Switching Gears (Careers) After 40
One morning you wake up and realize one of two things.
What you have been doing all these years is not what you want to be doing anymore. Your passion lies elsewhere and you need to follow it.
You no longer have a job. You either up and left it or it up and left you. Either way, you are out of a job and may not know what's next. One thing is for sure, you know it's not what you were doing all along, or it was, but now you want to do it on your own terms.
Switching gears, as I like to call it, or switching careers, can happen at any time and for anyone. It is a daunting affair and if you couple that with fear and uncertainty, you have a recipe for 'stuckness.' So what do you do now that you are in limbo? How do you move forward? How do you, 40 years and counting, up and switch your career? What's your plan? Do you even have a plan? Whether on your own terms or having been pushed, your mind is now swimming in an ocean full of hows, whats, whys and holy crap.
So. What's the next step? Well, you can either sit and choose to become a sloth wallowing in self-pity or you can decide to pivot, take a risk, and jump, that's what. Is it easy? HECK NO. Is it suicidal? MAYBE. Are you gonna survive? HELL YES!!
Today I explore this topic with 2 of my friends who switched careers in their early 40's and became entrepreneurs. Both ladies are excellent mentors and coaches in their respective rights and are plain down to earth when it comes to telling you about their struggles, and highlights, on this journey called entrepreneurship. Their points of view below, to what I thought was 6 simple questions, demonstrates that simple and entrepreneurship don't necessarily go together.
Thank you Ladies! ❤
𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐲𝐬 𝐆𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝, Owner of ARB's Gaming
"This is not a road for the faint of heart."
Me: Can you share with my readers how you happened into entrepreneurship?
DGB: To be honest there was always a desire to forge ahead and start something, find my niche. My opportunity happened after my redundancy; and for the first time this scared, health challenged, over 40 female stepped out in faith.
Me: How difficult was it for you to switch careers at this age when most women are looking for greater financial, mental and emotional stability?
DGB: Switching gears meant survival, sanity and peace of mind. My path to this new lease on life has been unconventional. Being a single mama of three and not in possession of major assets to acquire financial backing was a major concern. For me, it was super difficult plus it was emotionally not a good time. I had health issues, my friend of 30 years was diagnosed with terminal cancer, two kids were still in school, my overheads were high and I felt so overwhelmed. My saving grace was I entered an arena I knew about and new I could do it well. All I craved was survival. There was never the question of, "if I can do this," just the statement that I have to.
Me: What has been your proudest and most profound moment of being an entrepreneur?
DGB: I would say it was October 2015 when I received the call to say ARB's Gaming was officially up and running. I was in Kingston and my son called to say "Mom I sent you some pictures." I was elated, over the moon, realizing that it was actually happening.
Me: What has been your greatest fear realized on this journey?
DGB: Time. This is not a road for the faint of heart. You not only become head-cook and bottle washer, but you also become your own P.R., and you can get so absorbed that you forget about yourself. In my case, to my own detriment, my health issues reared their head and I was forced to reevaluate operations and had to allow myself to understand that I could not do it alone; 16 hour days, 7 days a week would no longer work. There should always, always be downtime or you will burn out. My greatest fear was I was losing control. To overcome this, and boy was it hard, delegation came into permanent play. I felt like I was losing my baby. I was beyond scared.
Me: If you had the chance to start over what would you do differently, in other words, what advise would you give your former self?
DGB: To be honest everyone's experience is going to be different and after starting and getting that out of the way, just remember no matter how much you know or think you know, there is still a lot to learn. Go with your flow, growth is just that. I'm still learning.
Me: What is that one word that comes to mind that you would use to describe your journey so far?
DGB: Amazing. I'm still here, still fighting, in this whirlwind of a life.
"Fear, uncertainty and discomfort are your compasses toward growth." ~ Celestine Chua