From Corporate to Freedom:

Jill Andersen

I am thrilled to be bringing you this interview series with incredible stories from real people who quit their corporate careers to earn a living doing what they absolutely love! We’ll be chatting all about what it took for them to finally take the leap to build a life they're obsessed with. A life fueled by passion, purpose, freedom, and adventure! Hello inspiration if you’re still sitting on the fence.

This beautiful soul, Jill, was working at the “perfect” corporate job on paper. Great benefits, pay, room for growth. But something was off - she wasn’t feeling fulfilled in her job, was frustrated with the negative people she was surrounded with on the daily, and had a nagging feeling that she was meant for something more. I’m sharing this amazing story with you to get inspired - Jill’s story is one that you do not want to miss!

I'm so excited to be sharing your brave story of how you left your financially secure career to start your own business!! At what point did you know it was time to make a career change, and how were you feeling in your career at the time?

I was working for a company that treated its employees extremely well from a benefits perspective, had numerous international travel opportunities and allowed for talent development across departments.  I had segued from a sales technologist position into HR and had management and leadership positions galore. Pay was EXCELLENT with growth potential.

What I couldn’t shake were the following:

• Constant clock checking – you know, the feeling like you’re in jail from 8-5 and all you have to look forward to are your lunch and pulling out of the parking lot to go home

• Groundhog Day déjà vu

• Unappreciative victim-minded grumpy people

• Rampant politics

• Watercooler drama

• Not loving a shred of my job responsibilities

• Knowing I am capable of so much more than the ladder my employer could provide

• Nagging feelings of knowing I was meant to be somewhere else

Totally. So many of us can relate! So did you know what you wanted to do/what business you wanted to start? How did you figure that out?

Ha!  I thought I did!  I’ve been in the food industry for over 15 years and thought I would start blogging, freelancing, doing foodie things on my own…whatever struck me as interesting.  But everything was an internal struggle. I was going through the motions, dragging my feet with writing and I couldn’t get myself to DO anything beyond the steady freelance company work I’d been doing.  A shred of it was fear, but the majority was the lack of fire in my soul. Nothing felt right. I couldn’t figure out MY THING.

Enter Erica Carrico.  Three months of coaching with her brought everything (literally, everything) into focus.  Once I gave time to my soul, truth and talents, everything fell into place. I shed the ‘should’ mentality and turned the focus from everyone else to me.  Erica helped me give myself permission to change course. The biggest urge I had to curtail was guilt and obligation to what I’d invested so much time and money into – college, career, reputation, network.  Once I got a bit more comfortable with the notion of possibility, I worked to tune into where the excitement and sparks were coming from. Without judgement.

In October of last year, I began studying with the Beautiful You Coaching Academy!  I could not wait – I was excited as a 13-year-old playing MASH-RAP dreaming about who I’ll marry, where I’ll live and who I’ll be when I grow up.  Discovering my purpose and knowing I’m on track to living the life I want, on my terms, to help others is, like, WAY better. 😉

One of my favorite things is when my clients finally figure out what business they're going to start! Sometimes that's the hardest part! So I'd love to hear about your journey of transitioning out of your day job and into your own business - what was that like?

Of course it’s scary!  Sometimes I wonder if I’d have the guts to leap if I didn’t have a partner to help support the transition.  I hope I would. Regardless, it was exciting and exhilarating and joyful.

The response I got from my former colleagues was the best part.  

• “You’re so brave!”

• “I wish I could do that.  I’ve put in so many years here…I couldn’t leave this amazing 401(k).”

• “You’re doing what?”

• “My husband/wife would kill me!”

Being self-employed is so gratifying.  Freedom, in my opinion, is worth enduring some fear, uncertainty and risk. My life is MINE to make. MINE to decide.  It’s taught me to be more diligent with my finances and to learn about insurance. I understand so many of those “ugly grown up things” much better than I did when someone else (aka ‘the company’) was doing them for me.  Priorities realign when you trust your purpose. Work to make it come to life and it will make your living.

Total proof that when you combine what you absolutely LOVE doing with what you're naturally gifted at, success is inevitable. What was your biggest struggle in making the change?

Aside from the security of benefits and a steady paycheck, it truly was the fear of what people would say.  I was detouring from safety which my parents always coached me to hold close. They don’t quite understand what my new venture will be, but I have such trust in my purpose and my abilities that what I once experienced as fear has transformed to confidence.

It's amazing how much our unhappiness at work spills over into our relationships at home, with our kids, and into our personal lives. Often without even realizing it's happening. So how did you overcome fear when it arose?

Trust the process.  We are programmed (especially in the Western culture) that the world revolves around us.  Erica is amazing at helping you become aware of that which is bigger than yourself. I didn’t decide what my purpose is.  None of us do. What I did was shut up long enough to listen, stopped looking at my phone long enough to see and halted thinking in order to allow my purpose to resuscitate within me.  

It’s always been there, but I was dang good at suffocating it with my own agenda (which, let’s be honest, was really that of everyone around me). Loving and living my purpose suffocates fear.

Life is just too short and too precious to spend our lives trapped in the wrong career! Jill, is there anything else you would like to share that you feel would benefit others who are staying in careers they don't love?

BAH!  STOP IT!!!  SAVE YOURSELVES!  Get a hold of Erica before you read the rest of this (thanks for doing that, BTW) and quit being shackled to an existence that dilutes the essence of living.  

Weekends are only 2 out of 7 days, people! Tuesdays can be as amazing as Friday nights. Not kidding. You’ll appreciate your freedom more than the fancy car (which you’ll very likely be able to afford once your purpose-driven business is out there kicking a$$.)  That’s it. Now DO SOMETHING.

WOW! See this goes to show, we all start somewhere and finding your way through your own journey is exciting and scary at the same time.

Remember, you always have a choice… remain where you're safe and comfortable....

or take the leap! Choose YOU. Choose LIFE. That's what I did and I'll never look back..

If you're thinking about taking the leap, watch my FREE masterclass here!

So much love and light,

Erica xx

About Erica

Erica Carrico is an International Life Purpose Coach, world traveler, adventure seeker, free spirit, and mommy of 2. 

Through coaching services, speaking, and writing, Erica helps holistic & spiritual professionals who are frustrated and stuck in the wrong career, discover their life purpose and start a soul-aligned business so they can finally earn a living doing what they absolutely love. What they were put on earth to do. 

Erica has a BS in Psychology, an MS in Nonprofit Management, life and career coaching certifications, 12+ years experience in business leadership and international recruitment, built a fully-booked soul-aligned business within a year, has traveled through over 50 different countries, and is obsessed with helping thousands of people all around the world live lives full of passion, purpose, freedom, and adventure. 

To follow more of Erica’s work, you can find her hanging out on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and LINKED IN. 

Frustrated and stuck in the wrong career?

Ready to find your life's purpose and start a business that's in alignment with what you were put on earth to do?

Check out my FREE masterclass to start planning your escape!!