Who hasn’t dreamed about working for themselves while working away at a 9-5 job. The job itself might be very enjoyable and the health and salary benefits enviable by most standards. But for a percentage of people out there, there’s a sense of personal fulfillment that can only be satisfied by working for themselves.

Some of us will ignore it because the full time job is just too good to leave, others will risk everything and go for it because the attraction is just too strong to ignore. Often time the risk takers are more afraid of the sense of regret they’ll feel for never having tried than the fear of losing a secure job.

There is a somewhat of a middle ground that you can take. If risk is not your thing, you can follow the path that many women have chosen and that is to work just long enough to secure a modest pension, lower the mortgage, put some money away for the kids’ college tuition before tending that resignation.

Of course that assumes that your employer doesn’t ask you to leave before you’re ready. In today’s tenuous economy there’s no such thing as a secure job. This uncertainty is another reason women are making plans for their own financial independence through self employment.

Whether you take a leap early on in your career or wait for a safer transition point later on, it is really all about what is best for your personal situation.

Here are some tips to consider as you contemplate answering your entrepreneurial call:

• Consider “moonlighting.” Nothing beats getting a pay check while you build your business off hours. It will be tiring but you may be able to reduce the amount of money that you’ll have to borrow or raise to start your business by beginning your company in this way. If your business is client based, take on a few clients - as much as you can handle while working full time - and test the waters of entrepreneurship. It may be a little stressful as you’ll be burning the candle at both ends, but many business owners start this way and in the big picture it can be less “financially stressful.”
• Investigate the possibility of having your current employer become a client. Perhaps you could work for them as an independent contractor. This allows you to work for others (depending on your agreement) and you can build up a client base without losing income.
• Partner with others who are in the business you want to enter. Perhaps as a partner on a venture or contract you can arrange your schedule so that you can devote the hours you’re not at your full-time job to your joint venture. Since you’ll be working with someone else the work load may not be as heavy and you’ll be able to test the waters both as an entrepreneur and as a business partner. Even after you leave your full-time job you may find the joint partnership approach is exactly the kind of business environment in which you want to build your entrepreneurial career.

What’s key to remember is that you don’t want to force a situation. You’re at a point in your life where you’ve learned a lot throughout your years as a working mother, juggling multiple priorities and managing life’s curb balls. Don’t let yourself rush into anything without adequate research (not procrastination but practical research!) and talk with other women.

If you think you’d like to start a business that has an online component–marketing-wise or service-wise–like a business writing, graphic design, life coaching, financial advising, etc., then why not investigate a women’s private mentoring group like Mom Masterminds? I’m a member of this group of dynamic women and all I can tell you is that it is one of the most practical, useful and resourceful networking and educational organizations with which I have ever been involved.

Good luck!