Three Tiny Experiments That Help You Feel Out a New Direction
You don’t need a master plan. You just need to know what you can afford to lose.
If you are standing on the edge of a career pivot—whether you are thinking about freelancing, changing sectors, or just reshaping your role—you are probably waiting for one thing:
Certainty.
We are trained to want the Master Plan before we take the first step. We want to know exactly what the job title is, what the salary will be, and what the website will look like before we tell a soul what we are up to.
But successful entrepreneurs (and happy consultants) rarely start with a grand vision. They use a logic called Effectuation.
Effectuation is the practice of moving forward by starting with what you have, rather than waiting for everything to be perfect. It reminds us that the future isn’t found—it’s made by the actions we take today.
If you are feeling stuck in analysis paralysis, stop trying to predict the next five years. Instead, run these three tiny experiments this week.
1. The “Bird-in-Hand” Audit
Most of us start by looking for a “market gap” or trying to guess what others want. Instead, start with your own inventory. Effectual thinkers begin with three specific categories:
Who you are: Your values, traits, and motivations.
What you know: Your skills, expertise, and deep understanding of specific environments.
Whom you know: The former colleagues, mentors, and friends in your network.
The Experiment: Spend 15 minutes listing these out. Don’t filter for “what sells” yet. Just list what is already in your hands. You will likely find that you have more raw material for a new direction than you thought.
2. The “Affordable Loss” Test
Fear often stops us because we imagine catastrophic failure. We think, “If I try this, I might lose my savings/reputation/security.”
Effectual thinkers flip this. Instead of chasing the biggest possible return, they focus on Affordable Loss: What am I willing to let go of in order to explore this opportunity?
The Experiment: Define a boundary for a small test.
Are you willing to “lose” two hours on a Saturday morning to draft a service description?
Are you willing to “lose” the cost of a coffee to pick a mentor’s brain?
Are you willing to risk income stability while you rebuild your some savings?
When you define what you can afford to lose, the fear shrinks, and action becomes possible.
3. The “Crazy Quilt” Conversation
Isolation kills ideas. We often try to perfect a plan in secret before showing it to anyone. But the Crazy Quilt Principle suggests that we should form partnerships early and often.
You don’t need a formal business partner. You just need co-creators—people who can help shape your idea or test your early assumptions.
The Experiment: Identify one person who shares your interests or could offer insight. Send a simple message: “I’m exploring a shift toward [Topic], and I’d love to hear your perspective on [Specific Question]. Could we grab 15 minutes?”
Your goal isn’t to sell them anything. It is to let their feedback become a patch in the quilt of your new direction.
Stop Thinking. Start Testing.
You don’t have to wait until everything is in place to begin. You are the pilot of your own plane, and you can shape the future by taking small steps with what you can control right now.
If you are ready to turn these small experiments into a structured roadmap, that is exactly what we do inside On-Ramp to Freelance Consulting.
We take your “Bird-in-Hand” inventory and turn it into a clear offer. We use “Affordable Loss” to set safe pricing. And we build a “Crazy Quilt” of peers so you never have to build alone.
You’ve done enough thinking. Let’s get to work.