My journey from a corporate career to that of an independent entrepreneur
The leap to entrepreneurship
As General Manager of the Benelux countries at a Fortune 500 company, you are allowed to drive a nice car. But when it ends, the car lease also ends. After I signed my resignation letter, I vividly remember the day that the lease company came to pick up my car. This was early March 2009. To me, the car represented something that was no longer a good fit. So, the relief I felt when they pulled the car up onto the trailer! One of our neighbors later asked me if I missed the car. The truth was: I was so relieved!
To be clear: starting my business had never been a goal for me. At my deepest level, starting a business was merely the vehicle to be able to do it in such a way that was close to my heart and to my business vision. I wanted to create a firm that could integrate consulting and business coaching. Really help great organizations for the long term, provide them with guidance during good and difficult times. This requires patience, great personal service and bringing a fresh perspective.
I know that quite a number of people dream of making the jump from a corporate career to becoming independent. I’m not sure if I am a good role model for this. What I can do, is share five lessons from this phase.
- Support at home! I cannot tell you how grateful I am for the loving support of my wife during this phase. At the time, we had two young teens, a mortgage and all the financial obligations that often come with this phase in your life. Without the unconditional support of my wife, I could not have done it. Period.
- Financial reserves. If you are dreaming of starting your own business, make sure that you have a cushion of cash. Money you can access quickly. At least give yourself six to 12 months of cash to be able to continue your life as before. Start saving more money today if creating a business is your dream! Sacrifice something today and invest in tomorrow!
- Have a plan. Know what problem your business is going to solve. Begin by taking the perspective of your potential clients. A business without clients is not a business. At its core, every business is a solution to a problem. Think it through, make explicit which problem you’re solving for your clients.
- Worst case scenario. In preparing for our business, it helped me to think through my personal worst-case scenario. I thought: “If I try this for one year and I learn that I’m not able to generate any profitable revenue, I will apply again for a job. How would I respond if I were the hiring manager when a guy like me shows up? I would probably like it that he, at least, tried. So, I thought I would be able to find a job again if really needed too.”
- Security. If you prioritze financial security, becoming an entrepreneur is probably not for you. Your amount of insecurity will certainly increase. The highs are higher, and the lows are lower. Everything is much more direct. As a side note: you can of course debate whether a corporate job is so secure..
I am forever grateful for the opportunities I was offered during my corporate years. I was so young! I will never forget coming to New York at the age of 29, discussing with Steve Harrison† my ideas for creating an outplacement business in The Netherlands. How we were going to take away market share from the established firms. An industry usually for ‘grey hair and no hair men’ as they used to call it themselves. I had only been to the USA once for a holiday. I was completely impressed being picked up by a limousine from the airport. Going to the nicest restaurants and having meetings at their offices above Grand Central Station in the heart of New York. For me a different world at the time.
This is my personal journey. Hope you can pick something out that makes sense for you.
Paul Donkers
Paul P.J. Donkers is a sought-after global business coach and management consultant. More about his work and projects can be found via www.tencompany.org and via www.ikigaicoachinginstitute.com
Paul and his partners work since decades with leaders to assist them create more value. If you want to have a confidential conversation, just reach out to us via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
