The 3 invaluable insights I learned about life after corporate

2022 marks the first year I made the official transition from donning a pencil skirt and heels for yoga pants and a Zoom friendly pattern-free top. I am officially a full-time Entrepreneur.

I never thought of myself as the “entrepreneur” type. For anyone who has spent as many years in corporate executive roles as I have, this feeling is familiar. I spent years defending why “I didn’t want to hustle”, how I was “not the business owner” type. (As if working at a C-Level for a global organization didn’t require “hustle”, right?)

The image I had in my mind of an entrepreneur was of an obnoxious sales person trolling me on LinkedIn. A predator on the hunt for someone — anyone — who who will accept my meeting invite/sales pitch. The image I saw was one of desperation, neediness, and inauthenticity. This is absolute ridiculousness. My Father was an Entrepreneur. There are many small business owners in my family. Somehow, I was not.

Once I made the jump from a small side hustle to a thriving boutique biz, I can look back now on the previous two years of mental gymnastics that I put myself through. Here are the top 3 insights I learned about life after corporate.

1. Sales is a Service, not a Sell.

I had it drilled in my head that salespeople were disingenuous. Until I became one. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, there are shady characters and marketing tactics that I abhor, but whether their tactics are suspect or not, the truth is this:

“Entrepreneurs will achieve success through providing a valuable quality service”.

No one becomes successful through offering a sub-par experience or service. Most Entrepreneurs are in the business of self-employment because they love what they do. According to the world gallup poll, in most developed countries, small business owners report a higher life happiness score. Stress is also ranked higher but we’ll get to that.

I’m an Executive Coach. I have spent 20 years in leadership positions at both local and global organizations. The type of clients who hire me can easily afford hiring a Coach. Price is important, however, I focus on the quality of my service to clients I serve. Instead of looking at every person I meet as a prospect, (dangerous), I choose to look at every meeting as a “conversation”, free of desperation, and an opportunity to spotlight how I may (or may not, in some cases) be able to help.

Is stress higher? Yes. When you are used to a steady paycheck being automatically deposited into your bank account, and suddenly that stops, that’s a huge shift. That’s why I always advise clients to go slow. Start a side hustle. Experiment and play with the idea. This is not a go all-in right now decision. Build momentum and gain some small wins, and the stress alleviates. Your confidence will grow. A strategy and plan will emerge. It takes time.

I can also tell you that corporate executives are increasingly becoming dissatisfied.

If you’re familiar with Maslow’s iconic hierarchy of needs, you will know that a person’s desires increase as they climb up the pyramid: starting with acquiring the basics like food and shelter, to more complex stages that include building meaningful relationships and accomplishing a greater purpose. Most executives I talk to feel that “meaning and impact” is missing. Executives are burning out. In fact, “executive burnout” is starting to be called the new pandemic.

A study by FlexJobs and Mental Health America (MHA) revealed that 37% of executives now work longer hours than they did before the pandemic, and more than 75% also report job-related mental and physical health concerns. Is it all attributable to being in corporate? No. I know many satisfied executives. I am speaking to the “dissatisfied”.

2. What worked in Corporate works beautifully in Business Ownership

“Take what you want and leave the rest” is one of my favourite mantras and it rings true here too. What I loved about being in Corporate was the structure, the organized thinking, the processes and routine. Rather than leave all that behind in the corner office, I take these rules into my business.

I still wake up at 5am. I still do my deep work between 5 and 8am. I make sure that I have meetings scheduled everyday — whether that is a client intake call, a discovery call — or networking. I follow a schedule. I design and I create. In fact, my successful executive background is exactly why I feel very confident as a Coach and Consultant. I understand organizational culture, communication breakdowns, and leadership effectiveness.

Truth is, if you spent any good amount of time working in an organization with a respectable amount of success, you can become an entrepreneur. In fact, I would go so far as to say that corporate experience is a superpower and to your advantage.

No, the biggest insight I learned about life after corporate is the identity shift.

3. The biggest shift I experienced in life after corporate is not how to make a sale, or the confidence, or whether or not you will be successful. It is the worldview SHIFT.

As a NLP Coach, we follow the Graves Model which establishes levels of world views that humans operate from — a sort of values system, if you like. Our worldview (or our ‘Graves model profile’) dictates the goals we set and the things we care about. During the course of our evolution, we move through each of the levels.

Our worldview dictates the kind of things that we want. It’s that toggling back and forth between the value systems where clients often feel the most resistance — it’s often at that particular crisis point that an Executive Business Coach often comes into play.

People operate out of the level where they get answers to life’s problems — and move out of that level when it no longer works for them. That’s what happened to me, and is often what I see with my clients. They are often only semi-conscious of the values shift that is occurring internally and the choice to move to the next level is often met with confusion and resistance. That’s where, as an Executive Coach, I will hear things like, “I want more” or “I’m dissatisfied” or the ever so popular, “I feel stuck”.

The Graves Model is a fantastic piece of information to understand because it helps you gain clarity on what’s important to you and why. It also helps clients understand what’s important to others. What if we could start viewing the world through other values systems? What if we could consciously change filters? This is an invaluable leadership tool that can be used with executives and teams in organizational settings.

For those of you who are eager to take the risk, take a deep breath and know that you are not alone. If you are struggling in your corporate career and the very idea of jumping ship and moving into self employment is appealing, I get it. I’ve been there. The desire to branch out on my own was a 2 year process. The Pandemic was the crucible moment that shifted my desire into action with the help of an Executive Coach.

Whatever you decide, don’t rush it.

Have fun exploring and playing around with the idea. Start a side hustle. Hire a Coach. Nurture your mindset. Surround yourself with quality people who motivate you. This isn’t a light decision.

If you need help, send me a note. If you don’t need help, send me a note anyhow. I love comments and feedback.