Mindset shifts, gut instincts, and the right mentors matter most when starting your own firm.

The Disruptors
With Liz Farr

Making the shift from employee to entrepreneur isn’t always easy, as Questian Telka, founder of ReQoncile Financials and co-host of the She Counts podcast, discovered. Besides the obvious pieces of getting business licenses and opening a business bank account, Telka believes it’s essential to keep your reason for starting your business – your why – firmly in focus. 

“If I lose sight of that why, then I am continually getting away from what it is that I enjoy about it, why I’m doing it in the first place,” she explains. 

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For Telka, her why centered around “having a little bit more freedom and flexibility to spend time with family, being able to take on my ideal clients.” Without the centering influence of a strong why, entrepreneurs may risk working with clients who don’t fit their ideal client profile.  

Besides a firm focus on your Why, the shift from employee to entrepreneur requires a complete mental overhaul. “It’s a huge mindset shift, being an employee versus running your own practice, in your own firm, because everything stops with you,” Telka says.