Have you ever considered what you would do if you weren’t in your current job? Have you thought about running your own business or developing another income stream? Becoming an entrepreneur takes some reinvention, but for many, it is worth the journey. Entrepreneurship has no prerequisites, just the willingness to learn and evolve.
When I got laid off in 2022 as the director of my organization’s project management office, I had a simple plan: “Get another job.” However, I also created a backup plan when I formed Engineering Leadership Solutions LLC. Within 60 days, I knew I had positioned the backup plan to become “the plan.”
I was fortunate to have access to severance funds from my job loss to cover the gap, but I immediately contacted my network for business ideas. I bartered with the mother of my son’s friend to develop my business logo and website. I asked my connections on social media what I did best to determine the highest value services I could provide. Then I started saying yes to consulting opportunities with the theory that I didn’t ever have to say yes to that sort of work again if I didn’t like it.
I approached the first 12 months of my new plan as if it were a grand experiment. Not everything would go as planned, but I would learn a lot.
In the three years that followed, I knew it was the right decision. I am now more energized, motivated, and productive. If I had been unwilling to pivot my plans in my 40s and walk away from corporate America, I would not have my name on the cover of three bestselling books. I would not have had the chance to influence the work culture in organizations around the country whose leaders thought they were hiring a project manager. Ironically, I did not even make the decision. The catalyst? A corporate restructuring.
The evolving journey
For entrepreneurs, flexibility is a competitive edge and the key to survival. My business has evolved from solely focusing on project/project management consulting to speaking and training teams to customize their work to ensure the right work is happening from the right place at the right time to optimize results.
Initially, I concentrated on the technical areas where I had the most corporate experience. Along with my PMP [project management professional] certification, I leveraged my 20-plus years in research and development, manufacturing, and supply chain strategy to identify potential clients I could support. I reconnected with friends, former co-workers, and bosses in search of leads, and it worked. Even now, all revenue across my business offerings has come from referrals, which means that although I can serve any business, most of my technical clients are in the medical device space where I worked for most of my corporate career. Most of my speaking engagements focus on highly motivated technical women.
I am passionate about helping people and organizations to think differently about how work is done. As I built my technical consulting portfolio, I allotted time to learn about writing and speaking as part of my business. My retirement goal is to build a speaking and training business. I connected with my local National Speakers Association chapter to study best practices and identify audiences to hone my craft.
I approached the first 12 months of my new plan as if it were a grand experiment. Not everything would go as planned, but I would learn a lot.
As a regular podcast listener, I capitalized on that medium to practice my speaking skills. While many people will let you pay them to get a slot on a podcast, I chose a different route. I decided to learn from other speakers and use my network to identify and secure guest speaking opportunities.
I chose podcasts that my potential clients listen to, such as Winning in Business with Kelli Risse, The Drop In CEO with Deborah Coviello, and Diverse: A SWE Podcast, to refine my message and open doors to new business.
However, few of those opportunities would have been available had I not first established myself as a credible source. Authoring books on nontraditional approaches to work has given me the authority to share my message with various audiences.
My foray into writing started when a mentor gifted me a copy of On Your Mark: From First Word to First Draft in Six Weeks by Cathy Fyock and Kevin Williamson. Within 60 days, I had more than 40,000 words in a Google Doc. It wasn’t a book but the start of my writing journey.
From there, I reached out to Fyock to ask about the possible next steps and joined a small writing group she hosted virtually each week. There I met other aspiring nonfiction writers. We learned about creating, publishing, and marketing a book to build a business. I learned there are many ways to bring a book to life, and determining the process that would meet my needs was the first step. Many of these authors have become my closest entrepreneur friends.
New skills to learn
Even after several years in business, I often feel like an early-stage entrepreneur when I try something new. This year, I experimented with videos on my social media platforms. As someone raised without the technology to capture every childhood moment, creating, editing, and posting my videos on LinkedIn was daunting.
I leaned into my engineering mindset and broke the task into manageable pieces. I asked my peers about the right tools to use, and I brainstormed content with friends. The first few videos took much too long to create. Yet the experiment worked to drive audience engagement, which may lead to future speaking opportunities. As I continue to improve my skills, I have reduced the production time. I became comfortable with the posts, which allowed them to be more genuine and reach an even wider audience.
Managing finances is one area in which I have had to seek additional support. Whether payroll and simplified employee pension plan accounts, worker’s compensation, or sales tax, this is an area for which I have chosen to pay an expert instead of doing it myself. I hired a CPA [certified public accountant] who makes time to explain the reasons behind his recommendations so I can learn.
I have sought additional support by tapping into the Society of Women Engineers Entrepreneurs affinity group for resources and advice. Members represent all stages of the business life cycle — from exploring the idea of entrepreneurship to owning million-dollar businesses. They are interested in supporting women engineers in controlling how, when, and where we work.
Defining success
Defining success can be challenging because each small business is different. For me, success means I can impact the lives of many more people than I could have ever done in my corporate career while being present at all the important moments in the lives of my growing children. I volunteer in my children’s schools and rarely miss a performance, game, or significant event. And it doesn’t hurt that I have more than replaced the corporate salary that I walked away from.
Learn more about Cocke’s books and approach to work at https://www.engineeringleadershipsolutions.com/
