I left a job I loved. Here’s what I wish I’d known.
In 2014, I resigned from a job I loved.
I had a 2½-year-old, a six-month-old baby, a good salary and absolutely no business plan. And I'd just been told I needed to spend two weeks in China.
That was the moment I knew something had to change.
I loved my career. I was ambitious. But I was looking at the people above me, the people whose jobs I was supposed to aspire to and thinking, I don't want their lives!
Constantly travelling. Long hours. Missing their children growing up. Second marriages, and some potentially heading to their third .. because how do you maintain a relationship with someone you never see!
And I could see myself heading in exactly the same direction.
So I handed in my notice. No clients lined up. No real network.
No idea how to market or sell my services. Just a belief that I could build a business providing senior-level HR and business expertise to smaller companies.
Was it a sensible business decision? Probably not.
We had savings, but we also had a lifestyle we'd worked hard for, and I was risking a lot more than my own career.
Twelve years later, Dakota Blue is still here and thriving.
And if I could go back and give myself one piece of advice, it would be this.
Have a plan.
Build your network while you're still employed. Learn how to sell. Understand who your customers are before you need them. Because being good at your job doesn't automatically mean you'll be good at running a business.
Would I do it all again? Without hesitation!
But I'd be a lot better prepared. 😉
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