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Thinking about quitting your 9-5 to become an entrepreneur? WATCH THIS FIRST.
Before you quit your job, launch your side hustle, or invest your savings into a business idea, you need a plan.
In this powerful Everybody Can't Go Convo, host Jessi Holley sits down with Dr. Scorpio Rogers, a professor of entrepreneurship, entrepreneur, and business coach with more than 20 years of experience in entrepreneurship education and coaching.
Dr. Rogers explains why aspiring entrepreneurs shouldn't simply “wing it” when starting a business—and why your business plan is your flight plan.
If you've ever wondered:
Should I quit my job and become an entrepreneur?
Is my side hustle actually a business?
When should I go from part-time entrepreneur to full-time entrepreneur?
Do I really need a business plan?
What should I do if I already started my business without one?
This conversation is for you.
https://scorpiorogers.focalpointcoaching.com/
www.everybodycantgo2.com
🚨 BEFORE YOU QUIT YOUR JOB, HEAR THIS
Dr. Rogers challenges the popular idea that you have to choose between having a 9-5 and being an entrepreneur.
Instead, he discusses a strategic approach to entrepreneurship: building your business while maintaining your current income until your business is ready to support you.
The goal?
Don't jump without a plan.
Build the runway before you take off.
✈️ YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS A FLIGHT PLAN
One of the most powerful analogies in this conversation is the idea that a business needs a flight plan just like a plane does.
A business plan isn't simply something you create because you're looking for funding.
It's a way to test your business idea before you risk your money, your family's money, your time, and your energy.
Dr. Rogers explains how a business plan can help entrepreneurs determine whether their idea can actually make money BEFORE spending months or years trying to force the business to work.
💰 SIDE HUSTLE VS. REAL BUSINESS
When does a side hustle become a real business?
Dr. Rogers says entrepreneurs should look at three important factors:
1. The amount of time you're investing.
2. The amount of money it's making.
3. The amount of joy it gives you.
If you're willing to continue doing something even when you're not making money because you genuinely love it and believe it can become a business, there's something worth exploring.
But if the moment things get difficult you want to quit, it may be a sign that you're pursuing a side hustle rather than building a business you're truly committed to.
📉 WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE ECONOMY CHANGES?
Dr. Rogers shares a perspective on entrepreneurship rooted in economic uncertainty.
Recessions happen.
Layoffs happen.
Career changes happen.
Jobs disappear.
But your ability to create value and generate income doesn't necessarily have to disappear with your job.
That's why Dr. Rogers believes entrepreneurship and education can provide important pathways toward greater economic opportunity.
🎯 WHAT IF YOU ALREADY STARTED WITHOUT A BUSINESS PLAN?
Maybe you already launched.
Maybe you skipped steps.
Maybe you're already making money but realize your business isn't structured correctly.
Maybe you're operating while trying to figure everything out at the same time.
Dr. Rogers explains why that doesn't mean your business is doomed.
His advice?
Get help.
Take courses.
Talk to people in your industry.
Find experienced mentors and coaches.
Learn from people who have already navigated the problems you're encountering.
And we laugh. Happy Thursday and welcome to another Everybody Can't Go Convo. I'm your host, Jesse Holly, and we are here live at the Leadership Experience Tour 2026. And I have with me Mr. Scorpio Rogers. Do I need to put a doctor in front of that?
SPEAKER_00
Yes, you do.
SPEAKER_01
Y'all know how I am about putting some respect on it. Because it just didn't sound right. It didn't roll off the tongue the same. So this is Dr. Scorpio Rogers here with us. So go ahead, introduce yourself and let us know about your brand, what you stand for, and the impact you're creating in the world.
SPEAKER_00
Great day. Well, thank you for having me. I really appreciate the fact that you have me. Again, my name is Dr. Scorpio Rogers. The name of my firm is Scorpio Focal Point Coaching. And I coach entrepreneurs. For the last 20 years, I've been a professor of entrepreneurship. My PhD is in entrepreneurship. And I help entrepreneurs be the best that they can be and help them build their businesses to be the best they can be.
SPEAKER_01
That is awesome. That is awesome. And I I look, it rolled off the tongue so smooth. You have over 20 years of experience in this area. So I like to start off by talking about like that's the just the depth of the wealth of knowledge that you have in entrepreneurship space. Like that spans over, I mean, with being a millennial, all I can think about is graduating into a recession. And then after that, you know, all of the different dips and and things that have happened with our economy. Where to even start with so many years of experience with helping entrepreneurs. What was the the catalyst that that started you down that path in the first place? So let's just go all the way back to the beginning.
SPEAKER_00
Sure. Well, I'm from New York. I was born in Harlem. I was raised in the South Bronx in the project of the South Bronx. So very stereotypical. Coming from a single parent home, was raised by my mom. And uh growing up in that environment, I realized only two things can elevate you out of poverty. I was poor, I didn't even know I was poor, truthfully. But I once I realized I was poor, I realized there's two things that can elevate you out of poverty. The first thing was education, so I'm very big on education, and the second was entrepreneurship. And those are the two things that can elevate you out of poverty. I'm I'm very big on education and people going to college, but college teaches you how to work for somebody. I teach people how to work for themselves. And when you see this economy, you talk about the economy going up and down in recession. There's gonna become a point in time when you may not have a job, but you still need to pay your bills. And if you need to pay your bills, you need to have something to be able to do so that you can take care of your own. And so you gotta be able to own your own so you can take care of your own.
SPEAKER_01
That that is so true. And like exactly where you went, that's why I had that blank moment where I'm like, you know what, I don't even know where to start. Because thinking about getting a doctorate in entrepreneurship and in that type of business leadership and acumen, a lot of times nowadays we have this this you either have to do a nine to five or you have to be an entrepreneur. You can't do both. And you just spoke to the fact that sometimes a nine to five, it will sustain you. You can be doing well for yourself. But then when we have those dips, those lulls, the the layoffs, we have the, you know, you might want to make a career transition, all of those different things. What advice would you have for someone who they're taking what I call the nine to five millionaire route? Shout out to Jamal, where it's like, okay, build your business and build in entrepreneurship while also using your nine to five to fund your entrepreneurship journey.
SPEAKER_00
Right. So that's what I call a part-time, full-time. So you have your full-time, full-time, and your part-time full-time. I always say when your part-time, full-time makes as much money as your full-time, full-time, get rid of your full-time, full-time and make your part-time full-time, your full-time, full-time, if that made any sense. So, what I tell people is one, a lot of people, it it's very difficult to do two things well at once. And so, if you're doing your regular job, I'm assuming you're doing it well, it's going to be a little difficult to do your part-time job very well. So, the first thing I tell all entrepreneurs is put together a business plan. And the reason I say put together a business plan, well, people think that's for money. Business plan isn't for money. A business plan is to bet your idea. I work with a lot of people who put together business plans and realize their idea would never make them money. And because they realized their idea would never make them money, they didn't start those businesses. Conversely, a lot of people start businesses and they just think it'll succeed. And they will go eight, nine, ten, twelve, sixteen months of putting money into the business and then finally come to the realization I can't make money at this. Now, what's happened is that they've lost their money, they've lost their family's money, they can't go to Thanksgiving dinner because they owe everybody money. And so I tell people put together a business plan before before you do it so that you have that roadmap. And I people use the analogy of a car. I like to use the analogy of a plane. You get in a plane, you better have that flight plan. If you don't have that flight plan, you don't know where you're gonna end up. But if you keep going, you're gonna run out, you're gonna run out of gas and you're gonna fall hard. You know, if you're driving, you could always stop and go somewhere. If you're in a plane, there's not a lot of places to go. So if you need that flight plan for where you're going, that's what a business. You need that flight plan. So I say put together a business plan, make sure you understand what you're doing. It's good if you have some knowledge from your industry, but don't think that it's easy. Put things in place that will set you up for success.
SPEAKER_01
Okay. So when you're talking about making that business plan and working to a point where your part-time replaces your full-time, what's the difference between when you need to just go ahead and admit that your part-time is a side hustle versus you are actually moving into being a full-time entrepreneur?
SPEAKER_00
Right. So there are a lot of people that that play at being entrepreneurs. And so people that play at being entrepreneurs, they're doing entrepreneurial things, but they're not making money. And so if you're not making money, then you're not, I mean, you're an entrepreneur, but you're not making money. First and foremost, a lot of entrepreneurs fail in their first business and fail in their second business and takes two or three businesses before they're successful. And that's a natural part of the process. So if you're failing, it doesn't mean that you're not a good entrepreneur, it just means that you really need to learn. And again, a lot of times they'll start out just doing it, not putting a plan in place, not knowing what they're doing, just kind of winging it. They realize that that doesn't work. So you know when you when your side hustle is just a side hustle. One, by the amount of time you put into it, two, by the amount of money it makes for you, and three, the amount of joy it gives to you. So if you would keep doing it and not make any money, then it's something that you love and it's something that could be a business for you. If it gets tough and you're ready to quit, then it was just a side hustle. And you and you're not, it's not something that you have that passion for. It's not something that you should continue to do.
SPEAKER_01
Okay, okay. Now, I uh have heard you several times throughout our conversation bring up starting with that business plan, would there be any? And when when you talk about being in the the coaching space, and you know, here I'm like, yes, motivation, you guys, and getting to your goals, doing all the things. Let's make sure we have some structure, hence the business plan. Is there any scenario where you would recommend that somebody take the just start method when you're looking at business? Or if you're truly looking at starting a business and being an entrepreneur, should you always, always, always start with that business plan to make sure that you're not wasting your time?
SPEAKER_00
Well, there are times when you walk into the office and you're fired and you're like, shoot, I did not expect this, and you have to make money. And if that's the case, then you have to go and just start. If you have something that you're able to do, you can go and start. But I would say if you can, you should put some structure, you should do some research and put some structure because that's the difference between being successful and failing. We all think we're better than we are. And so when you dive into something that you've never done before, there are so many different hurdles for you. And if you at least plan for some of them, you can get around those. There will be more that you don't plan for, but you'll be in a better position. So I would say if you have the opportunity, you should try to put something in place that at least directs you in where you want to go. But if if something happens where life happens and you just have to start doing it, go out and do it, go out and wing it, but try to get some help. Talk to people who are doing it. Go get some free. There's some free courses in different places that you can go and do. Uh listen to podcasts, come talk to me and see what help you can get to put you in a good place for what you're trying to do to be better. Go talk to people in your industry. You'd be surprised. A lot of people say, Well, that's my competition. They're not going to help me. I've helped a lot of people start businesses that are competing with me because at the end of the day, I realized the pie is big and we can all eat. And I've helped people where two, three years later, I actually needed something and they helped me.
SPEAKER_01
Okay. That's that's I'm glad that you spoke out about that uh in terms of seeking out help so that uh you can kind of get ahead of some things. I notice a lot of times that when people are starting out in business or starting out in entrepreneurship, uh, after I've gone through certain courses, uh, learned the things, I didn't start with a business plan. So I did bump my head along the way and uh had to learn to build my structure around what was existing. And sometimes I found myself taking steps back where had I had a business coach or an entrepreneurship coach, I'm like, oh I was supposed to do these things in this order. I was on step three and I skipped steps one and two. So I only did three and five. Now I gotta go back, do one and two, so that we can fill in four and then get to number six and seven. And so when looking at things in that way, it has uh caused me to be an advocate for other people who would like to start a business or who are getting into business where I'm like, hey, you're gonna bump your hair right there if you if you do it out of order, how do I know? Because I did it. Y'all know I tell y'all stuff from experience, not just to be talking. And so I'm wondering for people who have like started on their their existing structure and they kind of took the just start method, for example, like you said, because they had to. Um what advice would you have for someone that needs to like how I skip steps and then I had to pause, take a step back to fix it? What advice would you have for someone when they're doing a bit of that course correction so that they can make sure that their business is fully legit while they're still trying to keep everything afloat and operating?
SPEAKER_00
Sure, that sounds good. So I like I mentioned, take take courses or talk to people. So I have a course called the entrepreneurship growth course to offer once or twice a year. It's a 12-week course. It is it has plenty of content, and part of what we do is we put together a strategic plan, put together some marketing plans, and so we get right to the heart of what entrepreneurs need. That strategic plan is a plan for them to really get into the operations for the next year. And that marketing plan is really to help them get sales in their business. So I would say do something like that as you are are moving with the business. So get some help if you if you just have dove in and you and you're not where you want to be. Get some help. Don't don't think that you know everything and don't think that it's that it's helpless. But get some help. And you should be able to, if you find the right help, they should be able to help you put you on the right path and put you on the way because you probably have a good idea. You just need a little bit of elevation to get where you want to be.
SPEAKER_01
Okay. So it's been reiterated a couple times. Don't be afraid to ask for that help from the people that you need that help from. You can't always ask your homie next to you because they wouldn't be right next to you if they knew the answers to the questions that you have. So, as far as your entrepreneurship program, where can people find the sign up? Uh, where can we find you online?
SPEAKER_00
Right. So this is really easy, right? There's seven days a week, there's 24 hours a day. My I'm a coach. My name is Scorpio Rogers. Anyone can reach me at 724 Coach SR. That is my phone number. 724 Coach SR or my website, ScorpioRogers.focalpointcoaching.com. Okay. So I'm easy to reach though. You can call or text me, say that you heard me on this show, and I will give you a discount for whatever services you want to you'd like me to provide.
SPEAKER_01
And boom, there you go. Don't say I don't be getting y'all the hookup every time. So if you have uh questions or would like to get into an entrepreneurship course, go ahead, click the links in the show notes below. I would definitely recommend it. Honestly, you guys wouldn't be here had I not gone through coursework and learned from people like Dr. Rogers, because it it does take some additional education. Uh, it does take somebody being the expert at it. And how many times do I tell y'all, y'all coach need a coach too? Coaches need coaches. So, what you guys are able to partake in and um the different things that I'm able to offer, whether it be paid or free services and products, there are coaches behind me and education behind me where I have had to learn so that I'm able to get to do these giveaways. Y'all know I love giving stuff away, and also so that I'm able to make sure that I know what I'm talking about when I tell y'all something. Because y'all know if I don't know, I'm gonna just be like so we thank you so much for coming on with us today for this everybody can't go combo. And we would love to see you back on the show so that we can dive into some more, uh, some more content on entrepreneurship. And you guys go ahead and drop in the comments or DM me when y'all want to hide out of them comments. Okay, nobody else see it. Let me know what are some questions that you guys have for Dr. Rogers so that when we have him back, the specific questions that you guys have about the entrepreneurship space, I can go ahead and ask directly to the source, directly to the expert that will have the answers that you need. And I'm not gonna have to Google anything for you.
SPEAKER_00
I would just say two things. First and foremost, thank you so much for having me here. I really appreciate it. Second, I would love to come back. I'm looking forward to it.
SPEAKER_01
Awesome sauce. So, you guys make sure that you go ahead, like, comment, subscribe, drop those questions below, and you can get your questions answered directly on the next Everybody Can't Go Convo, where we interview Dr.
