Going solo, down in Acapulco.
You know when you've stayed too long.
When I wrote Escape Corporate W@nkery: Build Self-Belief and Go It Alone it was squarely aimed at people who had had enough of all the corporate shite.
All the cosying up, alignment-seeking meetings, piss poor 1-1s and self serving leadership. And perhaps the commuting, a lack of purpose or control, and, well, whatever else pushes people away from corporate.
But it was also for those that felt an incredible draw to work for themselves but lacked the tools, self-worth, or market creds to just go out and to it.
It’s just that my experience was more of the former.
[If that sounds like you, get your copy here: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/scpcrprtwnkry]
But still, despite spending the majority of my time coaching people in starting or growing their solo businesses, many of my clients still come to me to get their CVs written, too.
Of course, that’s where this all started 5 years ago.
And since February 2020, I launched LinkedIn Done For You, Nail Your Interviews and Get Offers, the Master Behavioural Interviews Playbook, and a careers and executive coaching practice.
It’s been all go.
So when I think again about the title Escape Corporate W@nkery, I also think of the people that really just want a new job in a place that’s less full of knobs and where they might be respected for the unique contributions they can make.
If I wrote a follow up, it would probably be Escape Corporate W@nkery: Is The Grass Greener? or …Get a New Job, and it would be rammed full of job search advice around CV writing, Interviewing, LinkedIn profile writing, and… well the sort of thing you’ll find elsewhere in A Sterne Talking To.
I mean, weirdly, despite me not advertising my CV services very widely these days, the conversations I have with people about their careers crossroads often reveal that that’s exactly what they need.
And this might resonate: You have ideas about going it alone, and getting the hell out of Dodge — but the finances aren’t stacking up, you’re in a low place because of the way you’ve been treated, and really you just need another job. Or perhaps a day rate or fixed term contract to bring some decent cash in while you work what you’re doing.
For example: One of my group coaching members is a coach.
He has been for years. But he’s struggled to get away from the fact he’s had the title of IT Manager for years, too.
He has struggled to call himself “a coach”, despite the hundreds of hours he has under his belt.
So as part of our engagement, I’ve been helping him decipher and own his capability, whilst also helping him work out what on Earth an interim career step might look like, and furnishing him with the tools to achieve that.
Then — well, he has options, doesn’t he?
But if he just spends his time going round in his head trying to work out why he’s miserable at work and why his coaching practice isn’t bringing in an income, and applying for jobs using an out of date, sparse, and to be honest, not very compelling LinkedIn profile for EasyApply — he’s not going to get very far.
So that’s where I’ve come in — to work with him on all of that.
Vision:
Career direction - what are the options?
Solo business - how to start ramping that up while still working?
Perm job options elsewhere - what would give him most joy and set him up for the future?
Short-medium term tools:
Updated CV,
Cracking LinkedIn profile,
And a fresh narrative.
That way he gets to work on the “Go It Alone” Escape Corporate Wankery dream, while maintaining a flow of income in the meantime.
What I see happen time and again is that some people migrate into day rate or fixed term contracts, and then also start identifying shorter-term pieces of work, things that aren’t full time, and other advisory work. And that might be coaching engagements on the side.
But either way, we can explore all the channels at the same time, reducing risk in the process by having a solid CV to help keep the cash coming in.
Sometimes though, this isn’t necessary.
I know plenty of people who have left a perm role with a decent package (redundancy or settlement) and basically thought fuck it, and taken a leap of faith into starting to build a client base straight away.
Well, I can help with that too.
And you know, whether you’ve been let go, sacked, made redundant, or compromised - don’t take it personally. Many would kill to be able to leave a job with bag of cash to keep them going and buy them a few options.
For the rest of us, well, you’ll know when you’ve been there too long.
Whether you’re bored and coasting, or driving yourself into the ground working for the Man, you know when you’ve stayed too long.
You’re stale.
What ever your careers crossroads, I can help.
Just book a discovery session with me and I’ll get you pointing in the right direction.
And remember, you’re not buying me or my expertise for an hour.
You’re buying clarity, direction, peace of mind, and a restful sleep.
See you then?
Phil