What I Wish I Knew Before Leaving Corporate for Solopreneurship
Hike in the mountains of Costa Rica last Sunday :- ) 🇨🇷
When I first made the conscious decision to walk away from my near decade long career within the corporate sports industry to pursue being a Life & Leadership Coach, my intentions were wholeheartedly pure.
I had experienced an awakening of sorts around my personal health, and from that, once I was able to restore it, began seeing a deeper mission of what I wanted the next chapter of my personal and professional life to look like.
I’ve already discussed some macro details around the decision in itself in Why I Left My Dream Job, as well as the top ten aspects in what I ultimately wanted in How to Exit Corporate America & Create Professional Freedom. However, I’ve never really spoken at length to my own biggest lessons since fully making the decision to take a leap into solely working for myself as a solopreneur.
After recently being in a group mastermind session led by one of my business mentors, the thought came to me to share just that.
I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and I’m definitely not one to live my life from a place of regret. However, knowing what I know now, these are the top 4 things I wish I knew before making the transition to solely working for myself.
1. There is a REAL Mindset Shift that is necessary around Money
I’ve held W-9 jobs since as early as my first one at Chick Fil-a during the 8th grade of middle school. I was fourteen years old and even though I only worked a couple of shifts equaling 10-12 total hours per week, since that point, I’ve always held a job.
I take that back. The only period I didn’t have one was my senior year of high school where I lettered in basketball, leading to a couple of college scholarship offers at small schools.
However beyond that, and even while playing basketball in my first year of college, I’ve ALWAYS had a consistent job (aka source of income).
In addition to Chick Fil-a, I’ve held down other restaurant jobs at Applebee’s, Krispy Kreme, and Steak n Shake.
I’ve also spent a summer in high school helping build pools (that didn’t last long for me in the scorching Texas heat ☀️), and I worked at Best Buy throughout most of college.
I worked for the athletic department one summer during my sophomore year of college (shout to Texas Tech University) and I’ve also interned for the NFL.
In addition, I’ve worked full-time for the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL and the Arizona Diamondbacks of the MLB too.
Why do I mention all of this?
Because these jobs cover a consistent period of nearly 15 consecutive years (again, minus the first semester of my senior year to solely focus on basketball), that I received some form of a paycheck every two weeks.
Some were obviously much larger than others, however the “pattern” of receiving them due to putting a certain amount of time and energy towards work, was evident.
One of the top things I didn’t realize was how mentally challenging it would be to go from the dynamic of receiving consistent income for a decade and a half straight, to then receiving nada once I first began my new professional career (via coaching).
I mention this to say it’s really important to be very clear as to your WHY, as far as your reason for potentially wanting to transition out of corporate.
I say that because we live in a world of clickbait and instant gratification where you’ve probably seen social media ads where someone is “guaranteeing $10-$15K months in less than 90 days.”
Personally for me that wasn’t the case, and those types of ads actually repulse me today (as I see right through them). However, I over time needed to learn (oftentimes through experimentation myself) and discern what is actually real and authentic in a sea of “noise” and false promises.
One of which being, from my experience, the importance of knowing there will be a shift in your nervous system when it goes from earning consistent monthly income (in my case $10K+) to virtually zero.
The key is a mixture of patience + a deep burning desire to fully show up for what it is that you want to newly create in the world. Rome wasn’t built in a night, and neither will a new business venture too.
Get clear as to what you’re going towards and always remain open to the journey of learning and implementing in order to handle the lack of income period with grace.
I would also HIGHLY recommend having enough savings to fully support yourself (and family if you have one) for an entire year. This is something that I did for myself and can genuinely say it made the transition out that much more attainable. I knew I would have space to step deeper into the unknown, without fretting or worrying about any upcoming bills for a lengthy period of time.
2. The Importance of Surrounding Yourself with Other People on The Same Path
Presently, as I write this, I’m a part of two men’s groups, as well as a mastermind group (which I mentioned above), and I also have a Professional Coach whom I have access to discuss different life challenges or potentials that may be present for me, multiple times a month.
This, at least now for me, is an absolute no brainer.
By no brainer I mean I have learned the importance of consistently surrounding myself with others who are on the same path (and by “path” I mean those who are genuinely life-long learners who are committed to doing the inner work on the themselves, so that they can continue to evolve and grow towards whatever it is that is important to them on a personal and professional level).
More “doers” rather than “talkers” (as in my experience there’s plenty of the latter who would rather complain while fighting for their limitations, rather than break free from their self-created inner prison).
It took me nearly two years to receive any type of genuine support after I transitioned out of my corporate career.
I held the belief then that since I knew how to both communicate and sell, then it would be a piece of cake to start my own business. I sold over $20M dollars of revenue in the professional sports and entertainment industry via luxurious suites and premium seats, so I felt very confident in my ability to sell.
However, it’s one thing to sell a global product for the #1 valued sports brand in the world, and a completely different ballgame (definite pun) when you are essentially selling yourself.
At the beginning, A LOT of my unknown fears and insecurities came up around sharing myself and story to others, as well as in my actual ability to coach and provide value to those who were interested in being supported by me.
Ultimately, under the surface, I had many worries about my own self-worth.
I equated my worth or value to how much money I was able to generate. And since I wasn’t receiving any income when I first started, some of my deeper limiting beliefs were rising to the surface.
What I didn’t realize at this point was how trying to go at it alone during said period was actually limiting my growth potential.
I felt fearful of sharing the struggles I was having building a business and I felt very much alone during the process.
This all significantly changed for me when I started to intentionally surround myself with others on the path.
I then hired my first male coach, Faris Khalifeh, out Vancouver Canada (who was another highly sensitive man who was an Executive Coach that had transitioned from being a Leadership Consultant for a global communications agency). He helped me see some of my perfectionistic tendencies and taught me that “right now is good enough” (which is still very much a phrase that I still hold closely and reflect on many years later).
I then joined my first men’s group led by Coach and best-selling author Preston Smiles (to which I learned how to truly be vulnerable in front of other men and boldly show up and share my truth, through the fears and insecurities that used to consistently leave me in paralysis-analysis – aka non-action).
And after that I surrounded myself for a full year in a mastermind community of other highly-driven mission-focused coaches led by JP Morgan, who had been a successful full-time entrepreneur for over 20 years. He helped me see the power of language and how certain words (as far as how I related to them) which may have gotten me to a certain level of success in the past, were actually no longer useful and in the way of me reaching my next elevated level. And yes by the way, his name really is JP Morgan and I’m not talking about the bank 🏦 💰.
I’d be lying if I said I always had an easy breezy time while being on the other end of receiving support (as in all honesty my blind spots and limiting beliefs were on full display, which at times felt extremely uncomfortable to see).
However, I EXPONENTIALLY grew from these experiences, both personally and professionally.
My business more than tripled and I felt a consistent overflow of creative ideas and inspiration from people whom I could relate or aspire to emulate on some level. At the same time I forged new relationships with men and other impact-driven entrepreneurs that wouldn’t have been remotely possible if I continued to stay siloed off in the fake “Superman that was trying to do everything on his own and lonesome” version of myself.
If you’re going to start on this path, you might as well get a head start and do so while still employed within your current organization (if you can). Though that wasn’t my experience, I’ve found it to be an exceptionally useful one for those who are wise enough to open themselves up to that possibility earlier than most.
3. The Importance of Superior Emotional Intelligence
This one is HUGE and could literally be an entire stand-alone article in itself.
I’ve actually written about this before in The Importance of Body Awareness, however here I will speak even more directly to it.
Integration and adaptability is the absolute NAME OF THE GAME in the informational tech age we currently all live in.
What I mean by this is that aspects are changing faster than at any other point in our history on a global technological level (and aren’t going to slowing down).
If you harbor thoughts of “I wish things would just stay the exact same as they were before” then you’re already behind.
An absolute GAME CHANGER skill that AI or any other tech upgrades cannot fully outsource is what having superior emotional intelligence can do for you.
Being able to not only tune in, acknowledge, and understand the variety of different emotions one is experiencing in any given moment is a superpower in a person's decision-making ability.
The more adept one is at processing emotions and consciously “responding” rather than “reacting” to triggers, the greater access they have to accelerate their growth 10x. Which is greatly PIVOTAL as the emotional scale is much more intense in entrepreneurship.
In my own experience, while I was still in my prior corporate career, I was pretty dialed in on the mental and physical level.
I had already begun a meditation practice and became aware of how my mindset was actually responsible for my experience (meaning I could choose to perceive anything that was occurring within my life either as a “victim” or “owner”).
Someone with a victim mindset believes that external factors control their life. They often feel powerless, blame others or circumstances for their problems, and focus on what they can’t do rather than what they can do.
Someone with an owner mindset takes full responsibility for their actions, choices, and outcomes. They see themselves as in control of their life and circumstances, even when things go wrong. They focus on solutions, growth, and adapting to challenges.
Just having awareness of these distinctions within themselves was helpful for me in being able to see which side of the equation I was coming from at any given moment.
Physically I was on point too.
I was no stranger to consistently exercising via 3-6 mile daily runs, in addition to weight lifting sessions and pickup basketball with colleagues before work too.
However, I didn’t see my lack of emotional intelligence (it was a blind spot) until after I started my business.
In the first men’s group I joined, I realized how much I was blaming my significant other for the areas that I was struggling with and how I would freeze and suppress my communication when certain uncomfortable emotions of fear or anger would appear.
I was super heady in that I would play out a million different scenarios (all within the mind) of why I was right, and why whoever was on the receiving or alternate end was wrong.
Ultimately my ego would always win out.
However, the same thing would often occur.
I would end up feeling temporary relief from being right (in my perception), only for the same trigger to continuously show up later (becoming more and more uncomfortable for me to avoid or pretend as if it didn’t exist).
My first men’s group also brought to my awareness the lack of trust I had for men.
Since my father had passed shortly after I turned 12, I unknowingly had an aversion towards strong men or those who I deemed as authority type figures.
I would project my disapproval for them by creating internal narratives of them not being trustworthy, similar to the one I had had of my dad for “leaving” me when he did due to his passing.
Though I wasn’t aware of if then, I felt abandoned by him. And through not growing up with an older male whom I felt I could genuinely connect with on an emotional level, I didn’t trust that as something that was possible with other men.
I had also experienced some pretty rough periods of bullying while in middle school, which had also left an unknown imprint on me to keep my guards up high, because boys weren’t safe.
Through being vulnerable to other men (in a safe and non-judgmental environment) who were on the same path, I became more aware of the full range of my emotions and how to communicate them in a healthy way.
Body awareness and emotional intelligence are two bonafide recipes for sustainable success.
Not success from the “external” that is often fleeting or dependent on outside approval. No, I’m talking about “internal” success that is rooted in deep self-awareness and one's ability to still navigate forward during setbacks.
Without the latter there’s absolutely a zero percent chance I’d personally be standing before you now, sharing what I am with you today. The process of greatly enhancing this area within myself has supported me in being able to authentically share some of the most challenging experiences I’ve had throughout my own life (if interested in hearing more of what those were, you may find value in reading What is your Deepest Why: Here’s How I Discovered Mine).
It’s also over time helped me create a successful coaching practice where I have the gift of assisting others who are intentionally choosing to bet on themselves – rather that be in the balance of going towards something that is new and deeply meaningful to them, or in creating deliberate periods of slowing down in order to see growth opportunities as well as blind spots within themselves (while consistently elevating towards their biggest dreams).
There’s a TREMENDOUS amount of power in superior emotional intelligence, and I feel very fortunate to be someone who’s on the path of mastery within the arena for myself, which greatly benefits me in helping others who aspire for the same in both accessing and harnessing more of their own inner power, in order to create a greater impact in the world.
4. The Journey is the Destination
One of the biggest things I’ve learned to grasp within myself is the genuine belief that life is really at the end of the day a journey with no mountaintop.
What I mean by this is I’ve come to recognize that life is essentially just a continuing evolution of growth and learning.
While on the surface that may seem infinitely easy to grasp (a great book on this is Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck), it’s a whole other ball game when you’re actually living it.
We all have different life goals and aspirations, however no matter what one’s goals are, the journey of who one becomes in the pursuit of said goal is the actual destination in itself.
From my lens there is no such thing as “I will have finally made it and feel ultra-successful / confident / accepting of myself when I accomplish _________.”
While on the surface this may seem inconsequential, what it actually truly does is attach one's value or self-worth to a specific outcome.
And even when said outcome is achieved and one moves on to another new goal and achieves that, it creates an infinite hamster treadmill of chasing a version of yourself that you’ll never fully meet.
I’ll give a business example of when I first started coaching.
In my mind I had a vision of how great it would be to have eight (8) different clients pay me $100 per session for four sessions per month (one each week).
This was my original dream (without mentorship) as far as my first real coaching goal. This would put me just a shade under $40,000 of annual income.
When I first began coaching, I was super focused on this and even though I had aspirations to make even more income than my original goal, I felt like it was the perfect one to start.
My first paid client at the time paid me $50 per session.
Then the next paid $75. After that it was $100 each session. And then it jumped from there to $275 (all of which was occurring over a one-year period).
While this incremental growth on the surface sounds good, I mentally was putting so much pressure on myself to improve/improve/improve, that I wasn’t really acknowledging or celebrating the journey of inner growth I had experienced over that period.
I was solely focused on “what’s next?”
It was after this when I joined my first men’s group that I mentioned earlier. During it I received some powerful coaching and reflections around my own self-worth and how based on my experience and the impact that was being created with clients I was working with, how I was vastly undercharging my rates.
Prior to this reflection from other men who were well ahead of me on their journeys within the same entrepreneurial path, new possibilities opened up for me that weren’t even remotely a part of my thought process before.
I soon after began leading my own men’s group and stopped working with clients on a session-by-session basis.
I required a minimum of a six-month commitment to work with me and actually doubled my pricing.
While there was internal fear around “who” would actually pay my new rate, I stood with it.
Soon after this point I had my first $20,000 month (which at the time seemed absolutely surreal to me).
None of which would’ve been possible without receiving coaching myself (as my reality of what was possible beforehand was only coming from my own lived experience, which for me consisted of spending quite a bit of time alone).
Why do I mention all of this?
To just bring home the point of the journey in itself being the actual pot of gold.
Who I’ve become during the process of building a successful coaching practice has and continues to evolve.
I believe that as long as I’m still alive and breathing, GOD has more for me to experience, learn, and grow through (as well as from).
While I’m still at the time of writing this, not yet where I was in annual income at my peak while in corporate, I’ve actually generated more overall income in the past 7 total years than I did the last 7 years of my time within the industry.
At one point I was made fun of for being really passionate about aspects pertaining to mindfulness and energy management for mental health and well-being for executives (as I was told “only women really care about that stuff man”). Even while hearing this, I still tried to implement some wellness-based programs for a couple different corporate organizations (to which at the time fell on deaf ears).
However, this drastically shifted during COVID.
During that time I was proactively invited to speak to different organizations within the professional sports industry for the very first time for what I termed then "Mental Wealth." Based on employee feedback, I was then referred to other organizations that also had interest in stress and anxiety relief for their staffs too.
Ripple after ripple after ripple.
I went from being someone who was only working with individuals on a 1:1 coaching basis (as that was the main focus point), to leading mental wellness programs for the teams of the same executive leaders that I once used to be colleagues with.
Since then I’ve become one of the most trusted individuals within the arena of mental and emotional health for the same industry I transitioned out of.
I’ve now worked with leaders within the NFL, NBA, MLB, and MLS around optimizing their mental performance and productivity in a sustainably easeful way.
This, in addition to my 1:1 coaching and another new men’s group that I’ll be facilitating later this year, has afforded me a life where I live in the heart of nature in a beautiful country (Costa Rica), while working from my laptop where I see clients from all over the world for no more than 3 hours a day. It also allows me the opportunity to do what I love in sharing different thoughts and lessons I’ve learned along the way too, via my writing (which is exactly, if you’ve even made it this far, are presently reading today).
All of that to say I feel extremely blessed and fortunate for where I am today and for who I am continuing to become as I open myself up for greater usage of what spirit would like to move through me.
My life doesn’t belong to me, as it belongs to something far far greater.
I am but an extremely powerful yet humble vessel for the love of what GOD desires for me to bring forth.
This is my journey, and I know if I’m still alive and breathing, then there’s still work left to do.
Hopefully this is a reminder to do your best to lovingly embrace all of the different ebbs and flows that life brings, particularly if you’re one who’s considering the pivot into the pathless path of entrepreneurship. Don’t forget to keep celebrating the moment-by-moment journey along the way (as again, that’s where the true pot of gold lies).
With Love,
Brandon