July 2, 2025 • 35 mins
In this premiere episode of Coffee Unlimited with J&D, Janelle and Danielle share the raw, real stories behind their leap from corporate careers to the uncertain (but exciting) world of entrepreneurship.
Janelle reflects on her two-time transition out of executive roles, what she learned about identity, money, and self-worth, and how inner peace—not a title—became her success metric. Danielle offers her own journey of letting go of labels, taking naps with her dog, and figuring out how to structure her days in a way that fills her many “cups”—from health to purpose to rest.
Whether you're dreaming about leaving your 9-to-5 or just craving a more purposeful life, this conversation is full of practical tips, money advice, mindset shifts, and real talk about building a life you don’t need a vacation from.
In this episode:
- How to know when you’re ready to leave your job
- What to do with your time before diving back into work
- Business setup tips (from bank accounts to Canva Pro)
- Why rest is part of the work
- Learning to separate your identity from your job title
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to Coffee Unlimited with Jay and Dee.
We are going to be talking aboutour transition from the
corporate space to becomingentrepreneurs and working for
ourselves.
I'm so excited to be here withJanelle.
And before we get started, Iwould just love to hear what's
important in your life rightnow.
SPEAKER_02 (00:20):
Oh, thanks, Danielle.
Actually, you know what is topof mind?
My middle child is turning 13next week.
And so there's a couple ofthings.
One, I feel this pressure tomake her 13th birthday like big,
you know, like becoming ateenager.
It's kind of a milestone,obviously.
(00:40):
So I want it to be special forher.
And then the second is just,well, kind of how to make it
special.
Like, what do I buy a13-year-old?
I swear all she wants is Sephoraskincare and sweats, like
hoodies and sweats, which isbasically all I ever want.
So maybe I'm more youthful thanI make myself out to be.
(01:04):
But, you know, I wish thatthere, I feel like it used to be
easier, you know, to get kidsgifts.
Like there was something, sometoy, some big toy they wanted
that you could get and you knewthey were going to be really
excited.
Um, but I'm just kind of at aloss right now.
So I'm, I'm trying to figure outwhat to get her that would be,
(01:26):
um, really special.
Um, and I still haven't figuredthat out.
So if you have any ideas, um,let me know, but yeah, that's,
that's pretty much it.
Um, for me right now is justthinking about her and her big
day coming up.
SPEAKER_00 (01:41):
I love that.
13, it is absolutely amilestone.
I mean, I don't know about you,but I feel like I can't remember
two years ago being a parent.
Like, oh, what was it like whenthey were 16?
I don't know.
So for me, 13 just feels likeit's so far away.
Probably Sophia won't want this,but Blanca, we just bought this
(02:06):
like some kind of an LED facemask.
Face mask.
Have you seen
SPEAKER_02 (02:10):
that thing?
Yeah, I want that.
Buy me that.
SPEAKER_00 (02:16):
Well, we just went to Ulta and we got it yesterday.
So Blanca was using it and shepretty much forced me to put
this thing on my face.
I look like a robot.
Let's do the anti-agingsettings.
I had this thing on for eightminutes and it was really great.
pretty cool.
Like it was really cooling undermy eyes and I don't know if it's
(02:37):
making a difference, but thenScott tried it too.
So, I mean, maybe that's not forSophia right now.
SPEAKER_02 (02:43):
Well, I mean, I'm, I'm really honestly thinking
about getting it for myself.
It's funny you say that becauseshe wanted this weekend to, take
me through her evening skincareroutine and her morning skincare
routine.
So we did that.
She brought all of her suppliesinto my bathroom and she, it was
so cute.
It was like a tutorial, whichwas endearing because it was as
(03:07):
if she thought I really didn'tknow how to wash my face.
Like the way she was telling me,and then you do this and then
you splash and then you dab.
And then she kept watching me doit.
And I would play along like, Oh,like this.
I
SPEAKER_00 (03:21):
mean, you're putting Pretty low maintenance.
So I would assume that, yeah,your skincare routine is not
like an extensive list.
SPEAKER_02 (03:28):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Korean toner.
So exactly.
All over the body.
But it was really fun.
So she has this whole, you know,kind of a six step evening
routine of sprays and serums.
And then she has her morningroutine.
It's pretty cute.
And we put our little fuzzyheadbands on, which was really
fun.
SPEAKER_00 (03:48):
Oh my gosh.
It's making me think, wouldSophia love to have like a spa
day with mom where you two getfacials and maybe you get into
like have a whole day?
I
SPEAKER_02 (03:59):
love that.
And then maybe we could squeezein a trip to Disneyland.
SPEAKER_00 (04:05):
I'm
SPEAKER_02 (04:06):
going to meet you there.
SPEAKER_00 (04:08):
I want
SPEAKER_02 (04:09):
to go to Disneyland.
Um, but yes, I love us.
You know what?
She would love that.
That's a great idea.
That's a really great idea withlike robes and stuff.
Oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_00 (04:21):
Oh, I love having girls.
SPEAKER_02 (04:23):
Yeah.
It's great.
SPEAKER_00 (04:26):
Well, we're going to be talking about our transitions
from the corporate space tobecoming entrepreneurs.
And I know, Janelle, for you,this is your second time making
that transition.
What have you learned?
Are there any insights or whatwas that like?
How were you able to do that?
SPEAKER_02 (04:44):
Yeah, this is the second time I've done it.
So the first time was in 2020.
And up until that point, Iworked, you know, straight
through all my jobs, you know,never took any time off in
between roles or anything.
So stepping away, like trulystepping away from a corporate
job was a big step for me andsomething completely different.
(05:10):
different.
So the first time I did it wasin 2020.
I didn't necessarily I hadn'tbeen planning it.
I wouldn't say that I wasplanning on it for a long time.
I just knew I had peace of mindfor many years at that point.
I had peace of mind that if Iever wanted to take the leap, I
(05:32):
could.
And what I mean by that was likea couple of things.
I could financially, like I'dsaved money.
So I knew that I could go alittle while without an income,
like a steady income.
And which that is a bigcomponent of doing this, you
know, because there are startupcosts to becoming an
(05:54):
entrepreneur.
And there's a period of timewhere you're not making any
money, usually as you'rebuilding client base and
whatnot, or building yourproducts.
So I was financially able to doit because I had saved, you
know, for many years.
And then the second thing, whenI say that I knew I could do it
(06:14):
was, Mentally and emotionally, Iknew I could do it.
I had gotten to a place where myjob and my title didn't define
me.
It used to.
So I used to really see myselfas this working woman.
And it was a big part of myidentity, a leader at a big
(06:37):
organization.
That was an important part of mylife and an important part of my
identity.
And then through...
Really, like after major burnoutand depression, and then doing a
lot of inner work and soulsearching and spirituality, I
realized how silly it was for meto define myself by the job I
(06:58):
had, or my career.
So I reached this point.
in 2018, really, I can pin itdown to 2018, where I realized I
am not my job.
My worth isn't tied to my job.
It's not tied to the companythat I work for.
And so I was at Lululemon at thetime, and I worked for an
(07:19):
additional two years with thatmindset, with this inner peace
of knowing that if I left thisjob today or if I was fired
even, like if I was rejected, Iwould be okay because it doesn't
define me and I'm capable andwhole without my job.
(07:41):
So it was kind of those twocomponents that made the leap, I
guess, from corporate to workingfor myself.
And not scary.
Like I really wasn't scared todo it.
And I was, I was excited to doit.
So I did it the first time in2020.
I went back to a corporate role.
(08:03):
And when I left in 2020, I spentas I left in June, I spent
through the end of August, notdoing anything.
Even though people reached outfor consulting work, I said no,
because I wanted to purposelygive myself space.
(08:24):
It was summertime.
And so with kids, it's theperfect time to not be working
because I could be enjoying thethe kids summer, you know, when
they're not in school.
And I wanted to just have timeto sleep a lot and read all
these books that I'd wanted toread for years and just, you
(08:47):
know, be easy on myself.
So I did that on purpose.
And like I said, I knewfinancially speaking, I could
work for, I could, I could spendsome time without an income.
And then when September camearound, I started consulting.
And a lot of it was through wordof mouth.
(09:07):
I think one of the benefits ofworking for big organizations
like you and I have worked at isyou naturally develop a pretty
large network with the peoplethat you've worked with and also
the external partners that youwork with in the corporate
space.
So when...
(09:28):
You know, people realized onLinkedIn that I had left
Lululemon.
There were a lot of questions.
Oh, what are you doing now?
And so I could naturally say,well, I'm planning to consult on
diversity, equity, inclusion andconsult on HR.
So I, you know, the word was outthere.
And then I was able to getclients just through word of
mouth, like people just reachingout to ask me if I was
(09:49):
available.
And I really liked that.
I really liked working formyself that first time.
I liked the flexibility of it,freedom of it, freedom of my
days, freedom to choose who Iwork with and who I say no to.
And then an opportunity, arecruiter reached out about a
(10:10):
corporate role that justsounded...
perfect, you know, and, and, um,um, I, as I learned more about
it, I decided that this was anopportunity that I would go back
to the corporate space for, anddon't get me wrong.
I recruiters had reached outabout other corporate roles
before that.
And it was a no for me.
(10:30):
Like I, there wasn't, um, adesire to go back into a
corporate space until the one atvan city credit union, um, came
across my desk.
Um, and that's what prompted meto go back to corporate.
which, um, was great for acouple of years.
And then, um, once again, it wastime to work for myself again.
(10:51):
So, um, yeah, I've, I've chosethis twice now and I have no
regrets whatsoever, um, and, andreally enjoying it for now.
And, um, I, I, I find myselfsaying that I'm not going to go
back to the I also believe, youknow, never say never because
(11:16):
you just don't know what isgoing to come across your desk
that actually feels right atthat time.
What about you, Danielle?
Like, so this is your firsttime, right?
Leaving corporate.
So I'm curious how you'refinding it.
And did you take any time off?
Like, did you rest or did you goright into your work, working
(11:38):
for yourself?
And then, Right now, if someonewere to ask you, would you go
back to a corporate role?
What would your answer be?
Well,
SPEAKER_00 (11:48):
before I answer that, I just wanted to highlight
a couple of things that youshared.
And if we could all learn thatwe are not our jobs, we are not
our careers, you have this graceand fluidity like, okay, now I'm
working here.
Now I'm not working here.
Now I'm working at this otherorganization.
Now I'm not working there.
I might work somewhere else.
(12:11):
Lightness of being.
I remember leading teachertrainings at Lululemon, yoga
teacher trainings, and therewere so many
20-something-year-olds who werecompletely attached.
Their identities were attachedto the brand.
I was like, oh, let's try todecouple this.
And I think when we are in our20s, when we're younger, we do
(12:32):
have this mindset of like, I ammy job.
UNKNOWN (12:36):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (12:37):
I certainly did.
I
SPEAKER_02 (12:39):
certainly did.
In my 20s, I worked for Nike atthe time.
I would literally tell peoplethat I was going to retire with
Nike.
I was going to work at Nikeforever.
This was my forever place.
I'm retiring at Nike.
And thankfully, I grew out ofthat because...
I think when you attachsomething so strongly like that,
(13:03):
you're bound to be disappointedat some point in your life or
feel like a failure.
If you equate one thing toanother, your worth to this job
or your identity to a brand,it's just the risk of losing
that identity and feeling lostbecause of it is going to be
(13:25):
high if you keep thatattachment.
UNKNOWN (13:27):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (13:27):
Totally.
I remember transitioning out.
So when I was in musical theaterin my twenties, I went back to
my old waitressing job in LosAngeles.
Okay.
And throughout my time as amusical theater performer, I was
always introduced like, this isDanielle.
She's in the cast of MissSaigon.
SPEAKER_01 (13:48):
I
SPEAKER_00 (13:49):
had a lot of pride with that where I would be like,
yes, that's who I am.
And I remember busting my owntables, busting, busing.
I can't remember what the Both.
SPEAKER_02 (14:00):
I think both
SPEAKER_00 (14:00):
is the
SPEAKER_02 (14:01):
verb.
Busting your butt and busting
SPEAKER_00 (14:06):
tables.
Busting tables while busting mybutt.
I'm picking up rigatoni orsomething from the floor.
What was also really challengingwas because it was the same...
job I had in high school andpart of college.
So I had a lot of people in myold neighborhood in LA, kind of
(14:26):
right adjacent to Beverly Hills.
So so many of the people I grewup with in high school, they
would come in and they'd belike, oh, you're a waitress?
Oh, I thought that you were amusical performer.
So it's even more just...
Wow.
Wow.
(15:05):
But what was really insightfulwas that having to do that again
or choosing to do that made mequestion, who am I beyond my
career, beyond the title?
SPEAKER_02 (15:21):
That's
SPEAKER_00 (15:22):
invaluable.
Wow.
Yeah.
But yeah, back to thetransition.
I mean, I am just loving it.
I feel like I'm still resting.
That's one of the hardest thingsI feel like about being an
entrepreneur is that I need toget a little bit more organized
and create a schedule becauseevery day.
(15:43):
So this is going to be almost ayear now that I'm.
on my own.
And I still have my retreats andmy coaching clients and
consulting clients too.
But it's not like I'm workingevery single day for hours a day
like we used to when we were inthe corporate space.
And part of me is like, I kindof like it like that.
I like being able to have spaceto go to the gym, take a nap
(16:08):
with my puppy.
There's so many things that Ireally enjoy.
So I still feel like even thoughI'm working, I'm also resting.
SPEAKER_02 (16:20):
Honestly, I think it's the best part about working
for yourself is the completeautonomy over your day.
And I like this idea ofscheduling things.
I've had to do that.
I've use my calendar andschedule things like, you know,
I'm taking an online course, andI put it in as like, like
(16:44):
school, you know, like, this ismy class.
And I tell myself, this isclass, like, I have to go to
class, just like my kids have togo to class.
And I have to do it now.
And it's, it's self led.
So it's not like, I log in, andthere's a person there.
But if I don't schedule it, Imight go two weeks without doing
it.
And then I get behind, or Iforget.
(17:05):
What I, what I was working on.
So I have to schedule it in sothat I do it frequently, but,
but this is the thing I think,you know, how they say, um, know
fill your cup you know you needto fill your cup i i think of
myself as having many differentcups that i need to fill like i
have multiple cups i have thecup of knowledge that i have to
(17:30):
fill once in a while when i'mcraving like expanding my mind
and learning something new ihave a cup of like health like
physical health um and rest andthings like that, that sometimes
I need to fill.
I have career cup that I need tofill sometimes.
Like if I go too long withoutfeeling like I've done something
(17:52):
in alignment with my purpose toserve others, then I need to
fill that up.
And so I think part of it, thebeauty of having space to design
your day is you can considerwhat cup's Right.
(18:19):
You know, like this morning Iwent to a bar class.
I'm really loving bar.
I feel so strong after I go to abar class.
And so, you know, I went today,but I hadn't gone since last
Thursday, maybe.
So I was really feeling it likeI was I needed to fill that part
of me.
I needed to work my muscles andfeel strong.
And so I had it scheduled andthen I've scheduled another one
(18:42):
for tomorrow.
And so it's, yeah, I think it'sall about designing your week
and your days so that you'regetting that balance of things
and the naps once in a while.
And then you have your timewhere you need to just, I call
it my house admin, all thethings for the house, like
scheduling things.
And the dogs are included inthat.
(19:03):
So one of our dogs needs to getvaccinated tomorrow.
So just like figuring out allthose things because with my
husband working, A corporate joband full time.
I do see the house admin as mypart of my job.
I do have, you know, other stuffthat I do for quote unquote
(19:24):
work, but it's more my job andhis because I have more space to
do it and I'm here all day,every day.
UNKNOWN (19:32):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (19:32):
And he was doing all that when you were working and
he was taking time off, right?
SPEAKER_02 (19:37):
Exactly.
So we've both been there, he andI, and we both understand what
it involves.
And we also appreciate when theother person gets to have this
space.
So we don't take it for granted,but we know that it's such a
gift to have the space and theautonomy to design our days.
UNKNOWN (19:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (19:58):
So good.
I love how you were talkingabout those cups, filling your
cups.
It makes me think about thewheel of life, that coaching
tool.
Exactly.
And you've inspired me to lookat that on a weekly basis,
because I'll use that with mycoaching clients as part of a
discovery call for them to lookat like, what is an area of my
(20:20):
life that I want to feel morefulfilled in.
But if I were to look at thatevery single week, you know,
with the knowledge, career,health, family, the things that
are important to me, I wouldprobably prioritize different
things throughout the week.
Right.
It's like going to bar.
Totally.
Totally.
Well, if, um, is there anyadvice?
(20:43):
So if somebody I'm, I'm thinkingabout some practical ways,
because I know both of both ofus get asked this a lot about
like, how did you do it?
How did you transition out froma nine to five to now working
for yourself?
Some practical tips so thatmaybe one of our listeners,
they're like, yeah, actually,this is something that I'm
(21:03):
interested in doing too.
SPEAKER_02 (21:05):
Yeah.
I think there's a couple ofdifferent paths or avenues.
So When someone, if you'releaving maybe a traditional
corporate role and you want tobe an entrepreneur or a
solopreneur working for yourselfor a consultant kind of, you
know, there's different types ofwork of working for yourself.
(21:28):
I think the first thing toconsider is what knowledge have
you gained through your careerthat then you can teach?
So for me, that's what my focusis.
What can I teach others thatI've learned throughout my
career?
So I learned it through thecorporate space in a lot of ways
(21:51):
and some things I've learnedoutside of corporate.
But what, like mindfulness as anexample.
So what is it, what is myknowledge that I'm selling?
Because that's what I sell.
I don't sell a physical productper se.
I sell knowledge, the thingsI've learned and what's in my
mind and what my experienceshave been.
So that's what I've learned.
Some people, maybe you're adesigner, then maybe you're
(22:13):
transitioning to designing yourown products.
And so that is more about whatdo you want to design, what
sings in your heart and you wantto sell and sell to others.
So it's what gift do you have orhow do you want to serve others?
Because I really think ourculture, work should be about
(22:34):
living into our purpose and ourpurpose is often what is it what
what are we who are we inservice of and what are we in
service of?
What are we offering to theworld?
For some people, it's music.
They offer their creativity andtheir music to the world.
For me, I offer my experiences,what I've learned along the way.
(22:56):
Part of my purpose is also toensure that the world is fair
and just and everyone has theopportunity to live into their
potential.
Part of my purpose is to spreadkindness.
So when I think about my work, Iwant to be giving that to the
(23:17):
world.
I want to be giving kindness.
I want to be creating equitablespaces and things like that and
sharing my experiences.
So you need to think about whatit is that you're going to be
offering and then how you'regoing to deliver it.
So I think one of the Easiest orbest places to start for someone
(23:40):
is if it's knowledge-based, likeyou and I have knowledge that we
share.
Courses are a great way, andthere's so many ways to record
courses and offer them out.
Digital tools, so digitalone-pagers, a digital e-book,
those are great entry points tothen create and then put out
(24:02):
there into the world.
Um, and thankfully, um, Ilearned a lot of these, um,
systems or, um, tools, like justby watching YouTube videos and,
and there's a couple, um, audiobooks that I've listened to as
well.
Um, one is how to get paid forwhat, you know, I think it's
(24:25):
called how to get paid for what,you know, an audio book.
Um, And then, yeah, I've watcheda lot of YouTube videos to
figure out how to set up anewsletter.
You know, I have a newsletter,you have a newsletter.
So determining what emailmarketing system to use.
I just watched some YouTubevideos and chose.
I use MailerLite, but MailChimpis great.
(24:45):
And there's a lot of other greatones.
Beehive is really popular.
What one do you use for yournewsletter?
I just use it through mywebsite, Wix.
Oh, okay.
Perfect.
See, that's great when you'vegot an all-inclusive platform
and you can do everythingthrough there.
So I think the most importantthing is to know what you're
(25:06):
going to offer the world andthen how you're going to offer
it.
There's a lot of different waysto go about doing it.
But like I said, there's somestartup costs.
So MailerLite, I have a monthlysubscription fee for MailerLite.
I have a monthly fee for Zoombecause I want to be able to
have coaching conversations ortalk to people through Zoom.
(25:27):
What are some of my other ones?
I have FreshBooks for all of myaccounting.
So my invoices for consulting, Igo through FreshBooks.
And then when it comes to taxseason, I just give my
accountant a link to myFreshBooks.
So then he just pulls everythingout and I don't have to do
anything.
So FreshBooks, Canva, I have theCanva Pro.
(25:49):
So these are just like monthlycosts.
And then For a tip, when you aregoing to start your own work for
yourself, I recommend having abusiness account, a bank account
or another personal account.
It doesn't have to be liketitled a business account, just
a separate account from likeyour spouse or wherever,
(26:11):
anything else that money'scoming in.
That anytime you get paid byyour clients or someone buys
your products, it goes to thataccount and that's your income
for your job.
And then you keep it there.
And then I recommend payingyourself every month.
So determine how much you wantto make every month.
(26:31):
Pay yourself that amount.
keep whatever is left in yourbusiness account.
And that's where your businessfees and your monthly expenses
for Canva and all those thingsshould be paid through that.
So then it's a really cleanaccounting system for what your
business expenses are.
Because when it comes to taxseason, all of those
subscriptions, all of thecourses I take, they're tax
(26:54):
write-offs for a business,right?
And that's all tracked throughFreshBooks for me.
So it's really, really simple.
But yeah, if you have everythingin one account, it's really easy
to keep track of it.
So that's one tip that I havefor someone is pay yourself.
Otherwise, it's just like ifyou're just like spending it
(27:15):
when it comes in, it's reallyhard to like really understand
how you're doing as well.
Like how you're like, are youmaking money that you thought
you'd be making?
And then paying yourself justmakes sure that you have a
monthly income.
You're building that back upbecause that's one thing that
you miss from the corporateworld, I think, is that biweekly
(27:36):
paycheck that you can count on.
Absolutely.
If you can recreate that in someway, that is the best case
scenario.
SPEAKER_00 (27:45):
That's such a helpful tool.
I feel like I want you to walkme through all of that offline,
look at my accounting or lackof, because I don't pay myself.
And so I'll have a lot of moneycoming in when I launch a
retreat, but then I have a lotof money going out when I pay
(28:06):
the venue.
SPEAKER_01 (28:07):
And
SPEAKER_00 (28:08):
so it's like, I don't really I mean, every month
is completely different.
SPEAKER_02 (28:12):
Very different.
That's why, you know, havingjust like a plan in place for
the ups and downs of being anentrepreneur is helpful.
I never paid myself until I tooka course last fall with the Dow
Janes.
I love this organization.
(28:32):
It's two women, Britt andLorianne.
They created this company calledDow Janes.
They do a lot of webinars.
Their audience is women andtheir goal is to teach women how
to take care of themselvesfinancially so that you don't
have to rely on anyone else Youlearn how to invest.
You learn how to, if you're anentrepreneur, how to pay, you
(28:52):
know, how to set up youraccounting and all that.
They have financial coaches thatare all women.
The whole staff is female.
So I took this course throughDow James and they have a whole
course.
curriculum for starting up yourown business.
And that's where I learned allthese ins and outs and how to
invest it and, and, and how todo, you know, get a, get a
(29:15):
business credit card because abusiness credit card doesn't, if
you default on it, it doesn'taffect your personal credit
score.
SPEAKER_01 (29:23):
So if you have a
SPEAKER_02 (29:23):
business card, a business card doesn't affect
your personal credit score.
So that's the benefit of havinga business card, which is
different than a businessaccount, a business credit card
specifically to buy all yourstuff.
SPEAKER_00 (29:36):
Look at you with all your business acumen right now.
But
SPEAKER_02 (29:39):
I only just got it last fall.
I wasn't doing this before and Ireally was willy nilly about it.
I can't, I can't really tell youlike much about, you know, I had
a lot of consulting clients from2020 to when I worked at band
city, but like, I don't reallyknow how much I made that, you
know, like it was just like hereand there.
(30:01):
Whereas now I'm like, I'm lockedin, you know, so,
SPEAKER_00 (30:05):
and it feels good.
I'm going to check this out.
And I love that name Dow Janes.
How cool is
SPEAKER_02 (30:11):
that?
And they're great.
I highly recommend them.
SPEAKER_00 (30:14):
The only thing I would add to that from my
experience, and especiallycoaching clients who want to
leave the corporate space is tohave an exit strategy.
And that exit strategy doesn'tneed to be three months or six
months.
It could be a 10 year strategy,but start to, you know, think
about your future, like you weresaying, start to save funds
(30:38):
because there are startup costsand recurring costs as well,
being an entrepreneur.
And of course the gift, what canyou, what can you, how can you
serve others with your gift,your talents, your uniqueness?
And so really starting to thinkabout your exit strategy, even
if you're like, oh, I'm actuallyhappy in this job right now.
(30:58):
But maybe in five or 10 years,you might want to do something
else and to be in a place whereyou can set yourself up for that
transition can be reallysupportive.
SPEAKER_02 (31:10):
And I think it's a good lesson for like managers in
the corporate space.
When someone leaves yourorganization, be happy for them,
you know, because this issomething that they've been
working towards for 10 years toset themselves up to be able to
work for themselves and have thefreedom that you and I have been
talking about.
Oh, wow.
(31:43):
like it's not personal and theydon't bring you up with me.
Yeah.
They don't owe you theirloyalty.
It's a business transaction.
They work for you, you pay them,but they can also make their own
choices and go work somewhereelse or go work for themselves.
But, but yeah, like recognizethat maybe this has been
someone's goal for 10 years andbe happy for them and support
(32:07):
them.
SPEAKER_00 (32:08):
Well, maybe we should talk about that in
another podcast about how tocelebrate employees when they
leave an organization.
SPEAKER_02 (32:15):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (32:17):
Right?
I
SPEAKER_02 (32:19):
love that.
How to celebrate it.
Yeah.
Danielle, if someone were to askyou today if you will ever go
back to a corporate
SPEAKER_00 (32:30):
role, what would you say?
All right.
Thank you for following back upon that question.
I, like you, feel like I havethis flexibility where if the
right job came about, that wascompletely aligned with my
values.
So I want to make sure that it'sinnovative, progressive.
I have autonomy, lots ofcreativity.
(32:53):
Like I know you and I both lovegoing into jobs where we get to
create.
It's not like, so it's like anew role.
SPEAKER_02 (33:01):
Yes.
A blank slate and no roadmap,just like figure it out.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (33:06):
I mean, I love going into a hot mess.
It's like hot mess is where Ithrive.
SPEAKER_02 (33:11):
That is so, that is really interesting actually.
Cause I thrive like that too.
It doesn't scare me.
And then think about it.
Like both, we both, celebrateit, like, or not celebrate, but
we welcome it.
And we're okay with theuncertainty or the, you know, no
roadmap and all that.
And we both were comfortableleaving the we're okay with the
(33:40):
unknown and we don't need aplaybook.
Um, maybe that's why also, youknow, we made the transition was
pretty smooth for us becausewhen you transition to work for
yourselves, there is noplaybook.
Yeah, exactly.
No, exactly.
No salary, no benefits.
(34:01):
So, um, yeah, you have to beokay with it.
So maybe that's part of it is,um, in, and if that's not your
natural state, like I've alwaysbeen this way, but I do think
that you can still have a verysuccessful transition from
corporate to working foryourself, even if you don't love
chaos or a hot mess, because youcan build the resiliency, but
(34:25):
you can also be really planfulahead.
So planning ahead will helpcreate that roadmap for you.
SPEAKER_00 (34:32):
Right.
Having that exit strategy.
I mean, you can start to createyour roadmap.
You can have all of thestructure that you need And you
can have all that time to build
SPEAKER_01 (34:42):
your
SPEAKER_00 (34:44):
savings so that you actually can make that
transition even more smoothly.
SPEAKER_02 (34:49):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I love that.
That was so great.
Well, I'm glad that you'rehappy, Danielle.
I'm glad that we get to do thistogether now because we're not
in corporate.
SPEAKER_00 (35:01):
I know.
How fun.
SPEAKER_02 (35:03):
So that's another benefit of you and I both
leaving the corporate space isthat we have...
the time to create this podcasttogether and have some fun and
share some of our stories withothers.
So anything else you want tosay, Danielle,
SPEAKER_00 (35:20):
before we wrap it up?
Just happy to be here with you,Janelle.
I'm looking forward to our nextconversation.
Yeah, who knows what it'll be?
SPEAKER_02 (35:29):
Well, thanks everyone for tuning in.
You know, make sure yousubscribe because we are
launching new episodes everyWednesday.
So if you want to make sure thatyou receive that, make sure you
subscribe and stay tuned and wewill chat with you again next
time.
Welcome to Coffee Unlimited with Jay and Dee.
We are going to be talking aboutour transition from the
corporate space to becomingentrepreneurs and working for
ourselves.
I'm so excited to be here withJanelle.
And before we get started, Iwould just love to hear what's
important in your life rightnow.
SPEAKER_02 (00:20):
Oh, thanks, Danielle.
Actually, you know what is topof mind?
My middle child is turning 13next week.
And so there's a couple ofthings.
One, I feel this pressure tomake her 13th birthday like big,
you know, like becoming ateenager.
It's kind of a milestone,obviously.
(00:40):
So I want it to be special forher.
And then the second is just,well, kind of how to make it
special.
Like, what do I buy a13-year-old?
I swear all she wants is Sephoraskincare and sweats, like
hoodies and sweats, which isbasically all I ever want.
So maybe I'm more youthful thanI make myself out to be.
(01:04):
But, you know, I wish thatthere, I feel like it used to be
easier, you know, to get kidsgifts.
Like there was something, sometoy, some big toy they wanted
that you could get and you knewthey were going to be really
excited.
Um, but I'm just kind of at aloss right now.
So I'm, I'm trying to figure outwhat to get her that would be,
(01:26):
um, really special.
Um, and I still haven't figuredthat out.
So if you have any ideas, um,let me know, but yeah, that's,
that's pretty much it.
Um, for me right now is justthinking about her and her big
day coming up.
SPEAKER_00 (01:41):
I love that.
13, it is absolutely amilestone.
I mean, I don't know about you,but I feel like I can't remember
two years ago being a parent.
Like, oh, what was it like whenthey were 16?
I don't know.
So for me, 13 just feels likeit's so far away.
Probably Sophia won't want this,but Blanca, we just bought this
(02:06):
like some kind of an LED facemask.
Face mask.
Have you seen
SPEAKER_02 (02:10):
that thing?
Yeah, I want that.
Buy me that.
SPEAKER_00 (02:16):
Well, we just went to Ulta and we got it yesterday.
So Blanca was using it and shepretty much forced me to put
this thing on my face.
I look like a robot.
Let's do the anti-agingsettings.
I had this thing on for eightminutes and it was really great.
pretty cool.
Like it was really cooling undermy eyes and I don't know if it's
(02:37):
making a difference, but thenScott tried it too.
So, I mean, maybe that's not forSophia right now.
SPEAKER_02 (02:43):
Well, I mean, I'm, I'm really honestly thinking
about getting it for myself.
It's funny you say that becauseshe wanted this weekend to, take
me through her evening skincareroutine and her morning skincare
routine.
So we did that.
She brought all of her suppliesinto my bathroom and she, it was
so cute.
It was like a tutorial, whichwas endearing because it was as
(03:07):
if she thought I really didn'tknow how to wash my face.
Like the way she was telling me,and then you do this and then
you splash and then you dab.
And then she kept watching me doit.
And I would play along like, Oh,like this.
I
SPEAKER_00 (03:21):
mean, you're putting Pretty low maintenance.
So I would assume that, yeah,your skincare routine is not
like an extensive list.
SPEAKER_02 (03:28):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Korean toner.
So exactly.
All over the body.
But it was really fun.
So she has this whole, you know,kind of a six step evening
routine of sprays and serums.
And then she has her morningroutine.
It's pretty cute.
And we put our little fuzzyheadbands on, which was really
fun.
SPEAKER_00 (03:48):
Oh my gosh.
It's making me think, wouldSophia love to have like a spa
day with mom where you two getfacials and maybe you get into
like have a whole day?
I
SPEAKER_02 (03:59):
love that.
And then maybe we could squeezein a trip to Disneyland.
SPEAKER_00 (04:05):
I'm
SPEAKER_02 (04:06):
going to meet you there.
SPEAKER_00 (04:08):
I want
SPEAKER_02 (04:09):
to go to Disneyland.
Um, but yes, I love us.
You know what?
She would love that.
That's a great idea.
That's a really great idea withlike robes and stuff.
Oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_00 (04:21):
Oh, I love having girls.
SPEAKER_02 (04:23):
Yeah.
It's great.
SPEAKER_00 (04:26):
Well, we're going to be talking about our transitions
from the corporate space tobecoming entrepreneurs.
And I know, Janelle, for you,this is your second time making
that transition.
What have you learned?
Are there any insights or whatwas that like?
How were you able to do that?
SPEAKER_02 (04:44):
Yeah, this is the second time I've done it.
So the first time was in 2020.
And up until that point, Iworked, you know, straight
through all my jobs, you know,never took any time off in
between roles or anything.
So stepping away, like trulystepping away from a corporate
job was a big step for me andsomething completely different.
(05:10):
different.
So the first time I did it wasin 2020.
I didn't necessarily I hadn'tbeen planning it.
I wouldn't say that I wasplanning on it for a long time.
I just knew I had peace of mindfor many years at that point.
I had peace of mind that if Iever wanted to take the leap, I
(05:32):
could.
And what I mean by that was likea couple of things.
I could financially, like I'dsaved money.
So I knew that I could go alittle while without an income,
like a steady income.
And which that is a bigcomponent of doing this, you
know, because there are startupcosts to becoming an
(05:54):
entrepreneur.
And there's a period of timewhere you're not making any
money, usually as you'rebuilding client base and
whatnot, or building yourproducts.
So I was financially able to doit because I had saved, you
know, for many years.
And then the second thing, whenI say that I knew I could do it
(06:14):
was, Mentally and emotionally, Iknew I could do it.
I had gotten to a place where myjob and my title didn't define
me.
It used to.
So I used to really see myselfas this working woman.
And it was a big part of myidentity, a leader at a big
(06:37):
organization.
That was an important part of mylife and an important part of my
identity.
And then through...
Really, like after major burnoutand depression, and then doing a
lot of inner work and soulsearching and spirituality, I
realized how silly it was for meto define myself by the job I
(06:58):
had, or my career.
So I reached this point.
in 2018, really, I can pin itdown to 2018, where I realized I
am not my job.
My worth isn't tied to my job.
It's not tied to the companythat I work for.
And so I was at Lululemon at thetime, and I worked for an
(07:19):
additional two years with thatmindset, with this inner peace
of knowing that if I left thisjob today or if I was fired
even, like if I was rejected, Iwould be okay because it doesn't
define me and I'm capable andwhole without my job.
(07:41):
So it was kind of those twocomponents that made the leap, I
guess, from corporate to workingfor myself.
And not scary.
Like I really wasn't scared todo it.
And I was, I was excited to doit.
So I did it the first time in2020.
I went back to a corporate role.
(08:03):
And when I left in 2020, I spentas I left in June, I spent
through the end of August, notdoing anything.
Even though people reached outfor consulting work, I said no,
because I wanted to purposelygive myself space.
(08:24):
It was summertime.
And so with kids, it's theperfect time to not be working
because I could be enjoying thethe kids summer, you know, when
they're not in school.
And I wanted to just have timeto sleep a lot and read all
these books that I'd wanted toread for years and just, you
(08:47):
know, be easy on myself.
So I did that on purpose.
And like I said, I knewfinancially speaking, I could
work for, I could, I could spendsome time without an income.
And then when September camearound, I started consulting.
And a lot of it was through wordof mouth.
(09:07):
I think one of the benefits ofworking for big organizations
like you and I have worked at isyou naturally develop a pretty
large network with the peoplethat you've worked with and also
the external partners that youwork with in the corporate
space.
So when...
(09:28):
You know, people realized onLinkedIn that I had left
Lululemon.
There were a lot of questions.
Oh, what are you doing now?
And so I could naturally say,well, I'm planning to consult on
diversity, equity, inclusion andconsult on HR.
So I, you know, the word was outthere.
And then I was able to getclients just through word of
mouth, like people just reachingout to ask me if I was
(09:49):
available.
And I really liked that.
I really liked working formyself that first time.
I liked the flexibility of it,freedom of it, freedom of my
days, freedom to choose who Iwork with and who I say no to.
And then an opportunity, arecruiter reached out about a
(10:10):
corporate role that justsounded...
perfect, you know, and, and, um,um, I, as I learned more about
it, I decided that this was anopportunity that I would go back
to the corporate space for, anddon't get me wrong.
I recruiters had reached outabout other corporate roles
before that.
And it was a no for me.
(10:30):
Like I, there wasn't, um, adesire to go back into a
corporate space until the one atvan city credit union, um, came
across my desk.
Um, and that's what prompted meto go back to corporate.
which, um, was great for acouple of years.
And then, um, once again, it wastime to work for myself again.
(10:51):
So, um, yeah, I've, I've chosethis twice now and I have no
regrets whatsoever, um, and, andreally enjoying it for now.
And, um, I, I, I find myselfsaying that I'm not going to go
back to the I also believe, youknow, never say never because
(11:16):
you just don't know what isgoing to come across your desk
that actually feels right atthat time.
What about you, Danielle?
Like, so this is your firsttime, right?
Leaving corporate.
So I'm curious how you'refinding it.
And did you take any time off?
Like, did you rest or did you goright into your work, working
(11:38):
for yourself?
And then, Right now, if someonewere to ask you, would you go
back to a corporate role?
What would your answer be?
Well,
SPEAKER_00 (11:48):
before I answer that, I just wanted to highlight
a couple of things that youshared.
And if we could all learn thatwe are not our jobs, we are not
our careers, you have this graceand fluidity like, okay, now I'm
working here.
Now I'm not working here.
Now I'm working at this otherorganization.
Now I'm not working there.
I might work somewhere else.
(12:11):
Lightness of being.
I remember leading teachertrainings at Lululemon, yoga
teacher trainings, and therewere so many
20-something-year-olds who werecompletely attached.
Their identities were attachedto the brand.
I was like, oh, let's try todecouple this.
And I think when we are in our20s, when we're younger, we do
(12:32):
have this mindset of like, I ammy job.
UNKNOWN (12:36):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (12:37):
I certainly did.
I
SPEAKER_02 (12:39):
certainly did.
In my 20s, I worked for Nike atthe time.
I would literally tell peoplethat I was going to retire with
Nike.
I was going to work at Nikeforever.
This was my forever place.
I'm retiring at Nike.
And thankfully, I grew out ofthat because...
I think when you attachsomething so strongly like that,
(13:03):
you're bound to be disappointedat some point in your life or
feel like a failure.
If you equate one thing toanother, your worth to this job
or your identity to a brand,it's just the risk of losing
that identity and feeling lostbecause of it is going to be
(13:25):
high if you keep thatattachment.
UNKNOWN (13:27):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (13:27):
Totally.
I remember transitioning out.
So when I was in musical theaterin my twenties, I went back to
my old waitressing job in LosAngeles.
Okay.
And throughout my time as amusical theater performer, I was
always introduced like, this isDanielle.
She's in the cast of MissSaigon.
SPEAKER_01 (13:48):
I
SPEAKER_00 (13:49):
had a lot of pride with that where I would be like,
yes, that's who I am.
And I remember busting my owntables, busting, busing.
I can't remember what the Both.
SPEAKER_02 (14:00):
I think both
SPEAKER_00 (14:00):
is the
SPEAKER_02 (14:01):
verb.
Busting your butt and busting
SPEAKER_00 (14:06):
tables.
Busting tables while busting mybutt.
I'm picking up rigatoni orsomething from the floor.
What was also really challengingwas because it was the same...
job I had in high school andpart of college.
So I had a lot of people in myold neighborhood in LA, kind of
(14:26):
right adjacent to Beverly Hills.
So so many of the people I grewup with in high school, they
would come in and they'd belike, oh, you're a waitress?
Oh, I thought that you were amusical performer.
So it's even more just...
Wow.
Wow.
(15:05):
But what was really insightfulwas that having to do that again
or choosing to do that made mequestion, who am I beyond my
career, beyond the title?
SPEAKER_02 (15:21):
That's
SPEAKER_00 (15:22):
invaluable.
Wow.
Yeah.
But yeah, back to thetransition.
I mean, I am just loving it.
I feel like I'm still resting.
That's one of the hardest thingsI feel like about being an
entrepreneur is that I need toget a little bit more organized
and create a schedule becauseevery day.
(15:43):
So this is going to be almost ayear now that I'm.
on my own.
And I still have my retreats andmy coaching clients and
consulting clients too.
But it's not like I'm workingevery single day for hours a day
like we used to when we were inthe corporate space.
And part of me is like, I kindof like it like that.
I like being able to have spaceto go to the gym, take a nap
(16:08):
with my puppy.
There's so many things that Ireally enjoy.
So I still feel like even thoughI'm working, I'm also resting.
SPEAKER_02 (16:20):
Honestly, I think it's the best part about working
for yourself is the completeautonomy over your day.
And I like this idea ofscheduling things.
I've had to do that.
I've use my calendar andschedule things like, you know,
I'm taking an online course, andI put it in as like, like
(16:44):
school, you know, like, this ismy class.
And I tell myself, this isclass, like, I have to go to
class, just like my kids have togo to class.
And I have to do it now.
And it's, it's self led.
So it's not like, I log in, andthere's a person there.
But if I don't schedule it, Imight go two weeks without doing
it.
And then I get behind, or Iforget.
(17:05):
What I, what I was working on.
So I have to schedule it in sothat I do it frequently, but,
but this is the thing I think,you know, how they say, um, know
fill your cup you know you needto fill your cup i i think of
myself as having many differentcups that i need to fill like i
have multiple cups i have thecup of knowledge that i have to
(17:30):
fill once in a while when i'mcraving like expanding my mind
and learning something new ihave a cup of like health like
physical health um and rest andthings like that, that sometimes
I need to fill.
I have career cup that I need tofill sometimes.
Like if I go too long withoutfeeling like I've done something
(17:52):
in alignment with my purpose toserve others, then I need to
fill that up.
And so I think part of it, thebeauty of having space to design
your day is you can considerwhat cup's Right.
(18:19):
You know, like this morning Iwent to a bar class.
I'm really loving bar.
I feel so strong after I go to abar class.
And so, you know, I went today,but I hadn't gone since last
Thursday, maybe.
So I was really feeling it likeI was I needed to fill that part
of me.
I needed to work my muscles andfeel strong.
And so I had it scheduled andthen I've scheduled another one
(18:42):
for tomorrow.
And so it's, yeah, I think it'sall about designing your week
and your days so that you'regetting that balance of things
and the naps once in a while.
And then you have your timewhere you need to just, I call
it my house admin, all thethings for the house, like
scheduling things.
And the dogs are included inthat.
(19:03):
So one of our dogs needs to getvaccinated tomorrow.
So just like figuring out allthose things because with my
husband working, A corporate joband full time.
I do see the house admin as mypart of my job.
I do have, you know, other stuffthat I do for quote unquote
(19:24):
work, but it's more my job andhis because I have more space to
do it and I'm here all day,every day.
UNKNOWN (19:32):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (19:32):
And he was doing all that when you were working and
he was taking time off, right?
SPEAKER_02 (19:37):
Exactly.
So we've both been there, he andI, and we both understand what
it involves.
And we also appreciate when theother person gets to have this
space.
So we don't take it for granted,but we know that it's such a
gift to have the space and theautonomy to design our days.
UNKNOWN (19:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (19:58):
So good.
I love how you were talkingabout those cups, filling your
cups.
It makes me think about thewheel of life, that coaching
tool.
Exactly.
And you've inspired me to lookat that on a weekly basis,
because I'll use that with mycoaching clients as part of a
discovery call for them to lookat like, what is an area of my
(20:20):
life that I want to feel morefulfilled in.
But if I were to look at thatevery single week, you know,
with the knowledge, career,health, family, the things that
are important to me, I wouldprobably prioritize different
things throughout the week.
Right.
It's like going to bar.
Totally.
Totally.
Well, if, um, is there anyadvice?
(20:43):
So if somebody I'm, I'm thinkingabout some practical ways,
because I know both of both ofus get asked this a lot about
like, how did you do it?
How did you transition out froma nine to five to now working
for yourself?
Some practical tips so thatmaybe one of our listeners,
they're like, yeah, actually,this is something that I'm
(21:03):
interested in doing too.
SPEAKER_02 (21:05):
Yeah.
I think there's a couple ofdifferent paths or avenues.
So When someone, if you'releaving maybe a traditional
corporate role and you want tobe an entrepreneur or a
solopreneur working for yourselfor a consultant kind of, you
know, there's different types ofwork of working for yourself.
(21:28):
I think the first thing toconsider is what knowledge have
you gained through your careerthat then you can teach?
So for me, that's what my focusis.
What can I teach others thatI've learned throughout my
career?
So I learned it through thecorporate space in a lot of ways
(21:51):
and some things I've learnedoutside of corporate.
But what, like mindfulness as anexample.
So what is it, what is myknowledge that I'm selling?
Because that's what I sell.
I don't sell a physical productper se.
I sell knowledge, the thingsI've learned and what's in my
mind and what my experienceshave been.
So that's what I've learned.
Some people, maybe you're adesigner, then maybe you're
(22:13):
transitioning to designing yourown products.
And so that is more about whatdo you want to design, what
sings in your heart and you wantto sell and sell to others.
So it's what gift do you have orhow do you want to serve others?
Because I really think ourculture, work should be about
(22:34):
living into our purpose and ourpurpose is often what is it what
what are we who are we inservice of and what are we in
service of?
What are we offering to theworld?
For some people, it's music.
They offer their creativity andtheir music to the world.
For me, I offer my experiences,what I've learned along the way.
(22:56):
Part of my purpose is also toensure that the world is fair
and just and everyone has theopportunity to live into their
potential.
Part of my purpose is to spreadkindness.
So when I think about my work, Iwant to be giving that to the
(23:17):
world.
I want to be giving kindness.
I want to be creating equitablespaces and things like that and
sharing my experiences.
So you need to think about whatit is that you're going to be
offering and then how you'regoing to deliver it.
So I think one of the Easiest orbest places to start for someone
(23:40):
is if it's knowledge-based, likeyou and I have knowledge that we
share.
Courses are a great way, andthere's so many ways to record
courses and offer them out.
Digital tools, so digitalone-pagers, a digital e-book,
those are great entry points tothen create and then put out
(24:02):
there into the world.
Um, and thankfully, um, Ilearned a lot of these, um,
systems or, um, tools, like justby watching YouTube videos and,
and there's a couple, um, audiobooks that I've listened to as
well.
Um, one is how to get paid forwhat, you know, I think it's
(24:25):
called how to get paid for what,you know, an audio book.
Um, And then, yeah, I've watcheda lot of YouTube videos to
figure out how to set up anewsletter.
You know, I have a newsletter,you have a newsletter.
So determining what emailmarketing system to use.
I just watched some YouTubevideos and chose.
I use MailerLite, but MailChimpis great.
(24:45):
And there's a lot of other greatones.
Beehive is really popular.
What one do you use for yournewsletter?
I just use it through mywebsite, Wix.
Oh, okay.
Perfect.
See, that's great when you'vegot an all-inclusive platform
and you can do everythingthrough there.
So I think the most importantthing is to know what you're
(25:06):
going to offer the world andthen how you're going to offer
it.
There's a lot of different waysto go about doing it.
But like I said, there's somestartup costs.
So MailerLite, I have a monthlysubscription fee for MailerLite.
I have a monthly fee for Zoombecause I want to be able to
have coaching conversations ortalk to people through Zoom.
(25:27):
What are some of my other ones?
I have FreshBooks for all of myaccounting.
So my invoices for consulting, Igo through FreshBooks.
And then when it comes to taxseason, I just give my
accountant a link to myFreshBooks.
So then he just pulls everythingout and I don't have to do
anything.
So FreshBooks, Canva, I have theCanva Pro.
(25:49):
So these are just like monthlycosts.
And then For a tip, when you aregoing to start your own work for
yourself, I recommend having abusiness account, a bank account
or another personal account.
It doesn't have to be liketitled a business account, just
a separate account from likeyour spouse or wherever,
(26:11):
anything else that money'scoming in.
That anytime you get paid byyour clients or someone buys
your products, it goes to thataccount and that's your income
for your job.
And then you keep it there.
And then I recommend payingyourself every month.
So determine how much you wantto make every month.
(26:31):
Pay yourself that amount.
keep whatever is left in yourbusiness account.
And that's where your businessfees and your monthly expenses
for Canva and all those thingsshould be paid through that.
So then it's a really cleanaccounting system for what your
business expenses are.
Because when it comes to taxseason, all of those
subscriptions, all of thecourses I take, they're tax
(26:54):
write-offs for a business,right?
And that's all tracked throughFreshBooks for me.
So it's really, really simple.
But yeah, if you have everythingin one account, it's really easy
to keep track of it.
So that's one tip that I havefor someone is pay yourself.
Otherwise, it's just like ifyou're just like spending it
(27:15):
when it comes in, it's reallyhard to like really understand
how you're doing as well.
Like how you're like, are youmaking money that you thought
you'd be making?
And then paying yourself justmakes sure that you have a
monthly income.
You're building that back upbecause that's one thing that
you miss from the corporateworld, I think, is that biweekly
(27:36):
paycheck that you can count on.
Absolutely.
If you can recreate that in someway, that is the best case
scenario.
SPEAKER_00 (27:45):
That's such a helpful tool.
I feel like I want you to walkme through all of that offline,
look at my accounting or lackof, because I don't pay myself.
And so I'll have a lot of moneycoming in when I launch a
retreat, but then I have a lotof money going out when I pay
(28:06):
the venue.
SPEAKER_01 (28:07):
And
SPEAKER_00 (28:08):
so it's like, I don't really I mean, every month
is completely different.
SPEAKER_02 (28:12):
Very different.
That's why, you know, havingjust like a plan in place for
the ups and downs of being anentrepreneur is helpful.
I never paid myself until I tooka course last fall with the Dow
Janes.
I love this organization.
(28:32):
It's two women, Britt andLorianne.
They created this company calledDow Janes.
They do a lot of webinars.
Their audience is women andtheir goal is to teach women how
to take care of themselvesfinancially so that you don't
have to rely on anyone else Youlearn how to invest.
You learn how to, if you're anentrepreneur, how to pay, you
(28:52):
know, how to set up youraccounting and all that.
They have financial coaches thatare all women.
The whole staff is female.
So I took this course throughDow James and they have a whole
course.
curriculum for starting up yourown business.
And that's where I learned allthese ins and outs and how to
invest it and, and, and how todo, you know, get a, get a
(29:15):
business credit card because abusiness credit card doesn't, if
you default on it, it doesn'taffect your personal credit
score.
SPEAKER_01 (29:23):
So if you have a
SPEAKER_02 (29:23):
business card, a business card doesn't affect
your personal credit score.
So that's the benefit of havinga business card, which is
different than a businessaccount, a business credit card
specifically to buy all yourstuff.
SPEAKER_00 (29:36):
Look at you with all your business acumen right now.
But
SPEAKER_02 (29:39):
I only just got it last fall.
I wasn't doing this before and Ireally was willy nilly about it.
I can't, I can't really tell youlike much about, you know, I had
a lot of consulting clients from2020 to when I worked at band
city, but like, I don't reallyknow how much I made that, you
know, like it was just like hereand there.
(30:01):
Whereas now I'm like, I'm lockedin, you know, so,
SPEAKER_00 (30:05):
and it feels good.
I'm going to check this out.
And I love that name Dow Janes.
How cool is
SPEAKER_02 (30:11):
that?
And they're great.
I highly recommend them.
SPEAKER_00 (30:14):
The only thing I would add to that from my
experience, and especiallycoaching clients who want to
leave the corporate space is tohave an exit strategy.
And that exit strategy doesn'tneed to be three months or six
months.
It could be a 10 year strategy,but start to, you know, think
about your future, like you weresaying, start to save funds
(30:38):
because there are startup costsand recurring costs as well,
being an entrepreneur.
And of course the gift, what canyou, what can you, how can you
serve others with your gift,your talents, your uniqueness?
And so really starting to thinkabout your exit strategy, even
if you're like, oh, I'm actuallyhappy in this job right now.
(30:58):
But maybe in five or 10 years,you might want to do something
else and to be in a place whereyou can set yourself up for that
transition can be reallysupportive.
SPEAKER_02 (31:10):
And I think it's a good lesson for like managers in
the corporate space.
When someone leaves yourorganization, be happy for them,
you know, because this issomething that they've been
working towards for 10 years toset themselves up to be able to
work for themselves and have thefreedom that you and I have been
talking about.
Oh, wow.
(31:43):
like it's not personal and theydon't bring you up with me.
Yeah.
They don't owe you theirloyalty.
It's a business transaction.
They work for you, you pay them,but they can also make their own
choices and go work somewhereelse or go work for themselves.
But, but yeah, like recognizethat maybe this has been
someone's goal for 10 years andbe happy for them and support
(32:07):
them.
SPEAKER_00 (32:08):
Well, maybe we should talk about that in
another podcast about how tocelebrate employees when they
leave an organization.
SPEAKER_02 (32:15):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (32:17):
Right?
I
SPEAKER_02 (32:19):
love that.
How to celebrate it.
Yeah.
Danielle, if someone were to askyou today if you will ever go
back to a corporate
SPEAKER_00 (32:30):
role, what would you say?
All right.
Thank you for following back upon that question.
I, like you, feel like I havethis flexibility where if the
right job came about, that wascompletely aligned with my
values.
So I want to make sure that it'sinnovative, progressive.
I have autonomy, lots ofcreativity.
(32:53):
Like I know you and I both lovegoing into jobs where we get to
create.
It's not like, so it's like anew role.
SPEAKER_02 (33:01):
Yes.
A blank slate and no roadmap,just like figure it out.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (33:06):
I mean, I love going into a hot mess.
It's like hot mess is where Ithrive.
SPEAKER_02 (33:11):
That is so, that is really interesting actually.
Cause I thrive like that too.
It doesn't scare me.
And then think about it.
Like both, we both, celebrateit, like, or not celebrate, but
we welcome it.
And we're okay with theuncertainty or the, you know, no
roadmap and all that.
And we both were comfortableleaving the we're okay with the
(33:40):
unknown and we don't need aplaybook.
Um, maybe that's why also, youknow, we made the transition was
pretty smooth for us becausewhen you transition to work for
yourselves, there is noplaybook.
Yeah, exactly.
No, exactly.
No salary, no benefits.
(34:01):
So, um, yeah, you have to beokay with it.
So maybe that's part of it is,um, in, and if that's not your
natural state, like I've alwaysbeen this way, but I do think
that you can still have a verysuccessful transition from
corporate to working foryourself, even if you don't love
chaos or a hot mess, because youcan build the resiliency, but
(34:25):
you can also be really planfulahead.
So planning ahead will helpcreate that roadmap for you.
SPEAKER_00 (34:32):
Right.
Having that exit strategy.
I mean, you can start to createyour roadmap.
You can have all of thestructure that you need And you
can have all that time to build
SPEAKER_01 (34:42):
your
SPEAKER_00 (34:44):
savings so that you actually can make that
transition even more smoothly.
SPEAKER_02 (34:49):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I love that.
That was so great.
Well, I'm glad that you'rehappy, Danielle.
I'm glad that we get to do thistogether now because we're not
in corporate.
SPEAKER_00 (35:01):
I know.
How fun.
SPEAKER_02 (35:03):
So that's another benefit of you and I both
leaving the corporate space isthat we have...
the time to create this podcasttogether and have some fun and
share some of our stories withothers.
So anything else you want tosay, Danielle,
SPEAKER_00 (35:20):
before we wrap it up?
Just happy to be here with you,Janelle.
I'm looking forward to our nextconversation.
Yeah, who knows what it'll be?
SPEAKER_02 (35:29):
Well, thanks everyone for tuning in.
You know, make sure yousubscribe because we are
launching new episodes everyWednesday.
So if you want to make sure thatyou receive that, make sure you
subscribe and stay tuned and wewill chat with you again next
time.
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