How to Leave your Corporate Job: Strategies from my Lived Experience of Leaving Nursing to dive fully into sound baths as my livelihood
Probably one of my most asked questions is how did I muster up the courage to leave my day job. Well, let’s just say it didn’t happen overnight. As someone who is frugal, it took a huge amount of evaluation and careful preparation to make the leap. It requires a total surrender to a completely new way of living that is based on trust, if you are looking to pave your own way. I’m going to share with you the ways that you can check-in with yourself to discern if you are ready to make that huge decision for yourself!
Financial Logistics
1. Get real about what you already have.
What connections and resources do you have? What do you have in your savings account? Do you have a cushion for a few months? What do your monthly expenses look like? What do you need to make per month? More later about how you can reduce your monthly costs.
Ask yourself the real questions: Are you willing to make big sacrifices like moving into a smaller place or shared living situation or away from where you are comfortable? These are all just examples but it is true, the more open you are, the more likely you will succeed making your own way.
2. Re-evalute your relationship to money
This one is massive, at least it was for me. As I mentioned, I have a frugal mindset, which is super helpful with being self-employed. However, you need to understand where that energy is coming from: is it a scarcity mentality? Are you afraid you won’t be able to make it? Are you stressed about money? Deeper still, do you question your worth in receiving money or having it flow effortlessly towards you? I have found that spending money is like casting a vote. You are signaling to yourself that one thing is worth investing in over the other. Become clear about what that is.
I also personally love to invest in other small business services and sellers, because you are supporting real people and they are after the same thing you are! It’s trusting that it will come back and someone else will choose to make the same decision on you, even if they too have a concern about money. Money flows! It comes and goes. You don’t need to chase it. Think about it: it’s numbers on a screen. If they need more in circulation, they will just print it. It’s really just a construct we all have agreed is real. Keep focusing on the right thing which is your heart-centered work and you will be fully taken care of, trust me. Abundance comes in many ways, more on that later!
3. Only invest in what you truly need to live and simplify what that is.
Frugality has helped me tremendously with keeping my bank account at the same level it was since I left nursing, which has now been 5 years. Obviously, there are certain things you do not want to skimp out on for longevity of larger investments like regular, good quality oil changes to keep your car optimal. Otherwise, there are many, many ways you can save money. Become clear about what you truly need to spend money on.
There are many cost-effective alternatives to our modern day needs. Visible is an awesome cell phone provider powered by Verizon that costs $250 for an entire year of service. Call your Internet provider and see if they will price match with their competitor. Cut down on streaming services, split accounts with loved ones. Quit your gym membership and start doing bodyweight or yoga classes on YouTube for free. There is a seemingly infinite selection! Or if you need to stay at your yoga studio for community and sanity, see if they have an annual membership (if you can swing it) and maximize on classes, particularly if you can attend ultra regularly.
Reduce your monthly expenses as much as possible. I learned that there are many services that give you a discount with a full year (such as Visible) vs. month-to-month. If you can swing it, pay it upfront! Every little bit helps on this journey.
There are free resources for entrepreneurs available in some towns. I’ve heard Pottstown has a program. Attend free networking events to get the word out. We are in a time of boundless information, for better or worse. Seize it! If you have a question, google it, someone’s likely written a thorough blog about it.
3. Part II Only invest in what will help you get further in your career
Only invest in what is right by your work with one thing at a time. Use your discernment about what investment would most help you: is there an essential piece of equipment that would drastically help you expand your productivity and therefore have more product in less time? Or would it be helpful to invest in a business coach because you feel completely lost and need help with direction?
Check-in about what is necessary and what is not. Would I love to have a commercial property for my work? Absolutely! However, what I do is successful nomadically and it is fun to enter into different environments and connect with a variety of communities so it is not necessary. Make it work for you! Be real! Simplify and enjoy that simplicity.
Developing a Small Business
Become clear about what your passion is, what you are curious about, what you would enjoy exploring
If you already have a side skill that you want to make the main event, that’s awesome and great! If you have a side skill and it can help you make ends meet while building your other business idea or finding your dream work, also awesome! I have been a yoga instructor for over 10 years so I initially supplemented my income with teaching, even though it was no longer my passion. Since it only took up a few hours at a time, I could then use the time in-between to reach out and coordinate sound events. It was more a mental assurance that I had consistent income to rely upon. Sometimes that helps until you are fully ready to launch into your new business or after you find your dream job!
Most people want to leave their day job because it is soul-sucking, demanding and stressful. Finding what is fundamentally meaningful to you is a helpful compass in the direction of how you may enjoy your next livelihood.
2. Be willing to pivot
Sometimes an event, product or work relationship is excellent! Things feel super supportive for everyone and it is going great. Overtime, this can shift, because it is a true living thing! This is life! Things are meant to have their moment, ebb and flow, possibly fully die or at least become dormant for a while. Trust that it has nothing to do with your service or what you are offering. Make the confident decision to move on from it or consciously put it on hold to revisit at a later time. It takes up energy to try make something work that just isn’t, kind of like a dead leaf on a living plant. You have not failed. You are growing!
Secondarily, you may find on this path that you end up shedding some misaligned, unhealthy relationships that were a vibrational match when you were depleted, stressed and drained of your energy. It happens to us all! It may be unexpected for some and long overdue for others, but when it ultimately transpires, the relief will be great and the load will feel so much lighter.
3. Be Open to true Abundance
Resources & Abundance come in many forms, the least magical of which is money. Keep yourself open to what that looks like for you. Maybe you need a new couch and find one on the side of the road or free on Facebook marketplace. There are opportunities to volunteer at incredible regenerative farms in exchange for a share of fresh, local, organic produce. Attend clothing swaps for the double whammy of fresh finds and friendship. Find people to trade your services for products or whatever combination! I have found that many people in the holistic industry are willing to trade services. I have even traded for excellent local made products like Seven Winds soaps & candles, special handmade ceramics, Made by Fairy Fingers jewelry, delicious homemade meals and freshly baked sourdough bread from Fuel your Balance! Your options are limitless depending on what you do.
Another example of Abundance: I have been fixated on going to Cape Cod for a couple of years, but it has been more on the back burner of my consciousness. I recently was hired to provide my services at a retreat in Cape Cod, where I will be able to stay for free. Opportunities like this come up all the time if you become clear about your direction or rather follow the guidance of where you are meant to be.
As a pleasant piggyback to the previous statement about releasing misaligned relationships, you will attract and draw in incredibly supportive ones. I have a sparkly unicorn of a dear friend whom met me through my work and reached out offering her graphic design services for free which has come in clutch so many times with making retreat flyers and social media posts. She has come out to so many different events and has become a very close friend. As fellow entrepreneurs, we bounce ideas off each other all the time. The relationship has become invaluable to me.
There are a plethora of ways that Abundance sneaks beautifully into our lives. Keep a grateful, open heart for what is meant to come for you and release the narrative of how it does or what that looks like.
4. If you are developing your own small business, Give away your product or services for free in the beginning
Build credit for what you are putting into the world. It will make you feel good to share with people for feedback and testimonials. It also takes the stress and pressure off of providing a super stellar experience if you are just new at something. It helps you to grow, it helps them to save some money while receiving a service. Overtime, you will develop some wonderfully connected and loyal relationships with your guests, clients, customers, whatever you would like to call them. It’s a win-win!
5. Lean fully into your trust and faith and make the leap!!
In my opinion, the #1 piece to this decision is your relationship to faith in a higher power, whatever you perceive it to be, and to the resiliency and capability of your own humanity. The human spirit is an absolutely incredible and adaptable gift. A beautiful close friend recently shared with me, “We get so hung up on the zoomed-in, day-to-day details and catastrophize them in our mind when what we need to do is step back, find quiet and listen for divine guidance”. A super powerful and true message! Enjoy every moment and take a deep breath when things feel askew, because they are not. We are just small and cannot see the wonderful mysterious weaving that takes place beyond and outside of us. Hold a heart-centered way and witness the magical unfolding happen in front of you, one step at a time.
The biggest thing to realize is that you are surrendering yourself to a new path and way of life that is not based around earning top dollar, but rather prioritizing your quality of life and happiness. The further you go along on this journey, your relationship to a sense of security from an outside employer totally changes and vanishes. Also, this blog is highlighting the beginning of this journey. There is expanse! This year I have 4 trainings scheduled to support my recipients. It has taken me 5 years to feel comfortable making these large investments that will require great travel but we are there! Trust that things will open up for you. Lead with a good, gracious, adaptable heart and resilient spirit and you will be there too!
