I left corporate 2 weeks ago

Something has been happening lately in my DMs and in my inbox.

People I don’t know and people I haven’t spoken to in years are reaching out. A former colleague, someone I met once at an event, someone who follows me on Social Media or a friend of a friend.

the people reaching out are at their own crossroad, wondering what’s next for them, and curious what it actually looks like to make a change like this and to leave corporate to start your own thing.

So here’s my honest answer two weeks in.

While I’m not making any money yet, I’m thrilled and excited. I haven’t had to deal with office politics in a couple of weeks now and I’m realising now how much headspace it took. I’m also allowing myself to be open and curious for the very first time in a long time. It feels like a breath of fresh air after being in a tunnel for a long time.

Of course, I’m not just excited, I’m also nervous because at some point in the future I will have to make money, but for now I’m consciously trying to focus on enjoying the leap I’ve taken and seeing where this is going.

I have had coffees and online meetings with over two dozen people already. I met people I din’t know and heard their reinvention stories, what they are doing and I am amazed at the world that exists out there. It’s a world I forgot existed while I focused hard on my career progression and the corporate milestones, and it’s been so energising and motivating to meet people doing all sorts of things.

This week is week 3 and it’s a busy one. It starts with two full days in a classroom at Henley, finishing an executive coaching certificate I started months ago. Then six coffees with people I’d never met before, a meeting about a possible collaboration with an agency, an interview with a startup, a book launch I got invited to and a fireside chat on personal branding.

None of that was planned three months ago. Actually, 3 months ago, I didn’t know I would be leaving corporate.

What I’m learning is that leaving a structured job doesn’t come with a replacement structure. Nobody hands you a new plan. You just start saying yes to things and see what happens. Hopefully, some of it leads somewhere and I’m sure a lot of it probably won’t. And in the middle of all that, you spend a fair amount of time wondering if you’re doing this right, but I guess there is no recipe here.

The other thing I’ve learned is that the years I spent building my personal brand were not a waste, to the contrary. A lot of the outreach I get and a lot of the coffee meetings I booked are with people I don’t know but who know me through social media. Personal branding is opening doors I didn’t expect and I’m so thankful to my past self for spending so much time creating content while fully employed in a large organisation.

If you’re at your own crossroad too, whether you’ve already jumped or you’re still standing at the edge looking down, this is where I’ll be writing about what it actually looks like. Not advice, not a framework, just the long way round, as it happens.

Welcome. I’m glad you’re here.

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