There it was! The perfect supplement to my start-up coaching practice.
I answered an ad on the coffee shop wall for a Farmers Market Manager in my town. They needed an on-site manager for just a few hours a week. It would get me outdoors and with people. And I had a yen to manage something with tangible results.
Twenty years later, I’m still at it. Why? It is” just a little, part-time job”.
In a previous blog, I talked about 3 things to consider about quitting your job or business to “retire”.
In this article, let’s look at Number 2. Here are some ways you can grow and gain by continuing to work.
-Work with a different set of interests and skills. Or learn new ones.
The Farmers’ Market is a retail laboratory for my business coaching. I learned about sales, marketing, merchandising, recruitment, and retention—all challenges that help me help my clients.
I learned about the food supply, small agriculture, nutrition, and the environment. And the business challenges of small farms and start-up food businesses.
A little job in a different field gave me improved skills, expertise in a new industry, and an easy way to start a conversation! It’s a lot of fun, and we eat really well.
-Return to something you loved to do before.
A sculptor had turned to a more “professional” career as his family grew and needed a steadier income. Thirty-five years later, now in his 70’s, he resumed his artistry.
This is not your 1980’s art business.
-Combine your expertise with business skills to start a new career.
One client had to close her studio in the pandemic.
Should she re-start? She had advanced training as a movement specialist, and over ten years running her own fitness business.
Should she start over in a new field of interest? She’d be a newcomer, in a crowded field, which didn’t pay much to start-ups.
She sought advice. Her coach asked some hard questions. Her mastermind team helped clarify how formidable a package she could bring to the right organization.
Her new hybrid business model combined
She now has a job and a business! A captive audience, a base salary, and is upselling her own training services.
What if she had quit?
You’re not quitting?
Hooray. That option wasn’t available very long ago.
You used to work till you retired (then what?), work till you dropped, keep working till your 401k recovered (how long do you have?)
It was considered embarrassing to take a smaller job, with fewer responsibilities and less pay.
Today, there are many paths to a satisfying solution. Semi-retirement. Part-time work. Seasonal work. Volunteering. And of course, running your own business.
What’s next?
The three business owners in the examples all value outside guidance. They share dilemmas and craft successful strategies with a coach.
To navigate your own options for NOT quitting, contact Lorette.
Isn’t this a great life! Why would you quit?
Lorette Pruden, Ph.D. coaches, consults, speaks and writes on the transition from working for others to building a successful business. After nearly 30 years with Mobil, Lorette entered the world of the Formerly Corporate™.
Lorette has helped hundreds of small business owners, sales professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders grow their businesses and manage that growth since 2000. She specializes in the Formerly Corporate—so many small business owners who’ve worked with her come from a corporate background that she finally wrote the book on it. Formerly Corporate: Mindset Shifts for Success in Your Own Business.
