How I Made The Escape
To take advice from one of my favorite bloggers who recently wrote a piece called “Let’s not pretend it’s always easy,” I wanted to talk a little (err…a lot) about how I was able to leave my corporate day job.
It can seem, on the internets, that lots of bloggers create a side business and then just up and quit their jobs. And maybe some of them do. Maybe some of them have a trust fund or immediate success or a husband paying all the bills, but my guess is that most of them put in a lot of hours before they left the cube for a creative job.
I don’t have a trust fund, immediate success or a husband, I only had a job I didn’t love in the least and a whole lot of motivation to leave.
I started planning to leave about a year ago. In September I put up a giant white board and wrote out eight months of goals for my design business, my shop, blog stats, aerial classes and shows under the heading ESCAPE PLAN. I picked May for my escape because in figuring out how much money I would need to make in order to leave, the increase in revenue month-to-month was a little crazy, but not insane.
I worked toward my goal every day. Whether it was going through song choices for a show, building a new templates, responding to potential clients, creating spreadsheets for class. I was 100 percent focused on where I was headed. I visualized putting in my two weeks and driving out of that parking lot for the last time (yelling with joy) over and over and over.
And a lot of times it was really, really difficult. I was taking on an enormous amount of work and I was afraid that if I stopped moving for a second my dream would be compromised. I spent quite a few nights in a ball on the couch crying my eyes out, completely overwhelmed, while Slayer climbed all over me trying to lick my face. And I had multiple conversations about how I was “falling apart, taking on too much, and everything is a mess” with a good friend who basically told me “shut up, your life is amazing, keep working.” As much as I didn’t want to hear it, it was good advice.
In March I had my yearly review with my boss and unfortunately/fortunately he was well aware of my lack of passion at work. His solution for this was, beginning in June, to have me write news stories for the site (what I did when I first started my job) and work weekends (after putting in 7 years there). This turned out to be the push I needed to leave.
In April and May we (The Weird Sisters Circus) booked nine shows, which meant more rehearsals and routines to build – I literally did not have time to be stuck in an office 40 hours a week anymore.
I tied up all the loose ends, bought a new computer, went to the dentist, worked out a budget. Then last week I told my boss I was leaving my job to run away with the circus. It was exciting and terrifying (hello mortgage!) and a leap I knew I had to take because I didn’t want to wake up in 10 years at the same job knowing I’d been so close to reaching my goal.
All of the long hours were so worth it when on Monday morning I woke up sans alarm and spent the morning eating breakfast on the deck while going through email. Then I was able to run all my errands to pick up stuff for an upcoming show and go to a fitting without having to cram everything in at the very end of my day. My new freedom hasn’t completely hit me yet, but the relief is slowing starting to seep in and so far it feels really good.
Now let’s all cross our fingers that I don’t have to write a post in a year titled “Dragging my ass back to the cube: How I completely and utterly failed at the freelance life.”
My advice to those of you currently reading this from your soul-sucking job and dreaming of a creative life…
SAVE YOUR MONEY All of it. Especially if you’re like me and are SINGLE with a MORTGAGE. Stop buying shoes, stop eating out. Do you want a new dress or do you want to leave your lame job? That’s the question I’ve asked myself on a weekly basis and, frankly, sometimes I bought the damn dress, but most of the time that little reminder was enough for me to hold onto the cash.
MAKE A BUDGET Know where your cash is flowing. Cut down all the bills you can. I canceled my cable to save $15 and changed my phone plan to save $20.
MAKE A PLAN The second I realized my job would be changing and I wasn’t going to stick around I went back to my desk, opened up a file called Escape Plan and wrote: new laptop, health insurance, Photoshop, clean office, dentist appt. What do you need to do in order to leave your job? Don’t leave it until the last minute.
If possible, CREATE MULTIPLE INCOME STREAMS I make money from freelance design, my template shop, teaching aerial and performing. If one of those comes up short one month I have three other places where I can try to make up for it. This not only helps my bank account, but saves me a bit of stress too.
If the WORST CASE SCENARIO is holding you back – mine is losing my house – then imagine it happening, what will you do? Make a plan. I would: get another job, get another roommate, build a million templates for my shop, start selling possessions. It won’t be the end of you world and you will not die from the worst case scenario. If you managed to escape the 9 to 5, then you surely have enough balls and strength to get through a lot of bad shit.
START NOW Like, immediately. There is no reason to spend another day dreaming about what you want to do and not lifting a finger to move yourself in that direction. Stop making excuses and complaining about things you CAN change and start believing in yourself and just take one step forward every day. Seriously…do it.
ALSO…I cannot say thank you enough to those of you who read my blog, bought one of my templates, hired me to design your site or just cheered me on. Each one of you has given me a little leg up on my journey and I’m truly, truly appreciative of your support. I would not have been able to do this without you <3 <3 <3
If you have any questions feel free to comment or email :)
05.22.12 in achieving goals, life, work
I love that you did this! I think you will do well. You planned well and have the dedication and desire.
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Very true. I did, in fact, up and quit my boring desk job, but I wouldn’t recommend doing things that way. For me though, I just couldn’t take it one second longer, which is a sure sign that I wasn’t in the right place! Lol.
One thing that I’ve realized though is that as much as I tried to plan for my escape while I was working there, I was in a sort of zombie state, creatively speaking, and wasn’t really able to make any concrete steps in that direction. It’s like my brain was crippled or something. Once I quit, it was like a weight was lifted and I was able to throw myself into creative pursuits. I’ve having to live w/ my parents again while I go through design school now, but… emotionally I think this was absolutely the best decision. My desk job was stealing my soul.
CONGRATS Sarah!!! I just left my job too, and completely relate to everything you’re going through. You have what it takes to make it, i’m so happy you got out! :)
Congrats to you too!
This is fantastic!! As a girl who plans to work for myself someday, It’s refreshing to hear that you’re following your dream without a backup, completely holding your own. So many kudos to you, so inspiring. Looking forward to reading more about your exciting journey :)
Love it! Congrats on taking the right steps to get you where you wanted to be.
I can totally relate to your story. I also quit my corporate job to work on my own and it takes a LOT of hard work. I’ve been tempted to quit many times, but the vision of what I’m working towards is very empowering.
so inspiring. i have wanted to leave my 9 to 5 job for a while, i feel like it’s slowing sucking my breath away.
i wish i could say i have a solid plan. but unfortunately my husband had left his job and was following his dream for a bit which was a drastic cut to our income and it just didn’t work out. we slowly started drowning and are still recovering even though he is back to working for someone else. because of this and when he came back to the work force, at a drastic paycut from what he was previously making – i now don’t see an end in site for me. i feel like we have SO much debt that if we didn’t have it i would be completely okay to work for myself.
i am completely and totally envious of those who climb out of their debts and work for themselves and make it. some day, this is my dream. so until then i work my day job and am actually soon going to be starting up two more side businesses. maybe one will take off and i cant make my escape sooner rather than later.
thank you again for the inspiration, good luck to you!!
hello!
thank you so much for posting this.
i’ve actually made the decision to go back to school this year for something that i really want to do.. i wont be settling anymore and i wont be miserable at my desk job ever again. thank goodness!
Good for you Jessica!! Just deciding to go after your passion can be a giant step, so high give for taking that leap!
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You’re my hero!
Thank you Kara! That just made my day <333
I’m heading back to work after a 6 month stint at being self employed. I picked the wrong time of year, had too much debt, was living in an expensive apartment, and just had so many other things that were making it hard. I already have plans for leaving this job within 3 years. For now, my handmaking will be my side hustle until I can make it full time again.
I’m hoping I have all my ducks in line enough to make it. Good luck on escaping the cube again soon :)
This is so inspiring! Thank you for sharing your story. Rooting for you to WAY surpass that cube job. :D
Catherine Denton
Thanks Catherine!!
Thanks for this article! I really needed this inspiration because I am planning on leaving the job I’m currently at.
I hope that you are doing well at the circus, I look forward to your future adventures.
Jamie
Thanks Jamie! Good luck to you!
Here via Ginger Mandy and just wanted to say congrats and mad kudos!
I did something similar last year, but I admit, I had a safety net. Not a trust fund, exactly, but a reasonably sized cushion that will allow me to take a chance on my dreams for a few years. So far it’s been a lot harder than I expected. I thought 1 year would be plenty of time to “make it,” but unfortunately I appear to be slow. Ah well. I wouldn’t trade this opportunity and its stresses for anything.
Good luck!
Oh I definitely have a safety net too :) I’m hoping I feel the same way, and it will all still be worth it in a few years too
That is awesome.
Congratulations!
Thanks Peter!
This calls for a YOU GO GIRL!
Congratulations on all of your hard work paying off!
xx.
Thanks Kiley!! Your site is still one of my favorites that I’ve done :)
I so want to make my own plan, but I worry about health insurance.
It’s something you definitely have to budget for, but there are lots of options. Make it part of your plan from the beginning and it will look like less of an obstacle.
Gotta support those who want to be freelance artists with a passion that thrives them for monetary gain. I definitely want to keep my job at Ross Dress For Less and that is only for the fact that I spent the last 3 and a half years in college for Retail Management. But, I did gain insight on what I should do for my other jobs outside of work just so I can say that I work on my own. Thank you for sharing your experience with us!
Yeah, you definitely don’t have to leave your job to have a successful side hustle. Do whatever makes you happy!
Congratulations! That is an awesome story. It’s great to hear someone tell it like it is and really show how hard they have worked to get where they are. I would love to have my own business and I know it will be hard but it is something I would love to do. I am currently pregnant and will be on 12 months maternity leave from September. I am hoping to come up with some plans before then so I can start working towards something in my 12 months leave. Hopefully at the end of the 12 months I won’t need to go back!
That sounds like a great way to go about it. I’m sure you’ll be plenty busy, but even just putting in a few minutes every day will add up. Good luck!!
I am soo happy to hear of your success! I’ve been reading your blog for a while now, and I admire you a great deal for your independence, drive, and guts! This is a great example for others who want to break out on their own. I found this post to be inspiring, myself, and I think I’ll sit down right now and write out my own escape plan!
Thank you Kristen – that means so much to me to hear I can inspire others! Good luck on your plan!