As I write my final WERK Your Brand Newsletter of 2021, I have a lot to reflect on. This year has been one massive transformation.
This time a year ago I felt this aching feeling in my chest and in my stomach. While I had an amazing corporate job, with an amazing manager and the kind of responsibilities I had always dreamt of, I still didn’t feel satisfied. I didn’t feel purposeful or passionate about what I was doing. I was too far away from the customer and felt like my personal message and authentic self wasn’t being expressed fully. And it was killing me.
I had the entrepreneurship itch for quite some time. When I was getting my MBA, I took several entrepreneurship courses and even entered the Texas Venture Labs pitch competition getting second place. I was figuring out how I could continue to work on the fitness based application I had pitched with two others and work for Microsoft at the same time, and I just couldn’t make it happen. So, I went all in on the corporate path I had worked so hard to create during my MBA experience. I landed the best MBA internship at Microsoft and got the full time offer – how could I not pursue every aspect of this company and learn?!
I have no regrets being an employee at Walton Isaacson, Microsoft or Gartner and taking my time to be an entrepreneur and business owner. In fact, I wouldn’t have had the confidence and skills to make the shift out of corporate without the 12+ years of schooling and work that I accomplished. But at some point, we get to choose a life that will not just pay the bills but make us feel purposeful and passionate.
For me, that meant leaving corporate and transitioning into entrepreneurship with my husband and his company Standout Authority. I’m fortunate to have a life partner and now business partner who’s done this for 20+ years. Without his encouragement, support and business foundation, making the transition would have been much more difficult if not impossible.
(This is an Instagram video from the day I closed my computer and left corporate – definitely watch it!)
If you’re reading this and thinking about starting your own business, leaving corporate or having a side hustle while you do both, here’s a few tips to make a path for yourself that is enjoyable and creates a life you love:
1. Seek out support and perspectives from others
When I was feeling that itch to leave corporate and that something wasn’t right, I hired a great Life Design Coach named Julie Reisler. She works with high achieving, heart centered women like myself who have big dreams and need to figure out how achieve it all. Previously I had worked with a licensed counselor and another professional coach, but something about Julie was different for where I was at.
For me, I wasn’t just switching careers or looking for career advice. I’ve been on a soul journey the last two years, and I needed a person who could bring in mindfulness, meditation, and different aspects of both my professional and spiritual interests. Leaving corporate or any company to create your own business and work for yourself is a BIG decision, and support is essential.
It’s not just the financial implications that you have to think about. You have to really think about your vision, your super powers, your gift to the world and how you want to impact others in a way that fulfills your life.
Only people who truly believe in themselves and have a big vision, do entrepreneurship. And to figure out what is the best path for yourself, you need support! So whether it’s a life design coach, mentor, local communities, friends, family, etc., you get to seek support to ensure you’re choosing a path that is in line with your values, your soul and your inner self.
2. Create a financial goal and plan before you exit
Not only did I leave a great corporate job, with awesome benefits and a 401K, I decided to work with my husband which means we have 2 entrepreneurs running the family and our income. It takes a certain kind of power couple to do what Josh and I are doing, I’ll tell you that! But Josh and I did a lot of planning and discussing on when it would be a good time to make the jump. And let’s be honest, there isn’t any ‘good time’. It’s always going to feel scary and you’re always going to feel financially scared.
We evaluated how much money Standout Authority should be making and how much money we needed to bring home to feel financially secure. We discussed our short and long term goals and continue to adjust and evaluate together. Leading up to my exit, I increased my 401K match as high as I could and put more money into my savings. I did as much as I could to leverage the assets available to me while in the company, knowing all the amazing benefits would go away.
There are lots of ways to transition out of corporate into entrepreneurship that can ease the financial pressure and make the exit easier. Whether it’s partnering with someone like I did or starting a side hustle first to test the market, you should always test out what you want to do to ensure it’s viable and can be a sustainable career option for yourself.
3.Trust your path, your process and the universe
I know you may be thinking, Rachel stop, you’re getting too woo woo. This is LinkedIn, why are you talking about trusting the universe!?
Seriously though, this is the most important part of any major transition in your life. Whether you’re switching companies or becoming an entrepreneur, there is great risk in it all and you can’t control everything. I used to think that the more I controlled and planned for everything that may or may not happen, the better I’d feel and the more my goals would come to fruition.
The truth is that the more I held onto what it ‘should be’ or how it’s ‘supposed to look’ the more unhappy and anxious I became. The more that I affirmed my vision– to help others find their voice and love themselves so they can change the world — the more I could surrender to the universe and miracles started to occur.
I started to manifest with the moon last December, which really is about setting intentions during the New Moon and affirming them daily. I said to myself, ‘I am leaving corporate! I am building my voice! I am an entrepreneur!’ And BOOM! It happened within 5 months.
A journey I thought would take another 2 years, became 5 months because I set the intention, believed in myself and surrendered. As I put that energy out there, opportunities started to come my way quickly, and it became super clear to me that I had to leave corporate and partner with Josh and Standout Authority.
So if you’re freaking out and not sure what to do or how you’ll get to where you want to go, surrender. Say ‘I am blank’ which leads from a place of creation and POSSIBILITY. And yes you have to take action! You can’t just say you want some job or want to create some company and do nothing about it. Of course you have to make a plan, take action AND you then surrender and trust that it will all happen if you believe in yourself.
That’s what the Law of Attraction is all about. It states that what you focus on is what you attract. What you continuously give your attention and energy to is how your reality is created.
In conclusion
If you constantly focus on things that are going wrong, you will be met by more instances where things are going wrong. Adversely, if you shift your attention to things that feel good, you will continue to be placed in moments to feel good.
So your intention is critical in this transition process.
Seek out support from people that are doing what you aspire to do. Seek out people that can teach you, guide you and get you to where you want to go…this isn’t a job to be done alone.
Create a plan because that will ensure you have financial security.
And TRUST! Put out the energy you want to receive and go for it!
If you’d like support in understanding who you are and what your personal brand is all about, download my FREE 4 Steps to Building Your Personal Brand. Message me on LinkedIn with what you discover about yourself! Let’s have an incredible 2022!
