I went to an inspiring event a few weeks ago, where I gathered in an intimate sunken living room in Tribeca with about 40 other corporates, creatives, and community builders on a mission. I left that night with pages of notes and ah-ha moments furiously typed into my phone to untangle later. 

One of the biggest themes?

How many folks in that room alone struggled to shake off the Golden Handcuffs- the enticing benefits that keep you in one corporate job, despite your true desire to go somewhere else or start your own thing.

Beyond just salary and standard benefits (looking at you, decent health insurance!), my friends and I have also felt “shackled” to corporate jobs by the allure of shares on a 4-year vesting schedule, the promise of a paid sabbatical after 5 years of service, or a company paying for an advanced degree in return for a few years of work. 

But then, three summers ago, I finally did shake off my Golden Handcuffs, giving notice at my 9-5 tech HR job to build my own career coaching business full-time.

Here are the exact 3 steps to take your own brand or business from daydream to doable:

1: Build Your Parachute

The opposite of the Golden Handcuffs is a Golden Parachute. Usually associated with execs who are paid a gross amount of money to move on from a company, Golden Parachutes keep you afloat while you decide on your next step or land your next paycheck.

I would not advise anyone to quit their 9-5 without healthy savings, specifically enough to cover at least six months of expenses.

Still having your corporate job is the best time to crunch some numbers: 

How long will it take for you to save $[six months of expenses]? 

There. Now you have a date on the calendar to circle and some time to spend strategically getting the most out of your corporate job before you fly.

2: Conduct Mini Experiments

You likely have an idea for your entrepreneurial venture, whether it’s a product, service, or community, but may need some more practice building before you feel confident going all-on.

That’s one way you’ll use the time you have left in your 9-5: mini experiments refining your own business offering.

Confidence comes from reps, so this time is about shots on goal and practice.

• Sign on your first few beta clients in exchange for feedback and testimonials.

• Produce the first few prototypes of your product, merch, or food samples to perfect the recipe

• Launch the newsletter, podcast, or community platform of your dreams and get the first few “text pancakes” out of your system

… all while the direct deposit is still hitting.

3: Show Up For Business School

Once you have an exit timeline in mind and are starting to get antsy (or resentful) in your day job, you don’t want to hit your breaking point and rage-quit one random Wednesday (really, you don’t). 

Your biggest advantage during this time before you launch will be your mindset– specifically, reframing your corporate job as Business School that you’re attending every weekday for the foreseeable future.

Ask yourself: What do I still need to learn / what skills do I still need to develop, to run my own business, and how can I learn that here in my day job (aka B-School)?

Some relevant examples:

• Get intentional about your mentor relationships

• Learn how to use a CRM like Salesforce or Hubspot

• Practice setting up workflows in project management tools like ClickUp or Asana

• Learn what makes a successful (profitable) email marketing campaign

So with all of that, when the time comes to fly the nest, you’ve got:

• Your own Golden Parachute

• Confidence from reps

• A custom MBA specific your business needs

Does this make you feel more capable of starting your own venture? Need more?

Respond to this email and tell me more!

KGYGT (keep going, you got this),

Janel