Contrary to what you may have heard, you don’t need an entrepreneurial spirit to start your own business. All it takes is desire, planning and a belief in your skills and abilities. Yet taking that leap can be intimidating for many. So for those who are still not sure, here are five tell tale signs you’re ready to call yourself boss.

1. You’ve hit the corporate ceiling. It’s either the end of the line, or a promotion will only bring more stress and headaches. If you’re going to experience stress in your career, at least make sure you’re the one who benefits from it.
2. You can do things better. You find yourself staring at your boss, shaking your head knowing you could do his job better than him. Regretfully you’ll probably never get the chance. So open up across the street and show him how things are really done.
3. You have big ideas. Your employer views new ideas as inconvenient or too much effort. Or even worse, your manager will just take the credit. The only people who will really appreciate your ideas are your own customers.
4. You’re bored. Your skills and talents are not used or appreciated. Your knowledge and experience is being wasted. Even the unpaid intern doesn’t want your mindless job. Maybe it’s time to create your own position as CEO.
5. Signs from “above”. You get passed up for a promotion, transferred to the satellite office, or laid off. Take this as a sign it’s time to go out on your own. And you may not have a choice anyway, so go for it.

Marc Gordon is a professional speaker and marketing expert. Get more marketing tips on his website, marcgordon.ca and on his online show, marctv.net.