When Is the Right Time to Take the Leap?
My husband Joe and I returned a couple of weeks ago from an incredible world adventure, celebrating our honeymoon and one-year anniversary across Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.
We hiked, biked, kayaked, and ate our way through an incredibly diverse and stunning part of the world. We survived all of the things seemingly trying to kill us in Australia. And I fulfilled (and survived!) a lifelong dream of scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef. It was a fantastic trip with plenty of once-in-a-lifetime moments that we won’t soon forget.
It was also the capstone to what was both a wonderful and strange summer for us. Many of you know that Joe left the federal government back in May without a next step lined up. It was a giant leap for both of us.
I’m sure you’ve had a moment like that too, standing at the edge of a major decision, unsure if you should jump. Joe wrestled with his for months. Should he stay or should he go? And if he did leave, when would be the right time?
A Happy Update
I’m happy to report that the pieces seem to have fallen into place.
Just a week before we left on our trip, and about two weeks before Joe’s severance was set to end, he received a job offer from an AI tech company in DC. The timing meant we could travel with ease and truly enjoy our honeymoon.
All the stress of the prior months evaporated almost instantly. Joe wondered why he worried so much if everything worked out so well?
Especially now, the decision to leave seems so clear, as many of Joe’s friends and former colleagues still with the government are now dealing with a month-long shutdown, required to work without getting paid.
But of course, hindsight is (sort of) 20-20.
It’s easy to look back and see how everything aligned once he took the leap and stepped away from the workplace he’d known for more than 10 years. But that outcome wasn’t guaranteed. The “safe and steady” path of government work has quickly become its own form of risk, whether you stay or go.
I imagine many of you who have started your own business have experienced those same feelings and questions. I certainly have.
I’m coming up on 9 years since I made the leap to start BE Lean. As difficult as that decision was at the time, looking back, I know I made the right choice.
So… When Is the Right Time to Take the Leap?
Whether it’s leaving a job, starting a business, restructuring your company, or finally green-lighting a big change you’ve been putting off, how do you know when it’s time to jump?
I recently wrote about this in an article called Tipping Points Have Two Sides.
Change only happens when the force keeping us where we are becomes weaker than the force pulling us toward something different. That tipping point can show up in two ways:
• The pressures keeping you where you are decrease
• The desire or need for change grows stronger
For Joe, both happened.
As his job satisfaction declined and uncertainty in government increased, the pull to leave grew stronger. But the final tipping point was the severance — the financial runway reduced the friction enough to make the leap possible.
When he finally made the decision, he didn’t know what was next. He just knew staying wasn’t the answer anymore, and we trusted that we’d figure out the rest.
You’ve Probably Been Here Too
For many of the business owners I work with, BE Lean becomes part of their own tipping point.
They’re often standing at an inflection point — on the edge of growth but weighed down by mess and inefficiency, or nearing a breaking point where the pace and pressure of growth are no longer sustainable.
Investing in better systems, structure, and strategy can absolutely feel like a leap. The path ahead isn’t always clear. But there’s also a cost to staying stuck.
My work is to help leaders navigate that leap thoughtfully, reduce the friction weighing them down, and make confident decisions that allow their business to grow without burning themselves or their team out.
If you feel like you’re at inflection point in your own business, here’s how I can help.