This “Bad Event” Changed My Life. It Might Yours, Too.

“Do you see yourself as a corporate employee?” 

This is the question I asked Frank. He was just riffed and said, “I want to take some time and think about the rest of my life.”

Frank worked for some of the top brand names in tech. He joined them shortly after graduating from college and has been running hard as an employee ever since.

But now, at thirty-six, he is out.

It appears these companies first lay you off. Then if you want back in, you must reapply for open positions. In the meantime, you are sitting with your severance, and you are officially gone.

Frank told me, “It wasn’t long before I started to get calls for new opportunities. The calls came from colleagues from my past jobs who wanted me to come to work with them. But I also received calls from customers who wanted me to join their companies.”

“Why didn’t you take one of those jobs?” I asked.

“That was my first reflex. I lost my job. I needed to get another job. But it just didn’t feel right. I wanted time to think. To answer the question, ‘What else is there? Is this what I want to do?’”

Frank has been an employee for fifteen years. He knows nothing else. He’s done nothing else. He’s a corporate guy. A guy stuck in the system. He counted on the system to tell him what he wanted and show him how to get there. 

“Do you see yourself as an employee?”

He shot back with an emphatic, “No.”

“So what do you want?” I asked.

“I know I don’t want to work for somebody for the rest of my life. But I don’t know what I would do instead?” he answered with a voice filled with uncertainty.

Frank is a top tier media salesperson. He knows the big buyers, and he knows the digital media and advertising market. He has a great network and is well respected. 

“People tell you that you need a vision. I say you need to be true to your inner voice. And to be true to your inner voice you have to silence all the other voices. The inner voice is God’s voice. He made you. He equipped you. He gave you raw talents, experience, and relationships. You have an incredible personal balance sheet,” I explained.

“So what do I do now?” he asked.

“Take the next step,” I said. “Talk to the people in your network who want you to go to work with them. See what problem they are trying to solve. Figure out if there is a way for you to help them, short of being an employee. This may include helping them by connecting people in your network. It may also lead to a paid project. In any case, it keeps you in the market, serving others.”

I left corporate at thirty-nine.

I was in the exact same place as Frank. I did know I wanted to work with entrepreneurs in building early-stage businesses. I thought that meant I was to lead their company. 

I landed a president role in a startup with great intellectual property. My job was to help them commercialize it by building a company. What I learned is that I didn’t want to run a company anymore. 

In applying for this job, I first had to connect with the founder. Then I was vetted by the investors. One of those investors was a man who was a prominent Atlanta angel investor.

In board meetings, I would watch this guy. Over time I came to realize I didn’t want to help entrepreneurs as an operator. I wanted to help entrepreneurs as an investor and advisor. To use my resources of operating experience, money, and network to help entrepreneurs achieve their dream of building their companies.

When you finally see it, do it.

I resigned from my position as president. I then had to figure out how I was going to become an angel investor. I started by registering for a VC conference in San Francisco. If I was going to become an investor, I better start hanging out with investors, building my network, learning from them, and deciding on my investment thesis. 

And you know what? The hardest part in this transition from employee to entrepreneur was a change in identity. I was no longer an employee executive. I was an independent investor and advisor. This took time to get right. It was hard. But it was exhilarating and, ultimately, rewarding.

My observation over the years.

I’ve seen this same scenario played out for so many talented former corporate people. They knew, like Frank, that they didn’t want to be an employee anymore. But like me, they were addicted to receiving a steady monthly income. Their thought process was, “I don’t really like what I am doing, but it pays well. What else would I do anyway?”

And then, one day, after fifteen years, they find themselves unemployed. Oddly enough, not even their fault. These are top performers. How can this happen? As I look back, I believe my inner voice guided me to the exit door. It was my path.

When it happened to me at thirty-nine, it was the greatest bad event that ever happened in my life. It was painful, both emotionally and financially, in the short-term. But looking back, it was amazing. 

You don’t need to have a plan.

You just need to take the next step.

And, be sure to silence those corporate voices yelling, “Come back!”

To thine own self be true.