After spending my entire career - let’s say 20+ years - in the corporate world and answering to others...one stint including my now ex-husband (folks that’s a lesson in itself!), in the fall of 2019, I decided to take the leap and do what millions of others had done before me...start a consultant company. But, I wasn’t going to be another boutique management consulting firm - give advice to huge corporate guerrillas to only push paper - consultants former and current, you know what I mean. I was going to help the little guys 1:1, the startups, become medium sized and maybe even large and make some money doing it. I wanted a nice little company...nothing huge or extravagant - just big enough to be comfortable, feel content while doing the work and have the flexibility to hang with my son after school and workout when I wanted. It seems like a lot to ask these days…right?
After working with my career coach (highly recommend for you 30 or 40 somethings in a mid-life crisis), I decided to take the leap because I wanted to see my work impacting others, this piece was hugely important to me. Going back in time, I’d probably ignore my parents ultimatum of pursuing a career that “makes money.” I’d likely gravitate towards a career that helps people 1:1...but with a hefty mortgage and kiddo, I just couldn’t reboot entirely.
Early on, (read fall 2019 when everything in life was different) I talked to everyone I could about my consulting for startups idea. I heard, “this is such a great idea - I think it’s a perfect fit for companies of that size, you’ll get a lot of business!” I kept hearing these encouraging words from potential clients, friends and mentors and was obviously psyched (yep I grew up in the 90s) to get things rolling and West Loop Advisors LLC was born. I was doing it.
The concept for my company is essentially getting an outsourced COO that can do anything related to operations strategy and execution - me with some help from content creators and/or designers when needed. I’ve gone to one of the “top” business schools in the world...paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for that btw...so I have the solid education - check. I’ve also worked at Fortune 100 companies and small 10-30 person startups AND I’ve done consulting so I have the work experience - check.
We all know the holidays hit pause on work and for me that was ok - I was going to hit the ground running in January. I needed the time to put up a website and get things in order. News of the coronavirus (COVID-19) came in and out of my ears as I prepared proposals in January. Nah, this isn’t coming to the US, it’s like H1N1 and SARs and will stay put in Asia. I had three contracts in March and definitely more companies than expected that were interested. My first sizable contract was set to start on March 13, the other two were slated for later March and then COVID-19 came to the US.
Lockdown. Cancellations. Delays. Unemployment. Homeschooling. Protests. Life turned upside down - for me and everyone else. This was a BIG storm and I was in a rickety boat, not as rickety as some, but still one that could fall apart with a big wave. I had taken money out of my 401k to start the business thinking it could carry me until the contracts started. Now, I’d need more if I was going to pursue this path. For the rest of March and most of April, I was a “deer in headlights,” with no idea what to do next. What was the next best step? No clue. I dove into homeschooling (crisis schooling now) with little direction, cooking random pantry meals, binging bad Netflix shows, and trolling Instagram. I tried to exercise and eat healthy while drinking at virtual happy hours as I commiserated with friends on the uncertainty of life during a global pandemic.
In early May, the bright headlights started to fade and I realized this pandemic was going to last longer than expected and so was the quarantine. I needed to make a decision. Should I continue down this path of an entrepreneur or find another corporate job? I saw some opportunities that I could do but should I turn my back on this already? Truth is there will always be storms (this one unprecedented) and rickety boats (I was in one). What was the next best step? I talked to my coach...her response “from what I’m hearing...you want to keep trying at this right?” Right.
So here I am writing this initial blog post - not the way I wanted to introduce myself or my company - but it is what it is - present day - day by day. I’m not giving up yet and if I do, it’ll be on my terms. I can do and have done hard things (@glennondoyle, author of Untamed, a must read) and this is one of them. I will keep trying and hopefully things will unfold appropriately and I’ll have learned some key lessons regardless of the journey - not looking at you core math (why in the world did that have to change?).
On a final note of this long winded but hopefully heartfelt and maybe slightly amusing post, if you think you have a problem at your growing company that I can help solve or you’re looking for some thoughts on career change and/or entrepreneurship let’s talk. You can drop me a note at info@westloopadvisors.com and I can talk your ear off on how I can help. :)
In the meantime, be kind to yourself and others - this too will pass.