Four years ago, I left a cushy six figure job and the security of a regular paycheck for the unpredictable world of entrepreneurship.
When you’ve climbed the corporate ladder and paid your dues, it can be hard to walk away. Here are some of the biggest lessons I’ve learned so far:
I needed less money than I thought
I could’ve quit much sooner, but I put off quitting my corporate job because I mistakenly assumed that I had to make the same amount from my business as I did from my corporate salary. When you earn more money, you start to splurge on extras and your spending habits change. But is it really making your life better? I realized that I didn't actually need a lot of what I was buying.
You realize the real reason you’re attached to your salary
I had to question why I was so attached to my six figure salary. Why did I work so hard to get to that number, and what was I hoping to use that money for anyway?
I soon realized that my real motivation for earning more money was so I could buy things like holidays, adventures, time and space to relax, travel. And that these were all things I could have without earning six figures. The figure I had in my head was arbitrary. I could afford to do all those things with much less.
Moving abroad could give you more freedom
Once I figured out my break-even point, I had another big lightbulb moment. I went on the internet and started seeing others like me, but they were living abroad. Then it hit me: perhaps I didn’t have to stay in Canada. Perhaps I could live abroad and have the life I wanted.
I discovered other unconventional ways of living
I started looking at alternative ways to live, and stumbled upon the world of digital nomads and people who travelled while working from their laptops. Mind blown. I soon realized I was able to quit faster than I’d previously thought.
The first business you create after leaving the corporate world might not be your last
My first business was a transition business, where I stayed in the same industry of international education and travel, and built an agency that sold programs to students, travelers, and teachers.
Having your own business won’t necessarily make you happy
I will always be grateful to my transition business. It made me enough income to allow me to quit, but within six months, I felt completely dissatisfied with my career yet again. How could I be miserable again if I’m out of the cubicle? I felt a big disconnection to a bigger meaning with my work and didn’t feel as fulfilled as I had hoped.
I took a step back. I took a pause and re-examined what I would really want to do or create in an ideal world. I reflected on what was already bringing me fulfillment, and the things that felt easy for me to do.
I went back to the drawing board again, I looked at my skills and decided that there were some things I never wanted to do again - whatever someone was willing to pay me. I decided to honor only the parts of me that felt the most authentic and natural.
Finding other people going through the same thing is invaluable
I was fearful of the loneliness I would experience on my entrepreneurial journey. And I did miss the watercooler talk. I was a social person, and though I worked efficiently on my own, I needed moments of collaboration, conversation, and community. Fortunately I found other ways to meet people on the same path online (groups, forums, social media). I also joined coworking spaces around the world to meet people who were on the same journey.
You will always find a way to get by
I was also extremely fearful of not making money, and that I would be homeless (no, honestly, this crossed my mind more than a few times). And I was in the hole (in the minus zone in my chequing account from -$1,000 – $3,000) about three times. But I vowed this would never happen again. And it didn’t. Sure I did go into a small state of panic every time my balance dipped a little lower than I would have liked, but little by little, I got more courageous.
Entrepreneurship is like a spiritual journey
You find out so much about what you’re capable of, and transform so much as a person, because you have to. I sometimes joke that one year of entrepreneurship is like ten years of therapy, but I think there’s more than a bit of truth in it.
When you’re an entrepreneur, you’re given a platform to show up, step up, and challenge yourself in ways you wouldn’t be able to do in a 9-5 job. Usually, when you are in a job, you go to work at the same time, you see the same types of people, and work in the confinements of your job role.
Now I have the freedom to choose. I choose how I spend my time, the work I want to do, and the people I choose to work with.
And this, dear ones, is impossible to put a dollar figure on.
