Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Chris Lappin.

You’re going around in circles.

One day thinking one thing, the next changing your mind.

You’re not completely unhappy with your job, but you’re not exactly happy either.

It pays the bills and lets you sleep soundly, but there’s this nagging voice saying you could be doing something much more worthwhile and fulfilling. You secretly yearn to fly solo and follow your dream, but just the thought of trading in a secure pay check for a future with no guarantees makes your stomach tighten and brings a tidal wave of negative questions.

Can you make it work? Have you got the skills? Are you too young? Too old?

What if it doesn’t work? What will other people think? Who are you to think you can do this?

When you’re feeling brave, you listen to your heart. What if it did work? Others have, so why shouldn’t you? This would be the making of you. Who cares what other people think! Of course you can do this.

You smile and feel alive. No more boss. No more achieving someone else’s goals. No more boring, mundane work, day-in and day-out.

But then your head chimes in again. Don’t be stupid! You’d be kissing goodbye security, a steady income, holiday pay, sick pay. And what about all that stress and worry? You could lose everything.

And so it goes back and forth. Like you’re two completely different people, trapped inside the same mind.

While this exhausting argument rages, you stay with your feet firmly entrenched in your uncomfortable comfort zone.

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Ellen Rohr.

Are you hanging on to a job that doesn’t fit?

Maybe it’s good enough for now, and the benefits are hard to resist. Still, if you suspect there is more in store for you, why not start a business? Starting a business could provide the financial freedom you need to quit, or it could be the resume enhancer that helps you get hired elsewhere.

Before you start in with the, “I don’t have the time,” whine, consider…

In my first 6 months as a entrepreneur, I spent nearly $36,000 on training.

I was scared to death.

It sounds ridiculous, I know.  If I was so scared, why did I spend so much money?

Because I was scared no one would discover me. Scared I couldn’t sell to those who did.  Scared I couldn’t sustain success once I had it.

I made the mistake of attributing the various problems and set-backs I encountered as an entrepreneur to a lack of knowledge rather than the normal ups-and-downs that are inherent when doing something for the first time.

I’m not gonna lie to you: that mistake turned out to be huge, one that has nearly put me out of business.

But it’s also a fear that I see driving a lot of other new entrepreneurs.

And it’s easy to justify your continued spending when other successful entrepreneurs, usually selling a course of their own, talk up how much they invest in themselves.  They imply you can spend your way to success.

I say: invest in yourself, yes.  But especially in the beginning, you must do it wisely, thoughtfully, and cautiously.

As the saying goes, do as I say, not as I do.

Out of the dozens of courses and mentorships and premier membership circles I’ve enrolled in, there are only two that more than returned their investment. In fact, it was these two courses that led me to gross around $48K this year in my business, and secure another $54K in contract work.

That’s a 40-fold return on investment–in just one year.

In this post, I’d like to show new or on-the-fence small business owners how to get the help you need, without putting yourself in serious debt.

I’m calling it the Minimalist MBA, but it’s even better than that.  Because rather than teaching you everything, it provides just what you need to get started.  If you listen and implement these lessons, you’ll be making good money in no time.