Sitemap

Why ‘Start From Zero’ Is the Best Position to Be In

4 min readJun 15, 2026

--

It’s been a while.

If you’ve followed along here before, you’ll have seen me document parts of my own journey—the projects, the lessons learned, and the behind-the-scenes of what it actually looks like to work as a BA. And then… quiet. Life happened. Work happened. The blog sat there, half-finished, while I told myself I’d “get back to it soon.”

Oh well! I didn’t

We’ve all been there; I’d put money on it. Because if there’s one thing I hear constantly from people trying to break into Business Analysis—or trying to level up once they’re in it—it's exactly this. They start. They get momentum. Life intervenes. And then there’s this nagging guilt that the gap itself has somehow disqualified them. That they’ve lost their place in line. That everyone else kept going while they stopped.

News flash! The gap doesn’t disqualify you. It’s just a gap. What matters is what you do on the other side of it — and “starting again” is so much closer to “starting” than most people think.

So that’s what this post is. A restart. And honestly? A deliberate one, because I want to use this moment to kick off something I’ve been wanting to do for a while: a proper, structured roadmap for anyone who’s serious about getting into Business Analysis, starting right now, and being genuinely job-ready within six months.

Not “maybe one day.” Not “when things calm down.” Now!. And if you’re reading this thinking, "But I’m starting from absolutely nothing," that’s good.

Let’s talk about why that’s actually the best place to be.

Zero isn’t a deficit. It’s a clean slate.

There’s a quiet assumption a lot of people carry into career changes: that everyone else has a head start, and they’re playing catch-up from behind. That the people who are “already BAs” have some secret advantage—years of context, insider knowledge, and a head full of frameworks you haven’t even heard of yet.

Some of that is true. But here’s what’s also true: experience comes with baggage. Habits that were never quite right but became “just how things are done.” Assumptions that go unchallenged because, well, that’s how it’s always worked. Comfort zones that quietly narrow what someone’s willing to learn or try.

Get Elizabeth "Lady Bhie" Ekenimoh’s stories in your inbox

Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.

You don’t have any of that. Which means you get to build the right habits from day one — not unlearn the wrong ones five years in. You get to ask the “obvious” questions without worrying it makes you look inexperienced, because you ARE new, and that’s allowed. You get to choose, deliberately, what kind of BA you become, instead of becoming whatever your first messy year accidentally shaped you into.

“Starting from zero” doesn’t mean starting with nothing.
It means starting without anything in your way.

This is the start of something—here's what’s coming

Beginning from today, I’m going to walk through exactly what it takes to go from “I think I want to be a Business Analyst” to “I am one, and I’m ready to prove it”—one step at a time.

We'll talk about:

  1. Foundations & Mindset. What a BA actually does, the myths that hold people back, and why this is genuinely worth starting now.
  2. The Language & Core Skills. The vocabulary, frameworks, and foundational skills you can start practicing before you ever land a role.
  3. Building Your Proof: Hands-on portfolio, real artifacts that prove capability, even with zero professional experience.
  4. Positioning Yourself. Turning everything you’ve built into a CV, LinkedIn profile, and personal story that gets noticed.
  5. Getting in the room. Applications, networking, and the active job search, where everything so far gets put to work.
  6. Interview-Ready & 2027 Launch
    Interview prep, handling rejection, and a concrete plan to carry into the new year.

And yes—we're going to talk honestly about AI along the way too, because it is here to stay, and a modern BA is not afraid to try it out. We’ll have the real conversation about how the profession is shifting and why starting now, with the right skills, puts you ahead of that shift rather than behind it.

In about six months from now, it’ll be January 2027. You could be exactly where you are today, still telling yourself “soon.” Or you could be six months into building something real—with a portfolio, a clearer story, and a plan.

The gap doesn’t matter. The comeback does. And this one starts today — for both of us.

If you’re genuinely starting from zero, comment below and tell me where you’re starting from. Career switcher? Recent grad? Just curious? I read every one, and it helps me know exactly who I’m writing to over the next six months.

Rooting for you
💜
Lady Bhie

--

--

Elizabeth "Lady Bhie" Ekenimoh
Elizabeth "Lady Bhie" Ekenimoh

Business Analyst. Career Clarity Coach. I want you to KNOW Business analysis from interacting with me. https://linktr.ee/global_ladybhie