Are We Excited Yet?
It’s been 10 days since I left my my “cushy” corporate job that I have spent over 22 years as an operations executive to start a consulting business from scratch. I have spent almost half of my life and most of my professional life with the same organization. I started with QC Holdings, Inc. when it had less than 20 locations and as I am leaving it has over 400 locations. I helped transition QC from a one-product company to multiple products over multiple divisions in two countries We went from a small, privately owned company to a larger, publicly traded company. As I look back at the time I spent at QC, I am amazed at all the memories I have, both good and great.
Why in the heck would I leave this?
I asked myself that question and have been asked that question many, many times over the last couple of weeks. The answer is I need to wake up and be excited for the day. Not just from the perspective of spending time with my wonderful family, but with creating something meaningful at work. QC is doing exciting, meaningful things, but it just has not been invigorating for me lately – and that’s how I knew it was time to do something different. There used to be times I would wake up in the middle of the night with my adrenaline going because of something exciting we were working on. Recently I would wake up in the middle of the night because one of our three kids is crying… While that is part of being a good father, from a business/career perspective, I used those early mornings as a barometer of working on challenging, exciting projects.
My passion over the years has been growing our business and creating new product opportunities. As I contemplated my departure from QC to the great unknown, I realized I would need to find an opportunity that allowed me to focus my passion and energy on something that I loved, but at the same time had enough variability that I would stay challenged. The obvious answer to me was to start a consulting company that focused on helping businesses grow. I want to help businesses take their growth to the next level. I want to have the opportunity to match my passion for growth with their passion for their business. I am excited to see how I can leverage my 20+ years of diverse experiences to help others succeed. Truthfully, I am nervous about leaving the safety net of a regular paycheck and solid structure for the vast unknown of the world of entrepreneurs, but I am exhilarated that it is something new and exciting. I am looking forward to the new opportunities that will be available to me. I am excited!
