How to transition from employee to entrepreneur | Toni Harris Taylor | TEDxThird Ward
Toni Harris Taylor shares her journey from corporate employee to entrepreneur, triggered by her mother's advice to join the family business. She provides a three-step framework for transitioning to entrepreneurship and advocates for franchising as a safer alternative to startups.
Summary
Toni Harris Taylor begins by recounting how at 24, while working at an oil and gas company with plans for a 30-year career, her mother asked her to quit and partner in her business. Her mother's pivotal question - 'what's the worst thing that could happen?' - became a guiding principle. Taylor addresses audience members experiencing career transitions, noting that Gallup research shows only 30% of US employees are engaged at work, meaning 70% are 'showing up but not lit up.' She presents a three-step framework for entrepreneurial transition. Step one involves determining your 'why' through an exercise of creating two lists: things you love to do and things you want to stop doing ('no more'). Her personal love list included connecting people and being a resource, while her no more list included having limitations imposed by others and having her worth determined by salary. Step two focuses on facing fears directly by writing them down and consulting with other entrepreneurs who overcame similar challenges. Her fears included losing steady income, benefits, and fear of failure. Step three involves choosing the right path to entrepreneurship. Taylor presents sobering startup statistics: 20% fail within two years, 50% by year five, and 90% by year ten. As an alternative, she advocates for franchising, describing it as 'entrepreneurship with guard rails.' She explains that franchises extend beyond fast food to over 30 categories including home services and senior care, with many being home-based and affordable. Her own path led to a home-based networking franchise. Taylor emphasizes that 85% of franchises survive beyond year five, contrasting sharply with startup failure rates. She concludes by encouraging immediate action on the three steps and reinforcing her mother's wisdom about taking calculated risks.
Key Insights
- Taylor reveals that Gallup research shows only 30% of US employees are engaged at work, meaning 70% are showing up but not lit up
- Taylor presents stark startup failure statistics: 20% fail within two years, 50% by year five, and 90% by year ten
- Taylor describes franchising as 'entrepreneurship with guard rails' where franchise systems and support bring you back into the lane when you veer off
- Taylor states that 85% of franchises exist after year five and beyond, contrasting sharply with startup failure rates
- Taylor discovered through coaching that franchising covers over 30 categories including unusual niches like a franchise for picking up dog poop with recurring income
Topics
Transcript
[0:00] Please welcome Tony Harris Taylor. When I was 24 years old, just a few short years ago. Why y'all laughing? I was working at an oil and gas company. I was it was a perfect career. I was [0:30] planning to be there 30 years and something unexpected happened. My mother asked me to quit my job and come partner with her in her business. Whose mother does that? I was like because I was scared. No. In her infinite wisdom, [1:03] she asked me something that I still live by today. She said, "Tony, what's the worst thing that could happen? You can always go back and get a job, but what if I'm right?" And you know…
Full transcript available for MurmurCast members
Sign Up to AccessMore from TEDx Talks
Community in modern Malta | Sasha Vella | TEDxUniversityofMalta
Sasha Vella contrasts the strong community bonds she experienced in rural Gozo with the individualism-driven disconnection prevalent in modern Malta, arguing that while individualism has brought freedom and innovation, unchecked pursuit of personal success without community consciousness leads to isolation, loss of empathy, and societies that merely function rather than truly thrive.
The Price of War | Filip Dikmen | TEDxMalmö
Filip Dikmen examines the patriarchy as a system that demands violence and sacrifice from men rather than only oppressing women. He traces three historical grooming techniques—separation from the feminine, public humiliation, and sexual rewards—and explores how these patterns persist today, creating cycles of trauma that damage families and societies while serving the interests of those in power.
Community Filmmaking Leads to Empowerment | Zan Azlee | TEDxUTM
Zan Azlee, a journalist and documentary filmmaker, transitioned from parachute journalism covering war zones to community filmmaking with the Bajau people in Sabah. By teaching indigenous youth video production skills and empowering them to tell their own stories, he demonstrated how storytelling can create economic opportunities and social empowerment for marginalized communities.
Think Big | Arumugam Sakthivel | TEDxKids Club CBSE School
Arumugam Sakthivel shares his entrepreneurial journey from starting with 50,000 rupees to building a 1,500+ crore business group, emphasizing the importance of 'thinking big.' He discusses overcoming an 85-lakh debt crisis, expanding into exports, and leveraging his success to drive infrastructure and social development in Tiruppur through the Tiruppur Exporters Association.
You were built for this | Dr. Dani Lee Harris | TEDxU Chicago Illinois
Dr. Dani Lee Harris shares her personal journey from poverty, foster care, and surviving gun violence to becoming a police officer, professor, and nonprofit founder. She argues that pressure and adversity are catalysts for personal transformation, and that becoming an agent of change requires shifting from asking 'why' to asking 'who do I need to become.'