment allowance ( this should be very minimal ie a simple diner with friends, renting movies, Starbucks, NOT a ski trip to….) etc.

Now when it comes to rent/mortgage you need to again forgo your current situation and put down the minimum amount of rent/mortgage you could live on but be very realistic. If you are living in a beautiful million dollar home putting down an amount that would have you living in a one bedroom apartment in a lower income neighborhood is not very realistic. However giving up the fancy house with a big mortgage for a much smaller house or a nice condo that is easy to maintain is realistic.  This should give you part of the valid information that you need. To make an honest evaluation you may need to look on Creigs list, the mls and the likes. You may even go look at some places you would consider downsizing to. This should be realistic and is an import part of the map.

Next, on a separate piece of paper,  you need to do the same thing with the known expenses of your business.  You will not know all the numbers but by now you should have enough experience and knowledge to be able to estimate the amount of  money spent on software, hardware, and upgrades. How often you replace your camera bodies realistic should be every 3-5 years not every time a new camera comes out. How much you spend on your website, publications and membership dues, insurance etc…. and then add 20%.

These two items totaled up should give you an idea of the gross sales you will need to have. Now don’t let that number scare you, just keep moving along.  Now list 5-8 ways to bring in that income such as fine art print sales, stock, assignments, publications, workshops, speaking engagements,  (even some part time work),  etc.  Now list a realistic number for each category that totals the number of both your personal and business expenses.  It may take some adjustments but what you have now is the beginning of a road map as a guide. And what you now know is that it is possible and why do you know it is possible, because others have already shown you that it can be done. However, it does not mean it is going to be easy or without sacrifice. Many of you may still have to weigh out the risk and sacrifice it may take going from a more lavish lifestyle down to the realistic number you came up with in your road map. It may take several years to reduce your mortgage or rent and pay off your car, but that is ok as during that time you can work on your craft and vision and enjoy the journey. Most importantly is you have a plan and one that you can use to check your progress. Remember this is not to make you look at the numbers and say I can’t do that, I will never get there, but so you can see it in black and white and say it is possible if I just do the work.

This is not the secret to success but it gives you very solid information so that you can make smart decisions on what you need to do financially to get there, and without it, you maybe making very risky decisions that could be very costly. You may also decide that you really like your life as you have created it, but would enjoy it more if  you had a little more time for your passion. So then create a road map that gets you there by perhaps cutting back 20% and working only 4 days a week. Knowledge is power so I urge you to create a road map and then give it a shot.