Redirecting your life or following your gut to change your personal and professional trajectory scares the living shit out of most of us—and I know that all too well!
Over the past 25 years, I've completely redirected my life an astounding 7 times (yep, you read that right!). But since you are not here to read my freaking memoirs (yet), let me share the part of my story that might resonate with you the most:
In early 2019, after spending a decade in California's Bay Area corporate world, commuting my life away on Highway 101 like everyone else, I decided it was time to pack up and return to Germany. The plan was to continue my corporate career back in my home country, but with a bit more European style work-life balance. Instead, I found myself in a German company culture that wasn't a fit at all, and my new life and job began taking a toll on my health. Within a year, I faced health issues like an insulin-resistant state, chronic inflammation and was on the verge of burnout. This unexpected and rapid decline of my health made me do something I never did before: I quit my job without a backup plan and dedicated a few months to fixing my health before starting a new job as Head of Marketing at a smaller company. You probably don't need to guess...next thing I knew, the pandemic hit. My job was on hold, and I suddenly sat around at home thinking about what was really next for me work-wise.
And what's on the mind of someone who spent a big portion of her life in good old Startup Central, also known as Silicon Valley? Sure as shit, let's build a startup! And I did; I incorporated and spent 6 months and my savings building out a pretty decent app idea. To offset my living expenses, I started freelancing as Operations Specialist on the side, but I only intended this to be a temporary fix and a means to pay the bills while building the startup. Another few months later, a pretty uncomfortable realization hit me: freelancing started taking off, despite the fact that I didn't even have a website or any social media presence. I enjoyed working with my international clients so much that I suddenly had to question my own status quo, which I had believed all my life: you have to build a product, you have to have a company, and you have to have employees! It's gotta be a freaking unicorn one day and make millions, or you will never feel accomplished and successful! Sound familiar?
But now, I was faced with the odd sensation that I had unintentionally built myself two very different lifestyle and work options for the future. Suddenly, I had to confront the crucial question of what I truly wanted my life to look like and how work should fit into it. This was a profound, new experience for someone like me. I had been running my life on corporate career autopilot in the past, seldom considering the only essential variables one has in life: time and health.
I finally had to be honest with my damn self and acknowledge what I didn’t want my life to look like given the choice:
- Spending my 40s in endless corporate meetings, boardrooms, and managing employees wasn't appealing to me anymore, especially in a bureaucracy-heavy environment like Germany
- Being tied down to one place for most of the year and unable to travel freely felt suffocating to me
- Pursuing an uncertain outcome as a startup founder felt daunting as well and was most likely to compromise my physical and mental health again
Realizing these facts hit me hard. I had spent months and my savings on a startup idea without thoroughly considering my non-negotiables in life before starting a business because I didn't know better and followed my old business belief system. It was time to question the outdated mindset that had been ingrained in me over and over again: fit your life around work, not work around your life. And most of all, to acknowledge that the alternative possibilities have massively changed over the last few years. The caveat was yet again that everyone I knew either pursued corporate careers, ran startups, or owned regular businesses—no digital solopreneurs or entrepreneurs in my circle, no one to seek advice from.
Long story short:
Today, after 3 years and lots of trial and error phases, I run a successful 6-figure online business on my own that fits my desired lifestyle. And damn, this life-work transition was the hardest personal and professional redirection of them all—but the most future-oriented, rewarding thing I ever did for myself as a whole and with a bright long-term outlook in today’s digital economy.
You think you could never change your life and career the same way? You’d never guess, but none of this was ever in the cards for me. If my 15-year-old self, who lived alone after an adverse childhood, knew what it meant to go hungry for days, and worked several low-income side jobs to put herself through high school and college...well, if she could see me now, she wouldn’t believe it either:
You did this, seriously? How? Who the heck are you?
While becoming a solopreneur and running your own online business may not be the right path for everyone and isn't an easy option to begin with, it's a real possibility in this digital era that is worth considering, especially at certain points in life (hello there, fellow mid-lifer!).
And that's where I come in—I've learned invaluable lessons along the way and am on a mission to help others who are a few steps behind me avoid major missteps and embark on their individual journey with the right mindset and support. If you've ever yearned to reinvent yourself, your life, and your professional future, like I did, let's buckle up and discover how to unlock your path to a healthier future lifestyle together!
