Employee to Entrepreneur: The Identity Shift No One Talks About {9.02.25}

The Goal Getter Guide with Jen Laffin

Welcome to the very first episode of The Goal Getters Guide! In this episode, Jen Laffin dives into one of the most overlooked (but most critical) parts of starting a business: the identity shift from employee to entrepreneur.

Because it’s not the strategy, the tech, or even the money that trips most new business owners up, it’s the conditioning you bring with you from your old 9-to-5 life. If you don’t address it, you’ll keep spinning your wheels, procrastinating, and second-guessing yourself even when you know exactly what you want.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why your employee identity is secretly holding you back as a business owner.
• The habits employees are trained to follow (and why they don’t work when you’re your own boss).
• Signs you’re still stuck in employee thinking, like:
  • Feeling guilty for not working a 9-hour day.
  • Waiting for the “right” way instead of trusting yourself.
  • Spinning in confusion without a clear system.
  • Procrastinating on the big, bold goals.
• Four powerful ways to shift into your entrepreneurial identity, including:
  1. Building your Self-Trust Bank by keeping promises to yourself.
  2. Scheduling CEO time for vision and strategy.
  3. Redefining failure as data instead of judgment.
  4. Practicing “ABC: Action Brings Clarity.”

Why This Identity Shift Matters

As an employee, your worth is measured in hours logged and gold stars from your boss. As an entrepreneur, your worth comes from the value you create and your ability to make decisions even without complete data. Until you embrace this shift, you’ll keep looking for external validation that no longer exists.

The good news? Once you step into your true entrepreneurial identity, your decisions, actions, and results will finally start lining up with the business you’re trying to build.

Reflection Question

Where are you still thinking like an employee instead of the entrepreneur you want to become?

Resources & Next Steps

• Share this episode with a fellow business owner who might need this identity shift.
• Subscribe to The Goal Getters Guide so you don’t miss the next episode: “Why You Shouldn’t Believe Every Thought You Think.”
• Leave a review to help more entrepreneurs discover this show!

💡 Takeaway: You can’t build a successful business with an employee mindset. Step fully into your role as an entrepreneur and watch how fast your growth accelerates.

Thank you for listening!
Follow us ~ If you enjoyed today's episode, please follow The Goal Getter Guide Podcast so that new episodes are delivered automatically to your favorite podcast feed. This way you won't miss a word!
Want more?

• Discover the blind spots that are making goal getting difficult for you when you take our free Blind Spot Audit here.
• Identify the exact activities that generate revenue in your business and make time for them. Download your free Productivity Playbook here.
• Looking for accountability support to get your hard things done? Learn about the Goal Getters Club here.
• Visit Jen's website by clicking here.