Flick the switch

Two clients I’ve worked with this week have had the same challenge: the pressure of flicking the switch from salaried, employed and a bit ‘meh’ to independent, purposeful and passionate.

The pressure is understandable, it’s massive. It can feel like standing on a precipice looking across to the other side, with a huge drop and little in the way of a safety net to catch you.

I remember flicking the switch when I submitted my expression of interest to be considered for voluntary redundancy. The click of a button was disarmingly simple but the consequences were far-reaching – for me, my family, my career, my reputation, my future.

And it was an emotionally charged period: on the one hand, trepidation that I was doing the wrong thing, on the other, excitement for change, for liberation, for taking back power.

It’s easy to overstate The Switch, to make it seem much, much bigger than it is. A bit like the “It could be you” hand in the old National Lottery ads, looming large and actually pretty sinister.

It’s actually more likely to be a series of much smaller switches that connect together like a circuit, with the final one being the leap (or ideally step) across to your new world.

The challenge I set both clients was to design the circuit and the individual switches that will result in escaping their corporate jobs to do something more fulfilling.

In my book, I share dozens of ways to do this – small experimental steps that allow you to test out your new life for desirability, feasibility and even viability.

One of the clients, Sara, is planning to leave her corporate job to become a full time flower grower. Give her a follow on Instagram! She’s set herself a target of making this a reality within five years. That’s her Big Switch. Far enough off not to feel that scary, but also far enough off to remain an unfulfilled dream.

But there are lots of things Sara can do in the meantime to quieten down the fear and make the dream a reality; she can (and actually is planning to):

Sell bouquets directly to people she knows at work.

Build a monthly subscription offer for a different bouquet.

Test whether a local florist might collaborate over a local flower sourcing campaign.

Host a pop-up experience over the summer at someone else’s event.

Sell bouquets, subscriptions or classes as a stall-holder at local events.

Run bouquet-making or wreath-making courses.

Test out demand for dried flowers to extend the selling season.

You get the idea – and hopefully you might see how these ideas might translate for you and your next life after corporate.

The point is we don’t need to get overwhelmed by the Big Switch. As with any big problem, we need to break it down into a series of smaller problems we can tackle.

It’s as much about building confidence as it is about learning what works and what doesn’t, failing fast and early – as well as building your network, understanding your customer better and de-risking your exit.

These little switches in the circuit bring your post-corporate life much closer and within your grasp. So, instead of a giant leap, a high stakes roll of the dice, it’s a step over to the other side, with a much reduced chance of falling into the abyss.

Exiting becomes simply a transaction.

Hope you kept up with the mixed metaphors.

If you’re thinking of leaving your corporate job, but the stakes seem too high, what could you do make them feel lower? How could you build evidence and confidence that you’ll land safely and successfully on the other side?

I’m here for you, to stop you falling. But also to help you make the leap in the first place.