July 2021

Article written by Lynnette LaRoche

As Paula sits in her corner office, she gazes down at the picture of her and her tween daughter Annalisa in the kitchen making their popular, yummy cupcakes. She shakes off a shiver when she thinks about the conversation she had with her daughter about starting their own bakery featuring their cupcakes. 

How many times has she promised herself that this would be the year that she quits, that she retires from her corporate job as Senior Director of Marketing. This year, this month, this day … it never comes. How can she really leave behind her safety net – all the great benefits she enjoys from her employer?

This story is a familiar one, especially for women. Men are 2 times as likely to be entrepreneurs than women, and as early as in their college life, more than double the men than women have already started a business. 

Why the disparity? It is multifold. Women are more likely to fear failure than men. The fear of rejection is a significant reason why women don’t make the leap from corporate to living the life they dream of as a business owner. Some women are afraid to hear family and friends tell them that they must be a loon to leave “such a great career/job!” 

There is the fear of being made obsolete – that if they left a “good” corporate job, that if entrepreneurship did not work out, that they will no longer be able to reintegrate in corporate or find a job comparable to the one they left. Or is it the fear of being selfish to bet on herself, to take a risk to live a life of her own design?

But let’s drop the psychedelic elephant – women are more likely not to feel good enough to leave corporate and go out on their own, even with all of their accomplishments proving otherwise.

So, how do women make their dreams of going solo come true? How do they free themselves of the golden handcuffs – that false sense of assurance we have when we glorify the company benefits that we think are going to make the rest of our lives comfortable? How do they break the mindset that there is security in corporate (because we all know how many successful corporate employees lost their jobs during the pandemic!)?

To help you unlock the golden handcuffs, I’ll go through the critical pieces that need to be addressed as you consider leaving the life of corporate for a life you’re more passionate about.

1 Get serious about the life that you want to live! 

If you want to start your own business, start researching the viability of your dream business. Can that passion be turned into a profit?  By creating a clear vision of your business, including the type of person who would personify your ideal customer, to whom you would be selling your product or service. Know who your competitors are and how you can differentiate your product or service from theirs. 

2 Walk the talk. 

Drop the wishful thinking and start working on your new business, either in your mornings, evenings, or weekends. 

3 Start building your audience. 

With almost everyone using some form of social media, connecting with potential clients has never been easier, but will still require some work. Join Facebook groups where your ideal customer may be in. Host rooms on Clubhouse. Create a blog. Apply to be a guest on podcasts in your niche. There are just so many options. 

4 Save!

Start saving money. Determine how much money you will need to continue a similar lifestyle to what you have now. Start reducing non-essential expenses to help you build up your financial fund to cover your monthly obligations. Cutting back or eliminating elaborate cable TV services, eating out more than 3 days per week, daily specialty coffee, elite gym memberships are a few examples. 

5 You need the right mindset, boss lady! 

Yes, you! You have managed multiple projects with competing timelines. You have led global teams. You are a problem solver. You’ve overcome challenges. You have mastered influence and persuasion. You have delivered time and time again on corporate objectives. You have amassed skills from working in corporate that are easily transferable to building a business. You will use these very same skills as an entrepreneur. 

6 Networking. 

Don’t go it alone on this journey. Call all your girls! Connect with other women on a similar journey for emotional, informational, instructional and appraisal support. Reach out to associations in your area of interest for support and expert advice. Get to know small business owners in your community. They can provide additional support and insight on your journey.

7 Be open to learning new skills. 

As a business owner, you will need to learn new skills unless you have the funds to delegate or outsource those needs such as website design, content creation, photography for your goods/physical products, or sales.

8 Finally, you’ll need a transition plan. 

Develop your exit strategy from corporate. Spell out in your transition plan what you need to have in place prior to giving corporate notice that you are breaking free of the golden handcuffs. Your transition plan should incorporate a timeline to exit. Yes, you must set a date for your exit. It should include the income (from paying clients) that you must generate each month and/or the amount you must have saved to be able to cover your expenses for 9-18 months before you quit your job. Include an estimate of how long you must be successfully running your business before you quit your job.

The same as you face challenges in your corporate job, you should expect to face challenges in entrepreneurship as well. 

With planning, consistent action that serves the good of your business and some hard work, you can break free of the golden handcuffs of corporate and live the life of your own design.

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One of the sources that I used to support this article is women-dont-let-fear-prevent-you-from-starting-your-own-business. It is directed at younger women, but I feel it is even more relevant to older women since we have spent our lives living by roles proscribed for us. Another supporting source is women-entrepreneurs/five-barriers. The common themes in most sources for women are fear of failure and fear of rejection (not being good enough).

Find Lynnette here:

Instagram | Website | Linkedin

Meet Lynnette:

Lynnette LaRoche is the founder and CEO of Lynnette LaRoche LLC featuring her signature LaRoche Method. She is a business strategist who leads high-performing women, over 50, who are ready to break free from a corporate career and create a successful second-act for their life by their own design. In her decades-long career in biopharma/biotech, Lynnette led teams across multiple disciplines in her industry, all across the world.

Article written by Celeste Kerina

Friends often comment on how “happy” my husband and I look and how much fun we appear to be having. That observation is usually followed by the question, “what’s your secret?’’  

For a few years, my reply has always been the same, “Couples that play together- Stay together.”  I studied his love language. Love languages are like mini blueprints of how we receive love from others. The five love languages include- Acts of Service, Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, and Physical Touch. Over a short time and through daily interaction, I quickly understood and fueled the deficits in his love language box, while including techniques to fuel mine as well.  We grew closer, through travels, entertaining at home, social gatherings, fitness training, great food, and creating new and exciting couple playdates.

Playing together happens by sharing positive affirmations and flowing in the power of positive energy, good vibrations, and gravitating on the same frequency. The energy that the couple release as individuals will vibrate back on a manifested frequency and be re-designed as an enjoyable event. “What you put out into the atmosphere- you get back. It is that simple. 

Opposite personalities often attract and unite as couples. This balance of the “yin and yang” concept confirms that apparent opposing forces can fuse and interconnect; and flow separately only to join again to elevate one another to create a balanced flow.  

New relationships go through many phases. After the first date, courtship, and ultimately marriage, the honeymoon phase seems to fade fast. Reality sets in, and the couple is now habitating as very familiar-yet boring strangers.

“So- what does a couple do after living together for many years, and boredom is sitting next to them on the sofa”?  It’s time to resuscitate that boredom with new adventures, fun activities and provide solutions to deficits in your partner’s love language box!

What is couple playtime? 

Any act that a couple participates in that brings them comfort, joy, intimacy, laughter, romance, happiness, peace of mind, and most of all, a sense of togetherness and love. It could be a board game (strip twister), dancing together, weekly date nights, a morning walk, the roller coaster at a fair, relaxing in a hot tub, a midnight swim, and much more. They are having a special relationship with no road map. Design it, and live it out to satisfy each other.

Play the gratitude and affirmation game. Start each morning by saying new supportive and loving statements to your partner. “I am grateful that you are my partner, and I appreciate how you manage the home and care for the children.” 

Pay attention to their needs. Ask yourself what your partner enjoys? Determine what makes them happy and do it, even if you don’t want to. Showing that you care and showing interest will create an excellent atmosphere for intimacy. In return, your partner will be motivated to initiate your favorite thing on the next date night. Paying attention and providing fun solutions will satisfy most voids in the love language areas.

Bite the Bullet! If your partner likes yard work and cleaning the pool and you don’t – make it fun – create an intimate yard party and provide snacks, music, and soft drinks. This act of service and loving compromise shows appreciation for their efforts.  You have now created a new and pleasing event, which will connect this household chore with fun.

10 FUN Couple Play Together Activities

1. Date Nights. Fun time – anytime, anywhere. Date nights can begin and end at home.

2. House Party for 2.Create a theme and decorate the house. For example, Dress up in 70’s garb and stream Saturday Night Fever. Remember, the disco ball and bell bottoms will make it groovy!!

3. Roleplay. You just met your partner in the grocery store for the first time; try to ‘pick them up’ can you get that telephone number?

4. Living Room Movie & Picnic.Order take-out, lay a blanket on the floor, and snuggle while eating goodies and watching a movie.

5. Drive to Nowhere. Drive to the park or a lake at dusk and stargaze. Remember to bring your beverages of choice, yummy snacks, and a special inexpensive gift. Everyone loves surprises!!  A personalized key chain or a customized bracelet speaks volumes.

6. Pro Sports Date Night. Go to the neighborhood pub and watch your favorite sports team. 

7. 3-day Getaway. Plan an all-inclusive trip to an island or beach destination- pack a few unexpected gifts for both of you to open.

8. Take dance lessons. Make it fun! Does your partner have two left feet?

9. Massage Date. Book a spa date including massage with manicure and pedicure

10. Exercise and Cook Meals together. Getting in shape together takes the anxiety out of exercising. Set goals, make meals, get wet and sweat together. Add in a few hugs and loving touches along the way.

I asked my husband to name his favorite play together stay together activity, and he said, “Cooking together.” He LOVES FOOD!!! 

“The act of prepping exotic foods and feeding each other is very romantic”. T. Kerina

Playing together should not end with teen years. Couples should be creative and enjoy life, love, and an occasional game of ADULT Twister!

Find Celeste Here:

Health and Wellness | Meals2HealU | Real Estate | clubhouse | Instagram

 About Celeste:

My mission is to Lead a Legacy of Legends on a path that leads to generational wealth and supreme health. 

I am a healer sanctioned by a higher power to guide extraordinary women to a place of better health, work, and life balance. I achieve this by connecting powerful Warrior Women to forums that lead to solution-based conversations.

My desire to uplift and change many lives has manifested, One step, One day, One Woman at a time. Done through coaching, teaching, motivating, and offering resources and services to help women feel better, age better, eat better, look better, sleep better, reside better, work better, and manage relationships better. We are empowered.