This is the first in a 2 part series of posts based on an interview with Karen Swim. Come back tomorrow for the next post in the series, subscribe to the blog, or become a fan on Facebook. Read other posts from the interview»
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I always kind of knew that I would run my own company one day. It wasn’t this great big epiphany. It was more like a seed that had been planted long ago and it just waited until the time was right.
Nearly six years ago I lost my husband. Before he died, I had planned to take a six month absence from corporate America to care for him. Those six months turned into two years. After he passed, I moved from California to Michigan and went back to work in corporate America. My goal at the time was really just financial stability. Two years without income and a major illness takes a huge hit on your finances.
I wanted an easy way back into the workforce. I didn’t want to go back to being in charge of 200 people; I didn’t want the big title. I had just lost my husband of 10 years and I didn’t want the stress. I wanted to have a low level position and just work – allow myself some recovery time.
Shortly after re-joining the corporate workforce, I realized that I wanted a different kind of lifestyle than what I could have in Corporate America.
You’re never the same after you lose a spouse. You realize that your life here is so finite, that it’s worthwhile to take risks and pursue the things that you want. And it’s pointless to live with unnecessary stress or to go to a job that doesn’t make you happy. I already knew all this – on some level, I think a lot of people know this – but when my husband passed, my understanding and awareness went to a much deeper level. I wanted to take my skills and experience and build something rather than implementing and executing somebody else’s vision.
After a year, I made the move. The company was going through a round of layoffs. I convinced them to lay me off and I took that opportunity to just jump out and to start my own business.
Everything came together for me once I said, ‘OK, the time is now.’
When I stepped out of corporate America, I went into full on research mode, trying to determine what kind of business I would start. I never thought writing could be a career. I figured that you can’t just decide to write a book and get it published.
During my business research, I happened upon a book, “How to Start a Home Based Writing Business by Lucy V. Parker a writer who had started her own writing business. The whole thing clicked.
Before reading that book, I was on my way to becoming a pet sitter. I had written business plans, gone to the Small Business Administration, met with mentors. I had even obtained my Animal CPR certification .
I guess writing was so much a part of me that I didn’t even stop to think for one second that it could actually be a career. ♦
Karen Swim is grounded in a strength that can only come from trusting that she’s on the right path even if she doesn’t know where that path might lead. She’s a writer, a marketer, and a social media expert. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know her through Rosa Say’s Joyful Jubilant Learning and I cannot recommend strongly enough that you take the time to get to know her, too. Read her blog. Friend her on Facebook. Connect on LinkedIn. Follow her on Twitter.
Published Monday, September, 21, 2009